Ace 1970 paperback (#78000- date from isfdb.com & LOCUS; copyright 1957.) Cover by Steele Savage, 253 pages, 95 cent cover price. Condition is VG to VG+: tight and almost square with flat spine (very light edgewear); finger-crease in middle of cover and faint fold-trace at bottom right corner; age tanning is mild and uniform (darker on insides of covers.) No stamps, marks or writing - a very clean copy (probably read once with care?)

The Star Beast (1954) a - shorter version was serialized in The Magazine of F&SF May to July 1954 (as "Star Lummox.") Lummox was smuggled from another star system by John Thomas' great-grandfather as a cute little beast that has been growing ever since. Now bigger than an elephant, so tough that bullets bounce off, and with a taste for steel - the last Buick he ate caused a growth spurt. He has broken loose again, and John Thomas first has to catch him, and then decide what to do to stay ahead of all sorts of trouble. Knowing that those in authority will want to kill Lummox or separate them - he opts for escape, and leads a merry chase cross-country. Meanwhile, a diplomatic incident is shaping up: a Hroshia ship has shown up, demanding the return of one of their citizens, with dire consequences for the Solar System if their demands are not met. Henry Kiku, permanent Under Secretary of the Department of Spatial Affairs must try to straighten things out.