Bibles

2012-03-11T16:51:00.000-04:00

We now have more religious books in, including a box of Bibles. There are two in Spanish (?) and one written in the language of "I-have-no-idea". We even have a couple on the free cart, which are readable, but in rough shape.

Look for these Bibles in the religion's Bible section, but also on the floor in a box next to the children's religion books. (Translation: There is no room at the Bible-shelf inn for them!)

Dolls, Dollhouses, and Miniatures

2012-03-11T16:21:00.000-04:00

Hey, Rochester is the home of the Strong Museum, which was originally know for its dolls,but now is known for its children's learning areas, as well as its butterflies. (Which reminds me, I have not gotten myself over there to have the butterflies experience. What is it that they say? No one ever visits what is in their backyard?)

Well, back to the books we have for sale, they are all oversized, most in HC, and priced from $1.50 to $4. So come in buy a book, and then catch the dolls and the other stuff at the Strong Museum! Look for these books in the back room in the antiques area.

Shakespeare's Theater

2012-03-11T16:13:00.000-04:00

If you like Shakespeare, then check out our theater section. Not only did we just receive copies of some of his plays, but we now also have some books that describe his times and his theater.

More Records

2012-03-11T16:10:00.000-04:00

I am in the process of bringing in the records my neighbor donated. These are in wonderful shape. I have played at least the first track of the first side on each of them, and if they sound fine, have priced them at $2 each. (Most of our records go for $1). There is Sade, Genesis, and Chicago in this bunch, with more to come as I am able to bring them in.

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind

2012-03-08T07:43:00.000-05:00

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, by Mark A. Noll (HB, 1994, $3)

I had a hard time understanding parts of this book, probably because my mind is not wired to understand religious philosophy. Still, I found Scandal interesting for its premise that present day Evangelicals are too faith based, and too little research based. Noll's point, I think, is that though most universities were started by churches, almost all now are secular, and almost all research is done by secular scientists. Noll feels strongly that this should change. What do you think?

Look for this book in the blog section of the religion area, avail. 3/17.

Great Decisions- 2012

2012-03-08T07:31:00.000-05:00

Great Decisions: 2012, by the Foreign Policy Association (oversize pamphlet, 120 pages, $1.50)

This is my copy of the $25 Great Decisions booklet. I couldn't make it to the discussions, so I am offering the booklet to you. Sorry, there are markings through the first two chapters, so the price is only $1.50.

If you haven't been part of a Great Decisions group, give it a try. The people in the group read a chapter in the book, then get together to discuss it. Usually the group contains both liberals and conservatives, so you can either give your opinion, or sit back and watch the sparks respectfully fly! At the end of the meeting people may not agree, but most by then have a slightly different take on the issue. Look for this on the new non-fiction table, avail. 3/17. (Am. History)

Real Stories of a Nightmarish Time

2012-03-08T07:14:00.001-05:00

The Great Depression, by David A. Shannon (TPB, 1960, $2)

"What was it like, in 1930, to stand in a cold rain for hours to receive a handout of a loaf of bread? What did a destitute family actually do when city relief funds gave out? How did they survive? Cold rows of statistics do not answer questions like these. This Book does."

As bad as this recession has been, with so many people unemployed, homes foreclosed, and food pantries overwhelmed, still, this is nothing like The Depression. Most of us take social safety nets for granted. We have always had FDIC insurance on our savings accounts. We have always known food stamps, unemployment, social security and welfare would be there to fall back on when there was no other option. I am not saying this recession wasn't painful. I can look into people's eyes and see the fear. Even with the recession supposedly "over" and the housing market stabilizing, people are still scared. Especially people in Rochester, now that Kodak has filed for bankruptcy, and the NY State prescription coverage has been massively cut. Even with all this, today is still nothing like The Depression of 1929-1941. Read this book and you will be shocked at how truly bad life was here. And to think, just before this the economy was sweeping to new heights. How would you have coped? Would life ever be the same? For most people who lived through this awful time the answer was no, never.

Look for this on the new non-fiction table, avail. 3/14 (later, Amer. History)

Happiness and the Monks of New Skete

2012-03-08T06:10:00.000-05:00

The Monks of New Skete: In the Spirit of Happiness, by the monks of New Skete (HC, 1999, $2)

"For our part, we understand happiness as a deep and lasting interior peace. It is one that comes only with the struggle to search out and accept the will of God in our lives...

Happiness, then is ultimately what this book is all about. It is about attaining happiness, true happiness, not only in the world to come, but in this world as well, even in the midst of suffering. Through this book we offer the reader an inside look at how to go about attaining true happiness in life...

Attaining happiness is indeed the struggle of a lifetime. Yet the difficulties and all the stumbling blocks aside, we can honestly see that we were indeed created to be happy, that happiness arises from its very pursuit...

Thus, the reader should be prepared to be challenged, provoked, goaded, perhaps even angered. These issues will not be taken lightly. There have been some retreatants who have gone home from a visit to our monastery highly disturbed because their experience here did not pander to pious religious presumptions, but instead confronted them with the need to look at things anew...

But if you are determined to pursue spiritual understanding and wisdom no matter how difficult the quest, then this book will be of help to you. It is born of our struggle, and of our own journey in the wilderness."

Wow! I wish I had found this book ten years ago when I was trying to find the way through my own wilderness. Look for this on the new non-fiction table, avail. 3/14. (later in the self-help section)

A Novel in Verse?

2012-03-08T04:19:00.000-05:00

Darlington's Fall: a novel in verse, by Brad Leithauser (TPB, 2003, $2.50)

Ok, this is weird. A novel in verse? Leithauser has in the past written four volumes of poetry, and five novels, but not anything like this. He writes," It's long, I know for a poem (5708 lines) but short for a novel (46,265 words, my computer tells me), and a novel's what I aimed to create here."

