La Nuit.

WIESEL, Elie; Preface by Francois Mauriac.

Item Number: 99677

Paris: Les Editions De Minuit, 1958.

First French edition (preceding the first English edition) of the Wiesel’s classic first work. Octavo, original wrappers. Association copy, inscribed by the author to Abba Eban, “Pour Eban- le a sa propre commencement a sa historie: la voice- Elie W. New York, 1967.” Translated as, “The beginning of his own history Elie W.” As it increased in popularity, Wiesel’s Night was translated into 30 languages and prompted meetings with several important literary and political figures including Saul Bellow and Abba Eban. In 1955, Wiesel moved to New York to work as a foreign correspondent for Yediot Ahronot, the largest daily Newspaper in Israel. Eban was also posted in New York throughout the 1950s serving as Israel’s ambassador to the United States and, in 1952, was elected Vice President of the UN General Assembly. At the time of the present inscription, Eban had just been appointed as Israel’s foreign minister, the most important position in the Israeli cabinet. As Israel’s foreign minister Eban would defend the country’s reputation after the Six-Day War, asserting in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly that Israel had acted in response to an imminent threat. In very good condition with some light rubbing to the extremities. Preface by Francois Mauriac. From the library of Abba Eban. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional association, commemorating the culmination of Eban’s political career.

"If only I could get rid of this dead weight. Immediately I felt ashamed of myself, ashamed forever" wrote Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel in reference to his dying father. Night relays Wiesel's experience as a prisoner in the concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944-1945. Wiesel witnessed the inversion of convention and destruction of values. He writes, "here there are no fathers, no brothers, no friends everyone lives and dies for himself alone." "To the best of my knowledge no one has left behind him so moving a record" (Alfred Kazin).