Saturday, January 5, 2008

Frank Irgang's 'Etched in Purple' now Available for Pre-Order



Okay, I know I talk about this book a lot. But there's a reason. It is, in my opinion, simply the best memoir to come out of World War Two in Europe. I noted today that Amazon.com is guaranteeing a pre-order price of only $12.21. The book comes out in early March.

To the right is the original dust jacket of the first pressing of this book back from 1949. I am the proud owner of two of this edition, both signed by the author. The story of how this book came to be re-published is an amazing one. Ten years or more ago, I was shopping in thrift store here in Idaho Falls and came across this book. I noticed it was a WWII memoir by a young infantryman published back in the late forties, and since I am a WWII buff, I bought it. The book absolutely blew me out of the water. Using my sleuthing skills, I tracked Frank down. He was teaching in San Diego. I asked Frank if I could send him the book to get signed. He said sure. When I got it back, he'd even included the original dust jacket. Some years later, I found a second copy at a reasonable price on Amazon. Normally, the first edition runs well over a hundred dollars.




Ever since, I have been plugging this book. It was my goal to see this classic book re-published because I felt that it was an absolute shame that it was out of print. A number of years later, after I'd published my first book, I had the opportunity to recommend the book to my publisher. They read it and agreed whole-heartedly that this book was a classic that needed to be re-published. And now, nearly 58 years after its initial publication, Frank's book is once again available, and at a price much lower than a hundred to two hundred dollars.




Buy it and read it. You will not be disappointed. I guarantee that. To the right is a photo of the cover of the new Potomac edition, due out in early March.
Also recommended, Frank's other books. Check them out at his website: http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/firgang/index.html

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the reminder Rob. I pre-ordered my copy today.

r morris said...

Excellent, Les.
I'll do my best to get you a signed book plate from Frank.
Rob