Don't Shoot the Ice Cream Man: A Cold War Spy in the New World Disorder

Octavo oin black and white and red wrappers; illus.; 440 p., 21 cm. Includes laid in postcard promoting the book. Inscribed and signed by author on title page. Abstract: "At the height of the Cold War, two men in dark suits and shades walked into the San Francisco antique store that James Waste had opened after a successful international career with Bechtel. Their mission: to ask Mr. Waste to serve as an oberver for the CIA. Waste accepted on the spot. Over the course of the next three decades, he reported to the agency both as a case officer and as an independent contractor, first behind the Iron Curtain and later along the ancient Silk Road of Central Asia. From the mangled hulk of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, to the violent ungoverned reaches of Tajikistan, to the Tbilisi office of former Soviet foreign minister and Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze, this book combines a vivid collage of first-hand experiences with a compelling behind-the-scenes portrait of a changing world." -- from publisher's description. Very good(+) copy. Lightly worn wrappers around the edges; light shelfwear to wrappers; some soil stains along the edges of pp. 127-130; very few, small specks of ink along the edges of pages; else tight copy; pages are mostly clean, bright and free of marks and creases; binding is tight.…