New York: Harper and Row, 1968. First Edition. 170 pp. Hardcover: NEAR FINE. Dust Wrapper: NEAR FINE. Book appears almost new, with insignificant softness on the spine and negligible foxing on the text block. There is a pencil mark “750-“ on the Half Title. The unclipped dust wrapper is bright, with modest toning and a few chips at the top and end of spine. The Nobel Prize-winning author's first book translated into English; a novella and eight short stories. Basis for the 1999 Arturo Ripstein film El Colonel No Tiene Quien Le Escriba, starring Fernando Lujan and Salma Hayek.