THE 13TH VALLEY. de Del Vecchio, John - 1982.

New York:: Bantam,, 1982.. First edition -. Good overall in tall printed cream wrappers (tape on bottom of spine, some yellowing and curling to the corners of the covers, and a comment 'here it is!' on the top of the front cover.). Uncorrected proof (tall trade paperback format. ) The author's carefully researched novel that follows the 101st Airborne in an operation based on an actual campaign in the summer of1970 (although the actual battalion in this book is fictitious. This is a novel which combines both historical accuracy and sometimes poetic writing. Laid in is both a map of the area and a very personal letter from the editor to a San Francisco reviewer. In this letter he states that 'only once in a while does a really great book come through an editor's career and I really believe this is it.' Certainly this was a significant debut.