SEIZE THE MOMENT: AMERICA'S CHALLENGE IN A ONE-SUPERPOWER WORLD [SIGNED]

New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. Octavo, 322 pages. In Very Good condition with a Very Good dust jacket. Spine white with blue lettering; dust jacket protected by a mylar cover; price uncut "$25.00". Light shelf wear. Signed flat by Nixon to the half-title page. With a one page Typed Note Signed by Nixon inscribed to Thomas Hughes. Dated January 2, 1991, it reads in part: "I thought you might be interested in seeing some unconventional wisdom on foreign and domestic issues." With one fold crease. Nixon used this personalized form letter for copies he sent to those he was close to. Shelved in Case 1 1/2. Thomas Hughes served as the Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (Now known as the Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research) from April 28, 1963 through August 25, 1969, serving under Kennedy and Johnson and resigning under Nixon. He went on to serve as president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace from 1971-1991. Originally joining Washington as legislative counsel to Senator Hubert Humphrey in 1955, he worked with then Vice President Humphrey to compose a memorandum from Humphrey to President Johnson warning about the negative consequences of escalation and intensification of the war in Vietnam.

From the memorandum, dated Washington, February 17, 1965: "SUBJECT Vietnam. I would like to share with you my views on the political consequences of certain courses of action that have been proposed in regard to U.S. policy in Southeast Asia. I refer both to the domestic political consequences here in the United States and to the international political consequences."

"In 1968, with an eye to history, Hughes commissioned an independent "self-study" to evaluate the INR's intelligence efforts during the Vietnam War. Hughes was unaware at the time of the similar but more elaborate project to study the Pentagon's decisionmaking on Vietnam, commissioned by Defense Secretary McNamara. Time magazine, in 1971, mentioned the INR study and dubbed it the State Department's version of the Pentagon Papers. But Hughes's study remained classified until 2004...Hughes, upon the publication of the State Department study of the INR and Vietnam, assessed his and his bureau's role in these terms: "...[we] have the ironic satisfaction of knowing that most of our forecasts have been vindicated by history. We can only lament that, while we were heeded, we were unable to persuade, sway, or prevail when it came to the ultimate decisions." [Smith Bruce L. R and Brookings Institution Press. 2021. The Last Gentleman : Thomas Hughes and the End of the American Century. Washington D.C: Brookings Institution Press.]. 1378075. Shelved Dupont Bookstore.