The Chequer Board by Nevil Shute, 1947, William Morrow publisher.

This hardcover book with dust jacket, is a first edition. The dust jacket front has some missing part and tears. The back is in better condition. It has a gilt title and black checkerboard pattern on the spine. The cloth front and back of the book is in v good condition, no marks and clean. The inside has a price of 35 dollars and the the first page and last page of the book have discolorations. The pages are clean and not marked or bent. The binding is strong.

The novel deals fairly with the question of racism within the US forces during World War II and portrays black characters with great sympathy, humor and support. Shute began writing The Chequer Board September 1945 and completed it February 1946. The portions of the book that take place in Burma were based on his own experiences there during World War II.

"Shute was concerned that sales of the book in the United States would be reduced because of the book's open-minded handling of racial issues; as it turned out, sales soared.[3] Shute and his wife travelled around the U. S. on Greyhound buses to "get in touch with the man on the street," finding the experience refreshing. Afterwards he wrote "Sincerity is the first attribute for making money in the business of writing novels." (Wikipedia).

This item is sold from an excellent, highly rated vintage boutique in Los Angeles, CA.