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| The Ipcress File
by
Len Deighton |
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This is the 1962 Second Impression, published soon after the First Edition |
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Front cover and spine Further images of this book are shown below |
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| | Publisher and place of publication | | Dimensions in inches (to the nearest quarter-inch) | | London: Hodder & Stoughton | | 5¼ inches wide x 7¾ inches tall | | | | | Edition | | Length | | 1962 Second Impression [first published November 1962] | | 222pages | | | | | Condition of covers | | Internal condition | | Original orange cloth blocked in gilt on the spine. The covers remain quite fresh, having been protected by the dust-jacket. There is a tiny indentation on the rear cover and some bumping to the spine ends and corners. There is a forward spine lean and some indentations along the edges of the boards. | | A few pages have grubby marks but, overall, the text is very clean throughout. The pages have yellowed with age and this is more obvious in the margins (please see the images below). There is an old stain on the top edge of the text block, and the top edge is also quite dust-stained. There is a narrow vertical band of discolouration down the inner margins of the front and rear end-papers and a patch of faint old staining on the bottom edge of the rear end-paper. | | | | | Dust-jacket present? | | Othercomments | | Yes: however, the dust-jacket (designed by Raymond Hawkey) is scuffed, rubbed, creased around the edges, and is stained along the top and bottom. The front panel is stained along the top edge and more obviously along the bottom edge where, in one place (near the centre) the laminate has lifted (please see the image above). The spine panel has darkened noticeably with age and there is another obvious stain at the tail, extending about an inch. The staining is not as extensive on the rear panel, though this, again, has discoloured with age. The dust-jacket is intact, with the original price showing of fifteen shillings. | | The volume itself is in quite pleasing condition; the iconic dust-jacket, while intact, is stained and discoloured with one section where the laminate has lifted. | | | | | Illustrations, maps, etc | | Contents | | NONE : No illustrations are called for | | Prologue; thirty-two untitled chapters; Epilogue; Appendices | | | | | Post & shipping information | | Payment options | | The packed weight is approximately 500 grams.
Full shipping/postage information is provided in a panel at the end of this listing.
| | Payment options :- UK buyers: cheque (in GBP), debit card, credit card (Visa, MasterCard but not Amex), PayPal
- International buyers: credit card (Visa, MasterCard but not Amex), PayPal
Full payment information is provided in a panel at the end of this listing. |
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| The Ipcress File From the dust-jacket flaps: "Deighton has written a spy thriller which outbonds Bond . . . I predict fame for its oddball author."
DAILY EXPRESS
"I spy a man to put Bond out of business."
DAILY SKETCH
The Ipcress File introduces an ingenious and idiosyncratic writer of great talent and promise. Len Deighton has written what would conventionally be called a spy story but The Ipcress File is spyworks with the lid off: for the main feature of modern spying is the double agent—or treble or quadruple for that matter— the master mind whose loyalty no one can claim with certainty; and this is the type of man Mr. Deighton introduces to us. The hero-narrator of this story— the first in a planned series—has, suitably enough, no name; neither, as he tends to tell his superiors, does he have the advantage of a classical education. He does have the great advantage, however, of knowing whose side he is on, from the moment when he is first taken into his superiors confidence in that odd corner of the War Office which employs him, through a series of baffling but often wildly exciting adventures in the near East, on a Pacific atoll and (possibly) behind the Iron Curtain, to a climax as apparently improbable but factually unfaultable as life itself. In his grasp of authentic detail, his build-up of the bewildering, dangerous, mist shrouded life of the contemporary spy, his extraordinary and fascinating assortment of characters in action, and in the narrative itself, moving under its own considerable power from mystery to still greater mystery, Len Deighton must be acclaimed a discovery in a field already opened up for us by Mr. Ian Fleming.
Wrapper designed by Raymond Hawkey From the rear panel of the dust-jacket: Len Deighton Date of Birth: 18.2.29 I National Status: Anglo-Irish | Maiden Name of Mother: Fitzgerald | Place of Birth: Marylebone, London, U.K. | Description: height six feet. Weight fourteen stone. Complexion dark. Hair black, worn short. Eyes blue. Clean shaven. Medium build. | Special peculiarities: bayonet scar, three inch diagonal, palm right hand. Large hands, short thick fingers | Habits: talks rapidly and tends to gesticulate. Punctuates speech with nervous laughter. Cruel, sardonic sense of humour. Vicious temper which he controls with difficulty. Is prone to exaggerate accomplishments. Dresses impeccably or slovenly. Trained to comprehend control systems; he controlled a London railway marshalling yard for a prolonged period. Smokes Gauloises occasionally. Drinks warily. | Skills: encyclopediac knowledge of military history tactics and weapons. Expert rifle and pistol shot. Experienced frogman. Known to have worked for RAF Special Investigation Branch. Widely travelled with special knowledge of, and contacts in: Havana, Darwin, Macao, Casablanca, Tokyo and Anchorage.
