Thieves' Market

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1949. 1st Edition (A). Hardcover. Very Good. (lacking the original dust jacket, but encased in a professionally-made facsimile reproduction of same; see 2nd image posted with this listing) [good sound copy, slight fading to spine cloth, modest age-toning to edges of text block, small stain near top of rear cover]. Classic hard-boiled/proletarian novel, about an immigrant trucker (of Greek heritage, as was the author) who, while trying to make a living hauling produce in California's Central Valley, has a tough time maintaining his independence and integrity while dealing with the underworld types who control the West Coast produce markets. Bezzerides drew on his own experiences for the book, and took it to the next artistic level as well, by writing the screenplay for the pretty damn good movie version, directed by Jules Dassin -- whose political sympathies, well-tuned to the needs of this particular narrative, got him blacklisted not long after. The movie (retitled THIEVES' HIGHWAY) starred Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese, and Lee J. Cobb, at his snarling best as a vicious and crooked produce kingpin. NOTE again that this book bears a FACSIMILE dust jacket, to serve the dual purpose of protecting the book from further wear and enhancing its appearance on the shelf; its presence has not been factored in to our pricing. .