The Power of Non-Violence

Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1934. First Edition. First Printing. Octavo (21cm); taupe cloth, titled in red on spine and front cover; red topstain; dustjacket; [6],7-359,[1]pp. Contemporary ink name (Franklin Parker) of a Chichester, New Hampshire pastor on the front endpaper. Some softening to spine ends, gentle sunning to upper board edges, with a hint of foxing to endpapers; Near Fine. Dustjacket is unclipped (priced $2.50), spine-sunned, lightly edgeworn, with some toning and a few small stains to panels; Very Good or better.

A landmark 20th century work on non-violent resistance by one of the earliest and foremost American exponents (truncated) of Gandhism. Disillusioned after years practicing industrial law, Gregg (1885-1974) sailed to India in January, 1925, sought out Gandhi, and lived at the ashram with his family and followers. After years of studying under Gandhi and writing on his teachings, Gregg was considered the first American social philosopher to have developed a cohesive theory of non-violent resistance, which culminated in the writing and publication of The Power of Non-Violence. The book had a profound impact on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with whom Gregg corresponded during the Montgomery bus boycott. King was especially receptive to Gandhi's method of nonviolence, and the correspondence between he and Gregg evolved into a fruitful relationship. Gregg would go on to provide background on Gandhi for King's 1958 book Stride Toward Freedom, provide workshops on nonviolence for Black civil rights workers, and in 1959 would assist King and his wife with scheduling and contacts during their trip to India. For the third (1959) edition of The Power of Non-Violence, King would write a new foreword to the book. An influential work, uncommon in the first printing, particularly in dustjacket. 84106. (Inventory #: 84106)