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they were first published though the list of stories just before the title page was still in alphabetical order. The list is shown in numbered/published order here. Each story is a standalone work and while they can be read in any order reading them in the order given here will provide some continuity as there are occasional references to people or incidents from previous assignments.
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Fictional CIA agent Sam Durell is the protagonist for all of the stories in this series. Though the publisher listed these as the “Assignment series”, it is just as well known as the “Sam Durell series". In later editions, the publisher also used “Sam Durell” in the blurb immediately after the front
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When initially issued the stories were not numbered and the publisher showed the list of available stories in the “Assignment” series in alphabetical order though often the alphabetical list did not include all of the previous stories. Later re-prints numbered the stories based the order in which
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on the title page though some used a dash, others used a colon, and a few break the title on two lines with no punctuation. The formatting on the front covers was also mixed with most editions breaking the title onto two lines though a few had two lines with the
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has “This is number thirty-six of the famed Sam Durell novels—one of the bestselling suspense series in the history of publishing.” One consistent element is that all of the story titles started with the word “Assignment.”
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After Edward S. Aarons' death in 1975, his brother, William B. Aarons (1914-2002), continued to publish the series as executor of the Edward S. Aarons' estate. Volumes 43 to 48 state Will B. Aarons as the author but were
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Among other works of fiction, Aarons is known for his spy thrillers, particularly his "Assignment" series, which are set all over the world and have been translated into 17 languages. The 42 novels in this series starred
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149:. He worked at various jobs to put himself through college, including jobs as a newspaper reporter and fisherman. In 1933, he won a short story contest as a student. In
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95:(1916 – June 16, 1975) was an American writer who authored more than 80 novels from 1936 until 1975. One of these was under the pseudonym "Paul Ayres" (
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The stories were written over a span of 28 years, from 1955 to 1983. Each book set, more or less, in the time it was written.
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99:), and 30 were written using the name "Edward Ronns". He also wrote numerous stories for detective magazines, such as
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The publications were inconsistent in their formatting of the title with many editions using five dots as in
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followed by a hyphen or colon. The spines tended to use a hyphen though a few use a colon and
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581:"EDWARD AARONS, NOVELIST, 58, DIES: His 'Assignment' Spy Books Sold 23 Million Copies"
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had no punctuation. For consistency, all of the titles are listed here with a hyphen.
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to "An
Introduction to Edward S. Aarons’ Assignment Series" by Doug Bassett.
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in 1941. He finished his duty in 1945, having obtained the rank of
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United States Coast Guard non-commissioned officers
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United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II
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American
National Biography entry (vol. 1, pp. 3-4)
546:"Aarons, Edward Sidney (1916-1975), mystery writer"
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678:(this bibliography is limited to the author's
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558:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1602961
339:Assignment—The Girl in the Gondola
636:Edward S. Aarons Bibliography (partial)
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648:(A pseudonym used by Edward S. Aarons)
676:Internet Speculative Fiction Database
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726:20th-century American male writers
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351:Assignment—The Cairo Dancers
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357:Assignment—School for Spies
462:Assignment—Quayle Question
438:Assignment—Silver Scorpion
333:Assignment—Manchurian Doll
273:Assignment—Carlotta Cortez
721:20th-century American novelists
520:Assignment—Tyrant's Bride
432:Assignment—Maltese Maiden
327:Assignment—Sorrento Siren
508:Assignment—13th Princess
480:Assignment—Afghan Dragon
408:Assignment—Star Stealers
363:Assignment—Cong Hai Kill
157:, joining after the attack on
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667:Sam Durell Novels Description
641:Edward S. Aarons Bibliography
450:Assignment—Amazon Queen
375:Assignment—Black Viking
285:Assignment—Lili Lamaris
249:Assignment—Stella Marni
215:Assignment . . . . . Angelina
706:American spy fiction writers
658:series after Edward's death)
502:Assignment—Tiger Devil
420:Assignment—Golden Girl
402:Assignment—White Rajah
297:Assignment—Mara Tirana
652:Will B. Aarons Bibliography
589:. June 20, 1975. p. 38
550:American National Biography
526:Assignment—Death Ship
468:Assignment—Black Gold
309:Assignment—Burma Girl
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381:Assignment—Moon Girl
267:Assignment—Madeleine
178:Among his early works are
646:Edward Ronns Bibliography
345:Assignment—Sulu Sea
303:Assignment—Lowlands
261:Assignment—Angelina
255:Assignment—Budapest
155:United States Coast Guard
137:, and earned a degree in
611:(1983) by Will B. Aarons
514:Assignment—Mermaid
474:Assignment—Unicorn
456:Assignment—Sumatra
426:Assignment—Bangkok
369:Assignment—Palermo
321:Assignment—Karachi
243:Assignment—Suicide
237:Assignment—Treason
102:Detective Story Magazine
716:American male novelists
444:Assignment—Ceylon
396:Assignment—Peking
315:Assignment—Ankara
291:Assignment—Zoraya
279:Assignment—Helene
496:Assignment—Sheba
414:Assignment—Tokyo
231:Assignment to Disaster
180:The Art Studio Murders
609:Assignment Death Ship
198:cover - For example,
93:Edward Sidney Aarons
680:speculative fiction
607:Copyright page for
163:Chief Petty Officer
147:Columbia University
129:Aarons was born in
69:Columbia University
586:The New York Times
491:by Lawrence Hall.
387:Assignment—
224:Assignment Ceylon
200:Assignment Ceylon
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60:(aged 58–59)
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58:(1975-06-16)
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701:1975 deaths
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182:(1950) and
174:Early works
690:Categories
656:Sam Durell
563:2021-10-26
533:References
220:Assignment
191:Assignment
139:Literature
125:Early life
119:Sam Durell
84:Assignment
184:The Decoy
97:Dead Heat
65:Education
621:Footnote
186:(1951).
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143:History
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193:series
117:agent
107:Scarab
86:series
48:, U.S.
145:from
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141:and
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53:Died
36:1916
32:1916
29:Born
554:doi
115:CIA
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73:BA
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