René Kraus - Old Master: The Life of Jan Christiaan Smuts
Old Master
The Life of Jan Christiaan Smuts
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: Old Master: The Life of Jan Christiaan Smuts
- Author: René Kraus
- Publisher: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., New York
- Publication Date: 1944
- Edition Details: True First Edition, American Issue
- Binding: Original publisher's cloth-bound hardcover
Official Condition Report
- The Book: Good to Very Good (Exterior: Good / Interior: Very Good)
- Exterior: The original cloth binding is firm and complete. Shows standard age-fading across the boards, with light rubbing and soft bumping wear to the crown and heel of the spine.
- Interior: Very good. Text block is tight, and pages are clean and free of markings. Natural age-browning and light tanning affect the preliminary endpapers.
- The Dust Jacket: Not Included
Synopsis & Historical Significance
Published in New York at the height of the Second World War (1944), René Kraus’ Old Master presents an approving, wartime account of Field Marshal Jan Christiaan Smuts. The book frames Smuts as a brilliant philosophical mind, an elite guerrilla leader turned champion of the British Empire, and a vital global architect of the League of Nations and United Nations, illustrating how he was viewed by Western allies during the war.
Author Profile: René Kraus
René Kraus (1902–1947) was an Austrian-born journalist, author, and diplomat who fled to the United States before WWII. He specialized in writing popular biographies of key Allied figures, including Winston Churchill, to support the war effort.