OK, let me say from the beginning that I dislike poetry intensely. I would have used the word "hate", but it goes against my character to say I hate anything. This is a work of poetry, and so, true to my bias, I don't like this novel. But for a poem, it is not bad. Which really means that to anyone who likes poetry, this is probably a good read. Still, why would someone write a novel in verse? Liethauser says he is just coming up on his 50th birthday. Well, it makes you wonder what he will do for his 60th.

Look for this novel... poem.... oh, heck, look for this "thing" in the PB/TPB fiction section. Avail. 3/14.

ALERT: Shop closed Thursday 3/8

2012-03-07T17:34:00.000-05:00

Due to volunteer absence, the shop will not be open tomorrow, March 8. If you're interested in the American History BOGO event, please feel free to shop with us on Friday or Saturday instead, regular hours, 11-4. Sorry!

Sale: Cookbooks, American History and Christian books

2012-03-06T19:47:00.001-05:00

We are also holding promotions certain days of the week:

On Tuesdays, cookbooks are "buy 2, get one of equal or lesser value free".

On Thursdays, it is the American history section, with the same deal.

And Sundays it is any from the Christian religion section.

I don't know how long the sale will be going on for, so come in and check us out now.

Humor, anyone?

2012-03-06T19:41:00.000-05:00

This month we highlight our humor section. There are still books in the humor section, but the best of the lot can be found in our vault. Enjoy!

African-American History

2012-03-06T19:38:00.000-05:00

Included in this donation were a lot of African American histories. Some are biographies, some not. I will be blogging the best of the lot separately, but the group in general looks interesting. Last month the African American section was in the vault. This month it is back in its usual place opposite biographies and next to American history.

Antique Auction Catalogues

2012-03-06T19:34:00.000-05:00

Just in, two boxes of antique auction catalogues. Some are David Rago's Arts and Crafts in New York. Some are Craftsman's Auctions. Some are of auctions held by other auction houses. Whichever auction house published these catalogues, their photos of furniture , pottery, and oh so much more give you quite a wow in the stomach. (And a wish to be rich.)

For those of you who are NOT rich, we are only charging only $4, even though most of the internet listings are for more than $20. (For those of you who ARE rich, we will expect you to pay the full $20!)

Look for them in the back, on the floor in a box next to the art history section.

New Children's Christian Book Section

2012-03-06T19:19:00.000-05:00

We just designated a section for children's Christian books. Sometimes people call wondering what we have for children, and we couldn't answer, as they were mixed in with all the other religion books. Our Tuesday volunteer wondered about having a separate section, and now here it is!

Most of these books tell Bible stories, but there is a bit of everything, including, my favorite, a pop-up on Noah. Look for them in the plastic pink milk organizers on the floor next to the antique section. (To whoever donated the pink milk organizers, I thank you muchly!

Records, records and more records (vinyl of course)

2012-03-06T17:36:00.001-05:00

We normally haven't accepted donations of vinyl. Still, a few slip in everyone once in a while. Especially classical stuff, which no one seems to want. After working here for more than a year I finally checked out our stash, and found some great Mahler. (Can you tell I have started to go to the RPO? My comfort zone is surely enlarging, though I may not yet know how to pronounce the names of the my newly discovered composers.)

But back to the records here at the store...

The newly donated records are more modern, and not a Mahler in sight. Someone really liked disco, because there are a lot of those. Plus there are a lot of Chicago, Beatles, Carpenters, Olivia Newton John, Barry Manilow, Johnny Mathis, and Lionel Richie. They are all only $1, which is probably less than you can get any place else. Come and enjoy a trip back in time.

I am not sure if we will be accepting any more donations of vinyl. I will find out and let you know. These are all in the back room on the floor in boxes under the window.

Organized Reference

2012-03-04T18:50:00.000-05:00

The reference section has now been re-organized, so now you can find the stuff you are looking for. Feel free to come in and browse!

Want to speak Old English?

2012-03-04T18:48:00.000-05:00

The Elements of Old English, by Samuel Moore (TPB, 1977, $2)

Well, actually, if you learn to speak Old English you won't have many people you can communicate with. But, hey, who would have thought people would ever get together to speak Klingon, a language of a world that never existed. Once upon a time ( before 1100 ACE) Anglo-Saxons spoke to each other in Old English. Some documents in Anglo-Saxon are from 700 BCE, but most are from later years. Anglo-Saxon was spoken in four dialects. Our modern language comes from the Mercian one, but "anything worth reading as literature" (says Moore) was written in West-Saxon. This book teaches the language of Late West-Saxon.

The first 200 pages of Elements give you grammar. The next 84 are examples of West-Saxon literature to translate, using the vocabulary from the last 50 pages. Of the various examples, I was most interested in Beowulf, and the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus. For those of you good with languages, give this book a try! The writing sure looks cool, with all its strange letters and marks.

Look for this in the language section.

50 years of the USO

2012-03-04T06:01:00.000-05:00

Always Home: 50 Years of the USO, the Official Photographic History, Frank Coffey (HC, with DJ and clear cover, 1991, $5)

In 1940 America had no interest in going to war, but even so, a peacetime draft was started. Suddenly almost a million men were gathering at military training camps. These camps were usually located outside small towns which had no facilities to provide recreation for a lot of lonely, displaced soldiers. The soldiers were not happy. The small towns were not happy. The military was not happy with their soldiers' low morale.

Six organizations stepped up to the plate to form the United Service Organization. FDR would decide to keep it under civilian control. The first USO centers set up anywhere they could, be it barns or railroad cars. Each local center set its own rules. All kinds of services were provided: letter writing, food, places to rest or bathe, religious counseling or just plain companionship. After the war started, assistance was provided for the wounded in military hospitals. Then came the overseas entertainment shows. Even before Pearl harbor, Bob Hope was producing a radio show in California. He graduated to touring Alaska in 1942, and then to the war zone of North Africa in 1943.

