Over the weekend The Washington Post carried a charming article about a D.C. bookstore striking a deal with the estate of William Safire, the Nixon speechwriter turned Pulitzer-winning pundit, to sell his eclectic collection of books.
What makes that library special is not just that the books belonged to a well-known and well-connected writer known both for his insights on politics and his contagious fascination with the English language.
It is that many of the volumes were by Safire’s friends, colleagues or rivals. Many, of course, were inscribed by the authors. More impressive is that tucked within the pages of books by Richard Nixon, Colin Powell, Saul Bellow, Bob Woodward, David Mamet, Henry Kissinger and Russell Baker, among others, are personal notes and letters from each of those authors, making each a unique historical artifact.