SMOKE OVER AMERICA
Beoma Publishing House (Paterson, NJ). First Edition, 1943. Hardcover. 573 pages. With a long, 2-page inscription from the author, Dr. Jesse Mercer Gehman. The first inscription states "The inscription in this copy is identical to that presented to the President of the United States, Harry Truman through the good offices and cooperation...". He references "a special committee appointed to see Congressman Granger and others on Capitol Hill re: 'the menace of cigarettes in our nation.'" Signed by the author. The second inscription is a hand-written copy of his letter to President Harry Truman. From the Preface: "The sole purpose of this effort is to direct the attention of the public, as well as that of officials of Municipal, State and the Federal Government, to the ills accruing from the habitual use of the narcotic plant, Nicotiana Tabacum, better known as tobacco. If the public mind is awakened to a full realization of our national narcosis our effort will not have been in vain. Chapters include: Tobacco and Juvenile Delinquency, Opposition to Truth Tellers About Tobacco; Tobacco, Sex Fertility, Impotency, Sterility, Beauty and Longevity; Smoking and Cancer; Science Knows The Effects of Tobacco; and much more. In very good condition: tight binding; minor shelf wear to boards; interior is free of markings save stamp of Tate Hackney (a member of the special government committee referenced in the inscription) and the two inscriptions from the author.