After the war the USO downsized to almost nothing, but came back in 1948 after the Berlin airlift, and even more so during the Korean War. The USO was again nearly eliminated in 1964, but was resurrected by the Vietnam War. This time around, shows were held in areas just outside combat zones. Bob Hope was nearly killed in Saigon by a Viet Cong bomb. (Luckily he was 10 minutes late in arriving at his hotel!)

After 1973 the USO changed with the times. The now all-volunteer forces were younger, and more often married, and with children. There were also more blacks, and more women. Yet in the early 1980s fewer celebrities volunteered. Eventually the celebrities came back, even the whole cast of Happy Days!

This book ends in 1991, but the USO continues with centers in 27 states and 14 counties. Their motto is "Until Every One Comes Home." Included here are mostly photos of celebrities, but also pictures of just plain soldiers, usually with smiles on their faces.

On a personal note, my grandmother made potato chips and pretzels for the USO center in Hagerstown, Md. I don't know how you "make" chips or pretzels, but she did.

Sorry about the length of this blog, but I felt the USO deserved it.

Thanks to those who serve, and to those in the USO. Look for this book on the new non-fiction table, avail. 3/7 (later: photo)

Houdini's Escapes

2012-03-04T03:49:00.000-05:00

Houdini's Escapes: Prepared from Houdini's Private Notebooks and Memoranda, by Walter B. Gibson (PB, 1958, originally published in 1930, $1.50)

"Never-before-told: The Secrets of the World's Greatest Magician"
"More than 80 escapes illustrated in full fascinating detail"

Houdini wrote," I accomplish my purpose purely by physical, not psychical means. My methods are perfectly natural, resting on natural laws of physics. I do not dematerialize or materialize anything..."

From the preface, "Many of his effects were so hazardous and nerve-racking that no one, even if familiar with the modus operandi, would have the courage, physical ability, or temerity to attempt to duplicate them.

Houdini died on Halloween in 1926. He was only 52. Also written in the preface, "There has been only one Houndini and he is gone."

Look for this book on the new non-fiction table, avail. 3/7. (later: puzzles)

An Unofficial History of Coca-Cola

2012-03-04T03:18:00.000-05:00

The Big Drink: An Unofficial History of Coca-Cola, by E. J. Kahn Jr. (HC, 1960, $2.50)

In 1886 a bookkeeper named Pemerton "unveiled a syrup that he called Coca-Cola. It was a modification of his French Wine Coca." Coke was not an immediate hit, for only 25 gallons of the syrup were sold that first year. In the summer of 1899, the owner of Coke sold off bottling rights for only one dollar. He may even have laughed as he did it. People only bought drinks at soda-fountains. No one would ever want to buy a drink in a bottle.

In 1909, after the passing of the Pure Food and Drug Act, the government charged Coke with adulteration (adding caffeine) and misbranding (naming a drink coca-cola "when it contained no coca, and precious little cola."). The case ran on for nine years, with Coke eventually winning mostly because the government got tired of the battle. (And besides, Grape Nuts contained neither grapes, nor nuts, yet it had not been sued!)

In 1931, organized crime sold counterfeit coke. Selling coke was profitable, as not only were people drinking coke instead of alcohol, but because only coke could make corn whiskey drinkable.

1931 was also the year the battle between Coke and Pepsi started. "A chain of candy stores... irked because the Coca-Cola Company refused to give it a discount on fountain syrup, bought the then almost bankrupt Pepsi-Cola for $12,000. The Coca-Cola Company could have bought it itself, but declined. Pepsi had been around for a long time, without prospering..." It had been sold as an appetite stimulant and to to ease indigestion. But the candy store owners saw its potential, and the battle was on.

These are only a few of the stories and information this book is filled with. Reading it makes me wonder what the stories are from the last 50 years. That I, who only drink Pepsi, should be interested in Coke amazes even me.

Look for this book on the new non-fiction table, avail. 3/7. (Have fun) (later: financial/comp.)

Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1975)

2012-03-03T22:06:00.000-05:00

Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary Unabridged: Second Edition- Deluxe Color (Massive oversized HC, $8)

We have a couple of other large dictionaries, but they are all by Columbia. This is the only Webster. We do, though, have smaller Websters, some HC and some PB.

Look for this monster (I wonder how much it actually weighs?) in the reference section.

5 Volume set of "Dictionary of the Bible"

2012-03-03T22:04:00.000-05:00

The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, edited by George Arthur Buttrick (5 volume HC set, 4 volumes for articles A- Z, and one "Supplementary Volume". Books are in in very good shape, with clear covers over the DJs. The set of 5 is $40, which is less than 1/3 the price on the internet, and these are in much better shape.)

The first four books were originally written for the 1962 edition. The supplemental volume was written in the mid 1970s, after new writings were discovered, especially the Dead Sea Scrolls. Another area of new knowledge included here comes from underwater archaeology.

"One measure of the Bible's impact on culture is its ability to speak to changing concerns of society. Accordingly, articles deal with the role of Blacks in antiquity, the status of women, attitudes toward various aspects of human sexuality, and the relation of the Bible to modern science. Secular disciplines have been drawn on for new insights from linguistics and anthropology in an attempt to promote interdisciplinary study and co-operation. Questions of the nature of language and of the way linguistic forms and semantic structures change and evolve are vitally important to the study of any ancient document. And just as the men and women of the Bible can be better understood in the light of their contemporary cultures, so too they can be better understood in the light of cultural anthropology and knowledge of the way all human cultures function."

And from the last paragraph of the preface, "May the joy of study and the delight which knowledge brings lift our eyes to the One who is in every age his people's constant help." (Nicely put, Mr. Crim.)

I am not sure exactly what are the differences are between the earlier blogged encyclopedia, and this dictionary. The writers from this last set include Jews and Roman Catholics, which the other doesn't seem to include. The earlier set classifies itself as being "conservative", while this one seems more liberal. ( It really does have an article on sexuality, three pages in fact! But then the other one has an entire 10 pages.) They are both written around the same period. Compare them and figure out which one you agree with, or like better than the other.

