[binding slightly shaken, light age-browning to top- and fore-edge; jacket edgeworn, with a few surface-nicks and very shallow chipping at top of spine; note also that the jacket is somewhat unevenly faded due to laminate removal (much had peeled away over time on its own; the remaining bits were carefully removed by us)]. INSCRIBED ("To _______ / with best wishes --") and SIGNED by the author on the ffep, where the book is additionally stamped "Return to Story Dept. / Paramount Pictures Corporation." Suspense novel about a group of escaped convicts who terrorize a suburban family in their home -- a plot that in retrospect seems to have mainlined a certain kind of 50s suburban paranoia: "Even HERE we're not safe!" It was a multimedia hit, with the author also rendering the book for the stage (it had a respectable 212-performance run on Broadway in 1955) and the motion picture screen. The film version, released less than two months after the curtain came down on the initial stage run, starred Humphrey Bogart as the alpha convict and Fredric March as the head of the terrorized family; the roles on Broadway had been played respectively by Paul Newman and Karl Malden. (Malden to March wasn't so much of a stretch -- but Newman to Bogart!) Signed by Author NOISBN. Seller Inventory # 17299

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Bibliographic Details

Title: The Desperate Hours [*SIGNED*]

Publisher: Random House (c.1954), New York

Publication Date: 1954

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

Dust Jacket Condition: Good dj

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: 2nd printing.

Store Description

Welcome to ReadInk (pronounced like "Dead Ink"), now in its 27th year of putting interesting books into the hands of interested people. Our watchwords here are: * Availability. Every book listed for sale is in my possession and available for purchase; every image posted is a picture of the actual book on offer. * Service. Although I occasionally adopt the so-called "royal We," in fact ReadInk is just Me -- I handle everything from one end of the pipeline to the other: buying, cataloging, customer service, shipping, you name it. Nothing automated here -- just prompt, personal attention to every order. * Accurate Description. I use standard book-grading terminology -- Good, Very Good, Fine (with various +/- gradations as appropriate) -- and try to avoid both excessive jargon and obsessive amounts of detail. "Fine" is my highest grade, and a book has to be darn near perfect to earn it; even the smallest flaw or blemish will knock the grade down to "Near Fine.? I strive to present a faithful impression of a book?s condition and appearance; significant flaws such as remainder marks, previous owner's names, tears in the dust jacket, etc. are always noted, or if too numerous are reasonably summarized. * Information. Whenever practical, I try to include some information about a book's content in my listing, even if only a carefully chosen quotation from the dust jacket copy. This may sound like a small thing, but take a look sometime and you'll see how amazingly few sellers bother with this. On the occasions I let this slide, it's generally because the book is a common one, or because the title itself is sufficiently descriptive. * Care for the Book. I package all books with great care, to ensure they will withstand the rigors of the U.S. Postal System, and will reach their new owners in the same condition as advertised. My specific packaging techniques vary according to the needs of the book itself, but either a sturdy box or an unbendable package is always involved. (No bubble envelopes, ever, unless the contents are thoroughly protected within.) That?s all there is to ReadInk: just a guy who has loved books all my life (perhaps to excess) and entered the trade in my "middle years" to see what I could make of it. And I'm still finding out. My inventory appears here on AbeBooks and on my own website ? www.readinkbooks.com. Come on in! Howard Prouty, prop.

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CA, U.S.A.

Terms of Sale:

All orders will be processed promptly and shipped within 48 hours, barring unforeseen circumstances. We grade our books conservatively (Fine being our highest grade, used only for books with no discernible flaws) and package them liberally: most hardcover books are sent in boxes, securely wrapped and cushioned, and with the dust jacket (if present) protected by a new mylar cover. We provide a concise, accurate description of the condition of every book (and a scanned image of the actual book on ...

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Shipping Terms:

We offer free Media Mail shipping for all domestic (U.S.) orders, and endeavor to keep our Priority Mail rates as reasonable as possible. International shipping in most instances will be via USPS First Class International mail, at the posted rates. Only on rare occasions do we request additional shipping charges, when warranted by the weight or value of the book. Our first priority always is TOP-QUALITY PACKAGING, for MAXIMUM PROTECTION of your book, and we will never compromise on this point.

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