NY, Putnam's, 1972. Inscribed by Harrison to James Tiptree, Jr. (Alice Bradley Sheldon) as "Tip," as "he" preferred to be called: "A book, with all fondness, for Tip - May it cheer him up & make him forgive my acting like a horse's ass - Harry/ San Diego 72." Alice Sheldon broke gender barriers in the science fiction field (and won both Hugo and Nebula Awards) writing as James Tiptree, Jr. For the first decade (1967-1977), the author's true gender was unknown. Harrison contributed to Tiptree's early success, offering feedback on stories, buying several for the series Nova, and including some in a series of "year's best" anthologies. According to the excellent Tiptree biography by Julie Phillips, in the year of this inscription, Harrison (who did not know Tiptree's true identity) had sent a letter to Tiptree urging him to show his face: "Really, it has to be done sooner or later and you'd be a better Tip for it." Tiptree typed up a long response, saying, in part, "WILL YOU LAY OFF?...You've been a great friend...I know from experience what I need: to get in a hole away from everything and everybody...The last time pals tried to cheer me up I ended sitting around with my .38 in my mouth..." He ended his letter to Harrison, "Yours for the ultimate horselaugh." [Phillips, Julie. James Tiptree, Jr: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon] The two did continue their friendship in correspondence, but Harrison was not, as Tiptree had promised in that same letter, the first person to know when he went public as Sheldon. This novel by Harrison (who also wrote Make Room! Make Room!, which became the film Soylent Green) is near fine in a near fine, internally foxed dust jacket. It should be noted that we have no substantiating provenance tracing "Tip" to Tiptree, only very reasonable conjecture. [#035624] $450