The Sixties Catalogue

T h e S I X T I E S 48 Inscribed By Bruce Lee 46. (LEE, Bruce) ACCAS, Gene, ECKSTEIN, John H., and HOOVER, J. Edgar. How to Protect Yourself on the Streets and in Your Home. New York, 1965. Octavo, staple-bound as issued, original printed cream paper wrappers; pp. 60, custom clamshell box. $17,000. Click for more info First edition of this commonsense guide to preventing crime, inscribed by one of America’s great martial artists to his close friend, best man, and pallbearer: “To Taky, Bruce [Chinese signature],” with his advice also handwritten in Chinese below: “Learn routine. Follow routine. Break routine.” Written in response to a mid-1960s crime wave, this photo- illustrated book, produced in association with This Week Magazine , attempted to provide commonsense self-protection strategies to Americans. This copy is inscribed by martial arts legend Bruce Lee, who died at age 32. In her biography of Lee, his wife Linda wrote: “Bruce amassed a colossal library, impelled by an insatiable desire to learn everything he could” ( Bruce Lee Story , 80, 156). At the time this book was published, Lee had not yet broken into film, but was at the height of his athletic career and had established his first Gung Fu school in Seattle. The inscribee, Taky Kimura, would later become the head instructor at Seattle’s Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute. Kimura served as best man at Linda and Bruce Lee’s wedding in 1964. When Lee died just nine years later, Kimura was one of the pallbearers. Accompanied by a copy of a Certificate of Authenticity written by the inscribee. Lee’s inscription neatly translated to English in pen on copyright page. Very nearly fine condition. “Learn routine. Follow routine. Break routine.”