Last Chapter (1946)

First Edition of Ernie Pyle's Last Chapter

Pyle, Ernie. Last Chapter. New York: Henry Holt, 1946.

Octavo. Hardcover. 1st Edition 1st Printing.

First edition, first printing, of Ernie Pyle's posthumously published final book, collecting the much-loved newspaper columns from his time covering the Pacific campaign up through his death at Okinawa, with 16 pages of contemporary photographs including an image of the memorial constructed by the 77th Infantry at the site of his death on Ie Shima. America's most beloved journalist during World War II, Ernie Pyle was known for bringing the nuances of war to the kitchen table--as well as to the men in the field, with whom he was extremely popular. After years spent covering the North African and European campaigns, Pyle reluctantly agreed to cover the Pacific campaign during the final months of the war. Exhausted, alcoholic, and likely suffering from PTSD, the Ernie Pyle of the Pacific campaign chafed at his more comfortable assignment with the Navy and longed to return to the infantry units that he believed were at the heart of the war. Following months spent covering the Navy and the pilots bombing the Japanese, Pyle finally found what he was looking for during the invasion of Okinawa. In his columns from the time, he looks with admiration at the American soldiers and marines tasked with the invasion, offering glimpses of their desire to make homes in foreign lands, up to and including forming tiny town communities and adopting the island's goats as pets. Tragically, Pyle was shot in the head at Ie Shima and died on the spot. In his final days, Pyle wrote proudly about the new eagerness of the American military and his faith that they would succeed in a mainland invasion of Japan--a circumstance that fortunately did not come to pass. Book with only tiny spot of soiling to front board, dust jacket with only light rubbing mainly to extremities and rub mark to spine. A near-fine copy.