Look for this set next to the other set, on the Christian blog shelves.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1943)

2012-03-03T20:23:00.000-05:00

The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, edited by James Orr (5 volume HC set, no DJ, two of the spines are weak. Otherwise in good condition. $30 for the set of 5.)

Check out this earlier edition of the former blogged item. If you care about size, these books are wider and taller, but thinner than the other set.

These can also be found in the blog area of the Christian section.

4 Volume Bible Encyclopedia (1979)

2012-03-03T19:01:00.000-05:00

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: fully revised- illustrated- in four volumes, edited by Geofrey W. Bromiley (HC, 3 with DJ in great condition, and one without a DJ. Books themselves are in very good condition except one with three pages attached an extra half inch at the spine area. They have an individual's private seal on the front page, as well as a marking, "The Bookstore", thus probably not a book club edition. $35 for this nice set of 4)

The editor doesn't say how long it took to finish this project, just that it outlived several of the editors. The first edition came out in 1915. At the time there were many Bible dictionaries out there, but no encyclopedias that could be used by "both the more advanced student and yet also 'the average pastor and Bible student'". Though all the editors are from America or Great Britain, Bromiley makes it clear that the articles were authored by writers from all over the world. Contributors were also from a variety of churches, and include articles from different viewpoints. Interesting to me is the note that the RSV rendering of the Bible is now used, instead of the earlier ASV. Also, indexes have been omitted, to keep the encyclopedia more reasonably priced.

Look for this set on the Christian religion blog shelf.

Baker Furniture Reproductions (?1975)

2012-03-03T17:52:00.000-05:00

The Baker Catalogue: a comprehensive and detailed reference in two volumes of particular interest to those who share a special appreciation for choice examples of authentic design and expressive craftsmanship, published by Baker Furniture, cabinet makers, Holland Michigan (Slipcase, with two HC books and one TPB index. All in ? fake leather. From ? 1975. The condition of all is wonderful. $10, which is 1/3 the internet price)

I weep for the the things lost over the years.

This is the second catalogue for a maker of fine antique furniture reproductions who no longer exists. The other one was based out of Williamsburg, and seems to be totally gone. The Baker Furniture company looks to have been merged with Knapp and Tubbs, and is now owned by the kitchen and bathroom company Kohler. I got on the web, and found that Baker furniture is now sold at Target. I love Target, but what a come down for a company that made such amazing reproductions.

In the 1970s they were a wondrous place. They had a massive reference library and a museum, both open to the public. More importantly they taught young people crafts from the past, so that the skills would not be lost. Are those skills now lost? You certainly would not need them to make furniture for Target.

Look for this book in the antique furniture section.

Tipper Gore's Photo Diary

2012-03-02T07:32:00.000-05:00

Picture This: A Visual Diary, by Tipper Gore (HC, 1906, $2)

Tipper Gore's photos are good! A lot of celebrities take photos these days, and a good many of them are nothing special. Tipper, though, trained under the photo editor of the Tennessean, Jack Corn. Her official job for the Tennessean ended when her husband entered politics, but she continued to photograph, both her family and the VIPs she met as the wife of the Vice President. More importantly she continued to take photos of people in crisis, both the refugees from Rwanda, as well as the homeless in D.C. The mixture is jarring. (Page 70 shows the Gore's bedroom in the "guest palace" in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, while page 81 is a view of a refugee camp in Zaire.) Then there are the photos of normal people, in normal situations. There are even a couple of photos of her then-younger husband which show him, if I may so, looking rather sexy.

I didn't expect to get much from a book I assumed was published only for political reasons, but man, was I wrong. Some of Tipper Gore's photos are to be enjoyed, and some to be pondered. Some even left me with a sense of wonder. The text that accompanies the photos gave me a sense of who Tipper really is, a rather normal person thrust into a very abnormal life. (I loved the photo of her husband coming home from the office in a helicopter. On the other hand, the Gores prefer to ride in a regular cars, or a minivan, not a limo.)

The thought did flit through my mind of how close she came to being our country's first lady. Most people have forgotten that Gore won the popular vote. Whether Gore's winning the Presidency would have been good for the country... Hey, I am not even going to think of going there! Look for this book on the new non-fiction table, avail. 3/2. (photo.)

Art, Antiques, and the Photography sections

2012-03-02T05:56:00.000-05:00

Just straightened and organized! Come and check out our art+ sections. We have some great stuff. I also found some books there that I will be blogging. So stay tuned.

Counting the dead in a 1901 rail disaster

2012-03-01T03:16:00.000-05:00

Wreck on the Wabash: The 1901 Railroad Disaster in Lenawee County, Michigan, by Laurie C. Dickens (TPB, 2001, $1.50)

Train wrecks, we still have them, but at least we usually know how many people die. Not so in 1901. On Thanksgiving Eve two steam engines crashed head on in a rural part of Michigan. The heavier train would run right over the lighter one! Eight people died from the heavier train. Fifteen would be reported dead from the other. The eight were all American citizens. The fifteen were thought to be Italian immigrants, probably here illegally, or at least without papers.

The cause of the crash is still partially unknown. One of the engineers misread his orders. One of the trains was running incredibly late. One of the engines had the newly invented electric light at its front, which made estimating distances between trains difficult at best. Probably it was a combination of all three.

What is known is how flimsy the cars carrying the immigrants were. The immigrants were packed together like the proverbial sardines. (It didn't matter because immigrants were supposed to be used to awful conditions.) Immigrants were probably even packed into baggage and smoking cars. After the crash, the lighter immigrant cars telescoped so severely that most wood splintered into small pieces. Many people were killed immediately. Some were not so lucky. Spilled kerosene heaters immediately set the wood cars on fire, and those trapped inside burned to death.

