Out of the Night.
by Valtin, Jan (aka Richard Julius Herman Krebs)
- Used
- Hardcover
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Palm Beach, Florida, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Alliance Book Corporation, 1941. First edition of Valtin's bestselling autobiographical narrative. Octavo, original blue cloth. Inscribed by the author, "To Polly and June _____ with admiration and cordial fond wishes from Jan Valtin June 1, 1941." Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket art by George Salter. A bestseller in 1941, described as". . . full of sensational revelations and interspersed with episodes of daring, of desperate conflict, of torture, and of ruthless conspiracy . . . It is, first of all, an autobiography the like of which has seldom been." The son of a seafaring father, Richard Julius Herman Krebs, a.k.a. Jan Valtin, came of age as a bicycle messenger during a maritime rebellion. His life as an intimate insider account of the dramatic events of 1920s and 1930s, where he rose both within the ranks of the Communist Party and on the Gestapo hit list. Known for his honesty and incredible memory, Krebs dedicated his life to the Communist Party, rising to a position as head of maritime, organizing worldwide for the Comintern, only to flee the Party and Europe to evade his own comrades attempts to kill him. As a professional revolutionary, agitator, spy and would-be assassin, Krebs traveled the globe from Germany to China, India to Sierra Leon, Moscow to the United States where a botched assassination attempt landed him a stint in San Quentin. From his spellbinding account of artful deception to gain release from a Nazi prison and his work as a double-agent within the Gestapo, to his vivid depiction of a Communist Party fraught with intrigue and subterfuge, Krebs gives an unflinching portrayal of the internal machinations of both parties. Writing at age 36 under the name Jan Valtin, Krebs lays bare a young life filled with idealism and devotiondisillusionment and lossin a world full of revolutionary promise gone immeasurably wrong."An exciting, real book without a trace of unnecessary melodrama" (H.G.Wells).
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Raptis Rare Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 4644
- Title
- Out of the Night.
- Author
- Valtin, Jan (aka Richard Julius Herman Krebs)
- Book Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Alliance Book Corporation
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1941
- Keywords
- George Salter First Edition, Out of the Night First Edition
- Bookseller catalogs
- Biography and Autobiography;
Terms of Sale
Raptis Rare Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed.
About the Seller
Raptis Rare Books
Biblio member since 2012
Palm Beach, Florida
About Raptis Rare Books
Founded by Matthew and Adrienne Raptis, Raptis Rare Books is an antiquarian book firm that specializes in literature, children's books, economics, photo books, signed and inscribed books, and landmark books in all fields. Our business model is simple: we strive to handle books that are in exceptional condition and to provide exceptional customer service.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Inscribed
- When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...