Operation Overflight: The U-2 Spy Pilot Tells His Story For The First Time. by Powers, Francis Gary - 1970

New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970. First edition of this classic spy memoir. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the dedication page in the year of publication, "To Ralph Gustafson Best Wishes Francis Gary Powers 6-21-70." The recipient Ralph Gustafson was a Canadian poet and author. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Jay Smith. Written with Curt Gentry. Signed first editions are uncommon. In this memoir about the notorious U-2 incident, pilot Francis Gary Powers reveals the full story of what actually happened in the most sensational espionage case in Cold War history. After surviving the shoot-down of his reconnaissance plane and his capture on May 1, 1960, Powers endured sixty-one days of rigorous interrogation by the KGB, a public trial, a conviction for espionage, and the start of a ten-year sentence. After nearly two years, the U.S. government obtained his release from prison in a dramatic exchange for convicted Soviet spy Rudolph Abel. The narrative is a tremendously exciting suspense story about a man who was labeled a traitor by many of his countrymen but who emerged a Cold War hero.