We will never how many died that day. There were no records of how many immigrants were on the train. The 1800 plus degree heat of the fire melted window glass, distorted steel, and turned bodies into white ash. To get the tracks open for regular traffic, the train wreckage was hurridly shoved off the track. If any bones survived the fire, they were certainly destroyed by the move off the tracks. So... no way to count the number of dead.

Amazingly, the railroad company never lost its reputation for safety! Accidents where people died were expected, and accepted.

Only recently, when records from Ellis Island were collected, was it known that 200 Italians arrived together on a boat just prior to the train's departure from NYC. How many of those 200 headed west on the doomed train will never be known, but the estimation is now 100. Of those, how many died? Again, no one knows, but certainly more than the reported 15.

But what difference did it make? After all, those other dead were only poor immigrants They probably didn't even speak English. (So was the thinking of the day!)

Think of the families left behind, many of them still in Italy. Can you imagine anything worse than to never know what had happened to your loved one, especially one who might have been the main breadwinner of a large family? Look for this sad book on the new non-fiction table, avail. 3/1. (GNF)

New Testament Greek, my father, and Agatha

2012-03-01T02:35:00.000-05:00

I was tickled to come across some New Testaments translated into Greek.

They are-
     entirely in Greek (HC, with DJ, in great shape, except for being ex-lib.)
         The Greek New Testament: According to the Majority Test, by Zane C. Hodges

     in both English and Greek. (in poor shape)

     a Lexicon

     A Parsing Guide to the Greek New Testament. (HC, with DJ, $5, which is 1/3              the internet price. )
             (It would seem that "parsing" relates to verbs' person, number, tense,voice, mood, root and meaning.)

      a New Testament Greek Study Aid

      And a Greek primer, with no connection to the New Testament at all. (has underlining)

Hey, it's all Greek to me!
(Sorry, I just COULDN'T help myself!)

As to the "agatha" mentioned in the title?
When I was a small child my minister father studied ancient Greek. He loved it, but he had to study long and hard. I remember him conjugating verbs out loud. I particularly liked the conjugation of what, to my young ears, sounded like "agatha". I loved to go around the house yelling "agatha" at the top of my lungs. Dad was amused. Mom was not.

Look for these books on the blog shelf of the religion section.

Leatherstocking Ghosts

2012-03-01T02:01:00.000-05:00

Leatherstocking Ghosts: Haunted Places in Central New York, by Lynda Lee Macken (TPB, 2005, $1.50)

Leatherstocking- What is a Leatherstocking? Think back to high school and James Fenimore Cooper. Remember The Last of the Mohicans? Well, actually, The Last of the Mohicans is the second book in the series, The Leatherstocking Tales. Leatherstocking refers to the central Upstate NY area. This is Macken's 12th book on NY/NJ ghosts. (That doesn't include her books on Salem, Mass. and Baltimore.) I liked the book. What I did not like is the absence of information on western NY. All she would have to do is to move over two counties and she'd be in Monroe, my home county. Come on Macken, there have got to be ghosts somewhere in Rochester or Buffalo just waiting to be written about!

Look for this book (even if it does not include our wonderful Rochester ghosts) in the local section, avail. 3/2.

Flavius Josephus

2012-02-29T17:25:00.001-05:00

The Works of Flavius Josephus (set of 4), translated by William Whiston (HC, various years: 1974-1980, set of 4, in wonderful shape, $20 for the set)

Wow, these look like they have never been read. It would appear that the first volume was actually bought later than the other three, as it is dated the latest, and has a different front design, though the spine 's design and lettering are the same as the other three.

Josephus was a Jewish priest who turned against his people in CE 70 while Jerusalem was under siege by the Romans. When Jerusalem had fallen, he followed Titus back to Rome. These writings were his attempt to educate the Romans about the history and traditions of the Jewish people. (Since Jerusalem had by now been destroyed, and the Jews dispersed, his attempt may have been a little too late.) His histories were put in a Roman library and forgotten. The Jews cared nothing about his works. Only by a sort of fluke did these works survive at all. In Antiquities XVIII iii Josephus writes 12 lines about "a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works..." These 12 lines, the only historical record of Jesus' existence, made The Works of Flavius Josephus essential for Christians to preserve.

The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in 1947, were probably written by the Essenes, a Jewish sect. Josephus's works are "the major primary source for information concerning the Essene sect, as well as the sects of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." So, once again, people are studying Josephus.

Josephus himself was an amazing man. When he was only 14, the Jewish chief priests would ask his opinion. At age 19 he chose to become a Pharisee. When 26 he was sent to Rome to ask for the freedom of some fellow priests. He survived a shipwreck, was befriended by Nero's wife, went home, joined the Jewish revolt, was captured, made a prediction about Vespasian that strangely came true, was released by Vespasian, went to the besieged Jerusalem, and told them to surrender. No one there was amused. Feeling unappreciated, Josephus tootled off to Rome after Jerusalem fell.

The question remains, did he actually write those lines about Jesus? Some scholars say "no way"! Some scholars say, "Of course he did!" And some think he did write something, but it was altered by scribes somewhere along the way. My own opinion, for what it is worth, and that is not much, leans more toward the second or third option. Why would Christians preserve works that had never mentioned their Messiah? We will never know for sure.

Look for this beautiful collection in the sets section.

Bibles!

2012-02-28T18:19:00.000-05:00

More Bibles arrived today, including one with side-by-side translations of English and Japanese.

More free stuff!

2012-02-28T17:53:00.000-05:00

Last week I filled up the bookcase in the hallway with lots of free books. There are still a lot left for you to check out. Of course, as always, coming in to buy something from the store is never forbidden.

Only, please leave the shelves neat after you are done. From those of us who end up doing the straightening, we thank you. (Oh, do we thank you!!!)

