Japan Inside Out: The Challenge of Today by Syngman Rhee - 1941

First edition; presumed first printing as there are no indications of other editions or printings on the publication page. Syngman Rhee's, (the first President of the Republic of South Korea) full signature, date and inscription is on the first flyleaf page The book is inscribed to Ruth Shipley, who was a high-level U. S. State Department official. For many years around the mid-twentieth century Shipley was the Director of the Passport Office and was a well-known and somewhat controversial figure.

The book is in excellent condition. Miniscule wear on cover and some light toning on the inside of the covers. Unclipped dj ($2.00) has wear, chipping and small tears at edges.

From Wikipedia (abridged):

Syngman Rhee (26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea from 1919 to his impeachment in 1925 and from 1947 to 1948. As President of South Korea,

Ruth Bielaski Shipley (April 20, 1885 – November 3, 1966)[1] was an American government employee who served as the head of the Passport Division of the United States Department of State for 27 years, from 1928 to 1955.... n 1945, Fortune called her "redoubtable" and in 1951 Time described her as "the most invulnerable, most unfirable, most feared and most admired career woman in Government."[13] That same year Reader's Digest wrote that: "No American can go abroad without her authorization. She decides whether the applicant is entitled to a passport and also whether he would be a hazard to Uncle Sam's security or create prejudice against the United States by unbecoming conduct."[14]... By the end of World War II, her staff included more than 200 employees.[17]..