Stawka większa niż życie by Andrzej Zbych

Stawka większa niż życie (English: “Stakes Larger Than Life”) is a Polish novel written by Andrzej Zbych (literary pseudonym of Andrzej Szypulski and Zbigniew Safjan), based on the script for a televison play (1965–1967) and a TV series of the same title (1967–1968).

The plot is set during World War II. The main character is Stanislaw Moczulski, a Pole from Koscierzyna, Pomerania, who, because of his deluded resemblance to the German Hans Kloss, was recruited for cooperation by Soviet intelligence (the officer in charge was Colonel Jakubowski, who had Polish roots). Throughout the rest of the war, Moczulski, as an Abwehr officer, gained valuable information for the Soviets as agent J-23 for the People’s Guard and People’s Army intelligence under the pseudonym “Janek.” In the Polish People’s Army, he reaches the rank of major, while as Kloss he attains the rank of hauptmann and receives the Iron Cross.

First published in 1969, this is the third edition published by Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, the publishing house of the Polish Ministry of National Defense, in 1989, in three volumes: Drugie Narodziny, Kurierka z Londynu, and Spotkanie na zamku. The covers and title page were designed by Waldemar Żaczek, using New Zelek and what looks like a bold phototype version of Times.