US Foreign Policy

2012-02-28T17:46:00.000-05:00

Our new donation included a bunch of books on foreign policy. Most are from the 1990s. Most are TPB. Look for them in the American history section, in a box on the floor marked "Blogged".

YOU solve the crimes!

2012-02-26T08:02:00.000-05:00

Solve-Them-Yourself Photo Crimes, From the Files of Inspector Black of Scotland Yard (HC, 1983, $2.50)

If this is not the coolest thing! Inspector Henry Black believed that only education would make a good detective, and he took it onto himself to provide it to new recruits. He took some of his cases from the 1930s and made them into a slide show. The recruits would then have to discover the culprit, and explain how they had figured it out. When Black died, his slides were moved to the attic and forgotten till his great-nephew came upon them. He updated the slides into photos, included the clues, and left us the fun of figuring out for ourselves these "who-done-it" criminal puzzles.

Have fun! Look for this on the new non-fiction table, avail. 2/29. (GNF)

Genesee Gorge and the Bergen Swamp (1946)

2012-02-26T05:14:00.000-05:00

Proceedings of the Rochester Academy of Science, June 1946 (Journal, $3.50, which is 1/3 the internet price)

Herman Leroy Fairchild, Geologist, by J. Edward Hoffmeister (4 pages)

Quantitative Petrology of the Genesee Gorge Sediments, by Harold L. Alling (59 pages)

The Vegetation of Bergen Swamp, by Walter C. Muenscher (52 pages)
I. The Vascular Plants

All this is WAY over my head.
Look for it in the local section, avail. 2/29

German Typography

2012-02-26T03:38:00.000-05:00

German Typography Today: An Exhibition of the German Liaison Committee of The Type Directors Club of New York (TPB, 1987, published in West Germany, $10, which is 1/3 the internet price.)

"Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading, adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters." - Wikipedia

OK, here we go again. I have studied the art here, and I still don't get it. I don't get it at all. Once again I rely on someone out there to explain it to me. Look for it on the new non-fiction table, avail. 2/29. (art)

Candles in Christian Fellowship (1943)

2012-02-26T03:23:00.000-05:00

The Use of Candles in Christian Fellowship, by Rev. William H. Leach (HC, $1.50, (ex-lib., with a mangled 1/2 inch of spine at the top) which is 1/3 the internet price)

Included here are a lot of strange candle facts-
During mediaeval times candles were HUGE. In 1517 the Paschal candle in Salisbury Cathedral was 36 feet high!
There was a feast of purification on candlemas day, when people would bring their candles to a priest to be blessed.

"Very early the church saw a close analogy between the [candle] wax and Jesus. He was born from the virgin mother; so wax is produced by virgin bees. The wick in the candle tells of the son of God enclosed in the human body, while the light symbolizes the light that shines to all men."

This book also advised to give the congregation small drip cards along with candles. I can tell you this advice still holds true. I went to a Christmas Eve service at a not-to-be named church where drip catchers were reused. Both the lady next to me and myself did a lot of twisting to line up our cards just where those drips were flowing. We may also have said some words unusual for a Christmas service. Still, though we went home with burns on our hands, there was still joy in our hearts!

Look for this book in the religion section, avail. 2/29.
P.S. For those of you "ignorant" ones (like myself), Paschal means Easter!

Gospel Art of Solentiname

2012-02-26T02:26:00.000-05:00

The Gospel In Art by the Peasants of Solentiname, edited by Philip Scharper (HC, 1984, $3)

On one end of Lake Nicaragua are the islands of Solentiname. There the peasants gathered into a spiritual community. On Sundays a chapter from the Gospels was read, and the peasants would reflect. The islands of Solentiname had little contact with the world. Their comments on the Gospels reflect that, and with their simplicity and directness can teach us much. Included in this book are not only their comments, but also their amazingly colored paintings.

In 1977 Somoza's National Guard burned the colony to the ground, but the islanders rebuilt after Somoza was overthrown in 1979. The commentaries here are pre-1977, the paintings from the early 1980s.

I had heard the term "liberation theology", but knew little about it. Looking at these paintings and commentaries made me realize liberation theology was more than a bunch of words. I hadn't planned to be moved by either the words or the art, but I was. For these peasants, the Gospel did not only happen then and over there, but was also happening now and right here. We can learn much from these people. (As I write this, I still have goosebumps, and I am not a particularly emotional person.)

I hate having to figure out where to put a book. It feels like I am trying to put the book in a cage, and this book, in particular, wants to be free. Art, religion, sociology... the book belongs in all those places, but since I have to choose, it will be first on the new non-fiction table, and eventually in the section on religion. Avail. 2/29.

False Images of Islam

2012-02-26T01:02:00.000-05:00

Silent No More: Confronting America's False Images of Islam, by Paul Findley (TPB, 2003, $3)

Congressman Paul Findley went on a trip to South Yemen, but it would turn out to be only the first stop on a journey that would take him 25 years.

"He chronicles his far-flung trail of discovery, the false stereotypes of Islam that linger in the minds of the American people, the corrective actions that the leaders of American's seven million Muslims are undertaking, and the community's remarkable progress in mainstream politics."

Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World, by Edward W. Said (TPB, 1981, $2)

Written before 9-11, this book is even more pertinent now.
"In the West, academic experts, corporate and governmental policymakers, and the media see 'Islam' as representing everything from anti-Americanism to good business to an inferior culture, a dangerously enthusiastic religion, and bad values. In response to this, Islamic countries use 'Islam' to strengthen state structures or to rally masses, thereby papering over the diversity beneath the Islamic cover."

Also, see the book blogged on 2/19:
How Does It Feel To Be A Problem? Being Young and Arab in America

How many of us know the different types of Islam? Or which type of Islam is a majority in which country? How many of us have ever even picked up a Koran, much less read from it? Which is more important to Muslims, their religion or their culture? And how can you separate culture and religion? If we could only all be like Congressman Findley. He went to Yemen to try only to obtain the release to an imprisoned US citizen. He ended up on a journey to free Muslims from our false stereotypes of them, and to free us from our ignorance. Start your own journey by reading one of these books, all the be found on the new non-fiction table.

