The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by le Carré, John - 1963

London: Victor Gollancz, 1963 First edition, first printing. Original publisher's blue cloth, spine lettered in gilt; in its original red dust jacket, lettered in black and white. Very good book, with a slight lean to spine, light fading to spine, light toning to spine ends, gilt on spine very bright except for a few letters that are dimmed; near fine unclipped dust jacket, with light soiling to front and rear panels, light fading to spine, a bit of toning to edges of rear panel, and very mild rubbing to head of spine. With laid-in piece of a limitation page, signed by Le Carré and numbered 220. Overall, a beautiful, crisp example of the original dust jacket. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a classic espionage novel that takes place during the Cold War. In the novel, British agent Alec Leamas wants to get out of the intelligence profession - or "come in from the cold" - but is convinced to do one last mission. For his mission, Leamas must defect to East Germany and frame Hans Dieter-Mundt, a high-ranking German intelligence officer, as a double agent for the British secret service. Time magazine included the book on its list of the top 100 novels and called it "a sad, sympathetic portrait of a man who has lived by lies and subterfuge for so long, he's forgotten how to tell the truth." In 1963, the book won the Crime Writers' Association's Gold Dagger award for "Best Crime Novel," and in 2005 it won the Dagger of Daggers - an award for the best crime novel of all of the Gold Dagger winners in the Crime Writers' Association's 50-year history. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Dust Jacket Included.