THE MAN I KNEW. The Intimate Life-story of Douglas Haig.

First edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original blue cloth with gilt titles to the spine and with a gilt facsimile of Field Marshal Douglas Haig's signature to the upper board, in dustwrapper. Top edge red. An original menu from the celebration dinner commemorating the book's publication, signed and dated by the author, is loosely laid in and bound with a blue ribbon. With a black and white line-drawn portrait frontispiece of Field Marshal Haig, and 23 black and white photographs throughout. A very good or better copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth mildly toned at the edges, and lightly rubbed to the spine tips and extremities. The contents, with a little spotting to the prelims, are otherwise clean throughout, and without previous owners' inscriptions or stamps. The closed text block edge is lightly toned and spotted. Complete with the very good, rubbed, nicked and creased dustwrapper, which has several small chips and short closed tears, and a couple of pieces of tape to the underside (at the head of the spine and bottom of the rear flap fold). Not price-clipped (18s net to the lower front flap).

Signed by the author Countess Dorothy Maud Vivian Haig in blue ink on the title page. The original menu is also signed by Countess Haig in blue ink and dated 'Dec. 4. 1936', the day following the stated date of the dinner. Field Marshall Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (1861-1928) was a senior officer of the British Army, best known for commanding the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front during the First World War. Nicknamed 'The Chief' by his men and 'Butcher' by the media, Haig's controversial military strategies remain the subject of much debate, particularly for their failure to break the deadlock or win significant territory despite huge casualties incurred during the battles of the Somme (1916) and Passchendaele (1917). Yet, despite his public reputation as callous, stubborn and uncharismatic, Haig's determination, diplomacy, and devotion to duty have been widely commended, with the National Army Museum characterising him as 'a man who stoically bore a burden of responsibility that would have broken lesser men'. This definitive biography, written by Haig's wife, offers fresh perspective on an iconic figure from Britain's military past, presenting 'a picture of [her] husband as a human being on the warm side of life rather than a famous man who belongs to the cold facts of history' (author's foreword).