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Please note: to avoid opening the book out, with the risk of damaging the spine, some of the pages were slightly raised on the inner edge when being scanned, which has resulted in some blurring to the text and a shadow on the inside edge of the final images. Colour reproduction is shown as accurately as possible but please be aware that some colours are difficult to scan and may result in a slight variation from the colour shown below to the actual colour.
In line with eBay guidelines on picture sizes, some of the illustrations may be shown enlarged for greater detail and clarity.
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| U.K. buyers: To estimate the “packed weight” each book is first weighed and then an additional amount of 150 grams is added to allow for the packaging material (all books are securely wrapped and posted in a cardboard book-mailer). The weight of the book and packaging is then rounded up to the nearest hundred grams to arrive at the postage figure. I make no charge for packaging materials and do not seek to profit from postage and packaging. Postage can be combined for multiple purchases. |
Packed weight of this item : approximately 500 grams | Postage and payment options to U.K. addresses: |
Details of the various postage options can be obtained by selecting the “Postage and payments” option at the head of this listing (above). Payment can be made by: debit card, credit card (Visa or MasterCard, but not Amex), cheque (payable to "G Miller", please), or PayPal. Please contact me with name, address and payment details within seven days of the end of the listing; otherwise I reserve the right to cancel the sale and re-list the item. Finally, this should be an enjoyable experience for both the buyer and seller and I hope you will find me very easy to deal with. If you have a question or query about any aspect (postage, payment, delivery options and so on), please do not hesitate to contact me.
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| International buyers: To estimate the “packed weight” each book is first weighed and then an additional amount of 150 grams is added to allow for the packaging material (all books are securely wrapped and posted in a cardboard book-mailer). The weight of the book and packaging is then rounded up to the nearest hundred grams to arrive at the shipping figure. I make no charge for packaging materials and do not seek to profit from shipping and handling. Shipping can usually be combined for multiple purchases (to a maximum of 5 kilograms in any one parcel with the exception of Canada, where the limit is 2 kilograms). |
Packed weight of this item : approximately 500 grams | International Shipping options: |
Details of the postage options to various countries (via Air Mail) can be obtained by selecting the “Postage and payments” option at the head of this listing (above) and then selecting your country of residence from the drop-down list. For destinations not shown or other requirements, please contact me before buying. Due to the extreme length of time now taken for deliveries, surface mail is no longer a viable option and I am unable to offer it even in the case of heavy items. I am afraid that I cannot make any exceptions to this rule.
| Payment options for international buyers: |
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Payment can be made by: credit card (Visa or MasterCard, but not Amex) or PayPal. I can also accept a cheque in GBP [British Pounds Sterling] but only if drawn on a major British bank. Regretfully, due to extremely high conversion charges, I CANNOT accept foreign currency : all payments must be made in GBP [British Pounds Sterling]. This can be accomplished easily using a credit card, which I am able to accept as I have a separate, well-established business, or PayPal. Please contact me with your name and address and payment details within seven days of the end of the listing; otherwise I reserve the right to cancel the sale and re-list the item. Finally, this should be an enjoyable experience for both the buyer and seller and I hope you will find me very easy to deal with. If you have a question or query about any aspect (shipping, payment, delivery options and so on), please do not hesitate to contact me. Prospective international buyers should ensure that they are able to provide credit card details or pay by PayPal within 7 days from the end of the listing (or inform me that they will be sending a cheque in GBP drawn on a major British bank). Thank you.
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(please note that the book shown is for illustrative purposes only and forms no part of this listing) 
Book dimensions are given in inches, to the nearest quarter-inch, in the format width x height. Please note that, to differentiate them from soft-covers and paperbacks, modern hardbacks are still invariably described as being ‘cloth’ when they are, in fact, predominantly bound in paper-covered boards pressed to resemble cloth. |
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Fine Books for Fine Minds
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I value your custom (and my feedback rating) but I am also a bibliophile : I want books to arrive in the same condition in which they were dispatched. For this reason, all books are securely wrapped in tissue and a protective covering and are then posted in a cardboard container. If any book is significantly not as described, I will offer a full refund. Unless the size of the book precludes this, hardback books with a dust-jacket are usually provided with a clear film protective cover, whilehardback books without a dust-jacket are usually provided with a rigid clear cover.
The Royal Mail, in my experience, offers an excellent service, but things can occasionally go wrong. However, I believe it is my responsibility to guarantee delivery.If any book is lost or damaged in transit, I will offer a full refund.
Thank you for looking.
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