The Last Spanish War: Revelations in "Diplomacy - Rare Book Insider
The Last Spanish War: Revelations in "Diplomacy

FERRARA, Orestes; William E. Shea [trans.]

The Last Spanish War: Revelations in “Diplomacy

New York: Paisley Press, 1937
  • $50
New York: Paisley Press, 1937. First American Edition. Octavo (22.5cm.); publisher's cloth in pale grey price-clipped dust jacket lettered in red; [2],151pp. Light shelf wear, rather extensive paper flaw along bottom quarter of upper jacket panel somewhat affecting imprint, brief ink stains to bottom textblock edge, contemporary gift inscription to front free endpaper, else a Very Good, internally clean and sound copy overall. The former Cuban Ambassador to the United States Orestes Ferrara's take on the Spanish-American War, as well as a scathing exposé on the treachery of European diplomatic practices. Arguably translated and published in the United States as part of the isolationist literature that had begun to circulate as events in Europe were worsening. From the rear jacket panel: "[The Last Spanish War] goes far to justify the numerous Americans, [sic] who believe that the United States must maintain its traditional aloofness from foreign entanglements." Perhaps significantly, the gift inscription in this copy written by a Lieutenant (Junior Grade), United States Navy Reserve, to his "Pa," March 20, 1942.
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[Text in Russian] Atlas Trinadtsati Chastei S. Peterburga s podrobnym izobrazheniem naberezhnykh

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The Swedish, having recently annexed a large swathe of land from the Russians during the "Smuta" (a.k.a. the Time of Troubles, 1598-1613), were in need of a stronghold to preserve their rule over the newly-acquired region of Ingria and thus Nyenschantz was built. For almost a hundred years the fortress remained under threat of invasion, rebuffing at least one major attack, in 1656. By the mid-1670s the fortress had been modernized and expanded to house as many as six hundred. But while the Swedish saw the location as a protective measure, Peter the Great saw something much more powerful: a gate to the Western world. By 1700 the Great Northern War had broken out and by 1703 the fortress had fallen and Ingria was once again Russian soil. With deliberation Peter the Great made plans to establish a city on the estuary of the Neva River, and that city would be the new capital of Russia, St. Petersburg. 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Broken Run of Twenty-Two Issues of "The Nation

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