Free Fall in Crimson

New York: Harper & Row. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 1981. 1st Edition; 1st Printing. Hardcover. Cover Art; This book is in Near Fine condition and has a Near Fine dust jacket. The book and its contents are in clean, bright condition. There is some very beginning toning to the edges of the book covers. The text pages are clean and bright. The dust jacket is crisp and clean with the exception of some beginning edge bumping. "Girl in Coma inherits fortune - that is how the headlines read when terminally ill tycoon Ellis Esterland was beaten to death at a stop on the Florida Turnpike two years ago - murdered as his daughter lay unconscious, never to recover from a road accident. When she died a few weeks later, the bulk of his estate went to his estranged wife, Josie - and to the benefit of Joseie's weird friend Kesner, a film maker." "MacDonald's literary career began almost by accident. During 1945, while still in the Army, he wrote a short story and mailed it to his wife. She submitted it to the magazine Esquire, which rejected it. She then sent it to Story magazine, which accepted for $25, good money for that time. He learned of this just after his ship arrived in the United States. After his discharge, MacDonald spent four months writing short stories, generating some 800,000 words and losing 20 pounds (9.1 kg) while typing 14 hours a day, seven days a week. He received hundreds of rejection slips, but finally made a $40 sale to the pulp magazine Dime Detective. He would eventually sell nearly 500 short stories to detective, mystery, adventure, sports, Western, and science fiction magazines. Several times, MacDonald's stories were the only ones in an issue of a magazine, but this was hidden by using pseudonyms." .