Into the Mirror: The Life of Master Spy Robert P. Hanssen
New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2002. First Edition, First Printing. SIGNED by Lawrence Schiller on the title page (under which the word "and" has been written and then marked through). Based on research and interviews by Lawrence Schiller and Norman Mailer, the book presents a psychological portrait of FBI agent Robert P. Hanssen, who sold classified information to the KGB and its successor organization over more than 20 years. Hanssen was captured in 2001 and is serving multiple life sentences in a Colorado prison. The book is written as a novel, with imagined dialogue. Schiller and Mailer were unable to interview Hanssen, who was already a guest of U.S. taxpayers. Nonetheless, it's a fascinating attempt to get into the mind of an American traitor, especially through the device of having Hanssen talk to himself while looking at a mirror. 8vo., xv, 317 pages. Near Fine, with a minuscule mark to the upper board's right edge and a bump to its lower right corner, in a Fine dust jacket. SCARCE signed. Item #810
ISBN: 9780060508098
The backstory to this book is unusual and a bit convoluted. In Schiller's Author's Note, he says he asked Mailer to write a screenplay for a CBS Television miniseries that Schiller would produce and direct. As Mailer was finishing the first draft of the screenplay, Schiller decided to write the present book, using Mailer's draft as the foundation. Schiller says he supplemented Mailer's draft with his own research. The book appeared in 2002, as did the series on CBS. The series starred William Hurt as Hanssen, Mary-Louise Parker as his wife, Peter Boyle as his father, and David Strathairn as his best friend. In addition to this book, Schiller and Mailer also collaborated on "The Executioner's Song" and "Oswald's Tale."
Price: $50.00