The Left Hand of Darkness

First published in 1969, this science-fiction novel sends Genly Ai, envoy of a planetary coalition, to Gethen, an icebound world whose people have no fixed sex except in periodic kemmer. He tries to bring the planet into the Ekumen while misunderstanding its kings, factions, and courtesy, and he is drawn into the fall of Therem Harth rem ir Estraven, a minister who aids him at the cost of exile. A winter crossing of the glacier forces the two into dependence. Reports, myths, and field notes interrupt the mission story. The book is a political and anthropological novel, not a war among stars.

Bound in white cloth printed with in shades of grey and blue with a wrap-around image. Blue-grey endpapers printed with an image. Grey slipcase printed with a silver snow pattern.