Driving Force

New York: Putnam. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 1992. 1st American Edition; 1st Printing. Hardcover. 0399137769 . SIGNED EDITION. This copy has been signed on the half title page and dated. This book is in Near Fine condition and has a Near Fine dust jacket. The book and its contents are in clean, bright condition. The text pages are clean and bright. The dust jacket is crisp and clean. "Francis wrote more than 40 international best-sellers. His first book was his autobiography The Sport of Queens (1957) , for which he was offered the aid of a ghostwriter, which he spurned. The book's success led to his becoming the racing correspondent for London's Sunday Express newspaper, and he continued in that job for 16 years. He set his first thriller, Dead Cert, published in 1962, in the world of horse racing, establishing a specialized niche for his work. Subsequently he regularly produced a novel a year for the next 38 years, missing only 1998 (during which he published a short-story collection). Although all his books were set against a similar background, his male protagonists held a variety of jobs, including artist (In the Frame and To the Hilt) , investigator for the Jockey Club (Slay-Ride and The Edge) , pilot (Rat Race and Flying Finish) , and wine merchant (Proof). All the novels are narrated by the hero, who in the course of the story learns that he is more resourceful, brave, tricky, than he had thought, and usually finds a certain salvation for himself as well as bestowing it on others." (from Wikipedia); Signed by Author .