"Out There" (WWI)

2012-02-25T05:12:00.000-05:00

Out There, by Charles W. Whitehair (HC, 1918, with 16 illustrations, $5)

     "We are at the Front. 'Zero' is Thursday morning- Tomorrow morning. The big push is now on.
     Long after midnight we crawl into our bunks; but sleep is impossible, because of the clanking, stamping feet of the thousands of men who are marching by. The men marching past are 'going in'...
     'Coming out' is another story."

Thus starts Whitehair's story of life in the trenches. There is no way of knowing for sure, but I suspect the story he tells is his own.

The 20th Century started with a swell of pride in new technologies, and the belief that they would lead to a better world. Hope for a bright future would soon shatter. A shocked world would not recover till the end of the century when we would again have hopes, till the Towers fell.

After it was over, people called WWI "The War to End All Wars". Never, never, it was thought, could another war like that happen. People used books and movies to tell the whole story of war's carnage, so we would learn the lesson, and never wage war again. (I used to collect stereoviews, those double photos on cards that you could view in 3D. Those WWI photos could not have been more disturbing- bloated dead horses, bloated dead boys.)

As everyone knows, war would come again, and soon. Even now, have we learned anything? Who decides what is a righteous war, and what is not? Have we always worn the white hat? What has to happen for it to be worth it to risk people's lives and emotional well being? Will there ever be a time when there is no war, and therefore no need to ask those questions?

Look for this book in the military section, avail. 2/29.

Rochester's Memorial Art Gallery

2012-02-25T03:57:00.000-05:00

Magnum Opus: The Story of the Memorial Art Gallery (1913-1988), by Elizabeth Brayer (oversize HC, 1988, $4)

"Since 1872 the Rochester Art Club had searched for a permanent home for exhibitions. In 1904 Rush Rhees, the university's president, had a master plan drawn that included an art gallery." Emily Sibley Watson, the mother of the architect James Averell who died young, was convinced to give the university an art museum to memorialize her son.

Here is the story of the MAG. Enjoy it. You can find it in the local section.

Poston's "The Dark Side of Hopkinsville"

2012-02-25T03:51:00.001-05:00

The Dark Side of Hopkinsville: Stories by Ted Poston (TPB, 1991, $1.75)

"Ted Poston became the first black career-long reporter for a major metropolitan daily... and served as a member of Franklin D. Roosevelt's 'Negro Cabinet' in Washington in 1940." These are stories of his childhood in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. What is the meaning of the title's "dark"? Read and find out. Look for it in the African American section. Avail. 2/29

Religion, Rocks, Monkeys and K. Mather...

2012-02-25T03:42:00.000-05:00

Science in Search of God, by Kirtley F. Mather (small HC, 1928, $3.50, which is 1/3 the internet price.)

In reading this book, I was struck by Mather's kindness and optimism. The inside jacket stated he was one of the scientific experts at the Scopes Monkey Trial. (The judge would rule the experts' scientific testimony inadmissible.) After researching his life, I found that was only one of his life's high points. This man was amazing. At the time of the trial he was a professor of geology at Harvard, well known for his loyalty, his belief in religious, gender, racial, and political tolerance, his curiosity, and his Christian spirituality. He believed in passing on both knowledge and values to his students, and to Americans in general. He would write and to give talks long into his retirement. He was even one of the first to use the new medias of radio and movies to bring knowledge to the general public.

He strongly believed theology and science worked together. He advocated the teachings of the Social Gospel, with its mandatory taking of responsibility for others, along with the belief that education and knowledge were mandatory for successful democracy. His scientific area of expertise was determining the ages of rocks and fossils, but what made him really special was his stubborn, courageous humanity. He spoke out against the evils of Nazism, anti-Semitism, and anti-Communism. He also spoke out in favor of equal education for women. These were not popular ideas at the time. Throughout it all, he maintained his strong Baptist beliefs.

In reading this book, I could not see its specialness until I took into account its being written in 1928. His brother would quote from this book at Mather's funeral, "God is no longer hiding behind the gaps in our knowledge... The more we know about the world in which we live, the better is our understanding of him, the truer is our comprehension of his character." He was an amazing scientist, American, and Christian. Read this book, only one of the 1,200 he wrote in his quest to bring knowledge to the world. Look for this book in the geology section, avail. 2/29.

Gregg Shorthand (1916-1919)

2012-02-23T18:17:00.000-05:00

We frequently get shorthand books, but not a collection like these:
(They are priced from $1.50 to 2.50)

Gregg Shorthand
Gregg Speed Studies
Gregg Shorthand Dictionary
Graded Readings in Gregg Shorthand

The most fun looking one is Graded Readings. All those marks on the page mean something, and I haven't a clue what. Curiosity is killing me.... Can anyone translate for me? Look for these in the reference section

.

Sidney Sheldons

2012-02-23T16:51:00.000-05:00

We received several more Sidney Sheldons to add to our collection. The new ones are all HC, but we also have some PB that were already here. The PBs (surprise, surprise) are in the fiction PB section, and the HCs are in the fiction room.

John Fox (set of 5 from 1909)

2012-02-23T16:39:00.000-05:00

5 volume set by John Fox.

1. A Mountain Europa, and, A Cumberland Vendetta
2.Crittenden, A Kentucky Story of Love and War
3. Christmas Eve on Lonsome, and, "Hell Fer Sartain" and other stories
4. The Little Shepherd of Kingsom Come
5. The Kentuckians, and, A Knight of the Cumberland

(All are HC, 1909, $10 for the set of 5)

The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come is his most famous, and oddly enough it is the one in the best condition. Just this book alone is offered for $15 on the internet, so this set for $10 is a great bargain.

