Ace Double (D-96) 1955 paperback; 35 cent cover price. Condition is near Fine. It is tight and square, with very light wear at ends. Very little overall wear (light wear to Norton side); age-tanning is very mild and uniform - much less than expected for a book this old. No stamps, marks or writing - clean copy that is probably unread.

Ace Double D-96 (1955): containing The Last Planet (original title: Star Rangers) by Andre Norton, bound with A Man Obsessed by Alan E. Nourse. This is the first paperback appearance for either novel.

The Last Planet, original title: Star Rangers. (Cover by Barton, 192 pages.) In 8054 A.D. the Stellar Patrol was the last remnant of the power of a once-flourishing intergalactic empire. The Vegan scout Starfire was one of the few ships left to the Patrol Fleet which was dispersed on a useless mission to remap forgotten systems on the edge of the galaxy. The crew of the Starfire realized that there was little chance that they would ever return - yet they performed their duty to the best of their ability… until the Starfire crashed and could go no further. They were stranded on a fertile planet, with breathable air - but it was completely off their charts. There the mixed crew of aliens and humans had to face the dangers of a strange planet, and the greatest threat of all - the breakdown of disipline and the beginnings of anarchy. [Something about the cover art makes me wonder if the costume-designer for the original STAR TREK television series read a copy with this cover in his or her youth…]

(bound with) A Man Obsessed by Alan E. Nourse. (Cover by Peyton / signature at bottom right, 127 pages.) Jeff Meyer, obsessed with finding Paul Conroe, the man who killed his father, tracks him down - but Paul escapes and takes refuge in the Hoffman Medical Center. If you were broke and desperate, taking the risks of medical experimentation might seem worth it. Mercy Men were medical mercenaries who've sold themselves to science at the Hoffman Medical Center. To continue his pursuit, Jeff must enter the Hoffman Center - and become a Mercy Man himself. [This was expanded to The Mercy Men in 1968.]