I knew the John Fox because when I was a youngster my former babysitter gave me a copy of The Little Shepherd for my birthday. I remember loving it, but hey, I adored her, so I loved anything she gave me.

Look for these books in the sets section.

Biographies of the Great and Famous

2012-02-23T16:08:00.001-05:00

Living Biographies of Famous:
     Novelists
     Women
     Men
     Americans

Living Biographies of Great:
     Poets
     Scientists
     Philosophers
     Composers

Living Biographies of American Statesmen

These are all by Henry Thomas (HC, 1946, set of 9, $12 for the set, or $1.50 each)

Liberating Anger?

2012-02-22T06:35:00.000-05:00

Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion, by Carol Tavris (TPB, 189, $1)

I remember when my relative was dying, she once screamed at me "I am not angry". I forget exactly what the conversation was about, but I remember feeling frustrated that she could not say she was angry that she was dying, and feeling awful, and that she was angry for having ALS. Everyone knows that ALS is an awful disease. Everyone knows that someone dying of ALS will be angry at dying, and from ALS. Yet my relative couldn't say the words. She couldn't even think the words, but it colored the relationships with those around her.

Soon after all this happened, I found this book. Reading it brought me comfort.

Writes Tavris, "There are different angers, involving different processes and having different consequences to our mental and physical health. No single remedy fits all. Sometimes suppressed hostility can aggravate stress and illness, but sometimes suppressed hostility is the best thing for you."

If this book, or this blog, does nothing else, hopefully it will get you to think about anger and how it affects you and the people you care about. Deal with anger, and life gets easier, at least it did for me. Good luck in your life journey. Look for this book in the self-help section, avail. 2/28.

I Hate... SOLD

2012-02-22T05:20:00.001-05:00

The I Hate the 21st Century Reader: The Awful, the Annoying, and the Absurd- from Ethnic Cleansing to Frankenscience, edited by Clint Willis (TPB, 2005, $2.50)

The I Hate Corporate America Reader: How Big Companies from McDonald's to Microsoft Are Destroying Our Way of Life, edited by Clint Willis (TPB, 2004, $2.50)

I am only blogging about these books because of the titles. "Hate" in the title catches the eye, but personally I hate the word hate. Hate to me makes me think of irrational and out of control anger. Anger is many times irrational, but not necessarily out of control. Anger is an uncomfortable feeling, and can cause pain, but in the long run can be possitive. Hate, on the other hand, is never anything but destructive. (As always, this is only my personal opinion.) Look for these books on the new non-fiction table, avail. 2/28 (Event. in the gen. NF, and financial sections,.)

Frankie Valli and The Jersey Boys

2012-02-21T18:48:00.000-05:00

Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, by David Cote (oversize HC, 2007, $3.50)

First there were Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
Then came Jersey Boys on Broadway.
This is the story of both. Look for it in the media section.

The Children of the Civil Rights Movement

2012-02-21T18:42:00.000-05:00

The Children, by David Halberstam (oversize HC, 1998, 783 pages, $4)

Halberstam writes of the early days of the Civil Rights movement, "as seen through the eyes of the young people- the Children- who met in the 1960s and went on to lead the revolution."

Sometimes ordinary people change history with their vision and courage. For these eight their journey would go public during the days of the Nashville sit- ins. "They came together as part of Reverend James Lawson's workshops on nonviolence, eight idealistic black students whose families had sacrificed much so that they could go to college. And they risked it all, and their lives besides, when they joined the growing civil rights movement.... Martin Luther King, Jr. recruited Lawson to come to Nashville to train students in Gandhian techniques of nonviolence."

Halberstam also catches us up to date with what happened to The Children since the 1960s. Look for this book in the African American history section, which is now in the bank vault.

Trotsky and Stalin, no longer the best of friends.

2012-02-21T18:03:00.000-05:00

The Revolution Betrayed: What Is the Soviet Union and Where Is It Going?, by Leon Trotsky (TPB, 1972, $2.75)

Reading the title gives you a general idea of what Trotsky thought about Stalin. Trotsky may have organized the October Revolution, and founded the Red Army, but he was not happy when Stalin took over power. Says Trotsky, "The present Communist 'leaders' ... have suddenly discovered the enormous advantages of opportunism, and have seized upon it with the freshness proper to that ignorance which has always distinguished them. Their slavish and not always disinterested kowtowing to the upper circles in the Kremlin alone renders them absolutely incapable of revolutionary initiative. They answer critical arguments no otherwise than with snarling and barking; and, moreover, under the whip of the boss, they wag their tales."

History is so peculiar and exciting. Lenin knows he is dying, and writes in his will that Trotsky should take control of Russia after Lenin dies. But, oops, Stalin's wife works in Lenin's private office, and lets Stalin in on the plan. Stalin manipulates the other Russian leaders to get control. Trotsky accuses Stalin of being a dictator, and no longer working toward world revolution. Stalin accuses Trotsky of being devisive. Trotsky wants Lenin's will to be publicized. The leaders vote not to, and Trotsky is exiled. Hmm....., where will he go? Famous people working toward world revolution are not the most popular people in the world, so he has a problem finding a country that will let him in.

This book,originally published in 1937, was one of three where Trotsky informed the world of his feelings about Stalin. Stalin, never a shy man, ordered Trotsky assassinated in 1940, and what Stalin wanted, Stalin got. Look for this book in the Russian history section.

224 pages on Paint?

2012-02-21T17:23:00.000-05:00

The Complete Book of Paint: a sourcebook of techniques, finishes, designs, and projects, by Lynne Robinson (Oversize HC, $3)

Those who know me, know enough to keep paint cans away from me.( I tend to paint more floor than I do walls, and it is usually only the walls that need painting.) I am not sure that this book helps careless people like me, but it certainly will help anyone else.

Look for this in the home improvement section.

True Stories of Stupid People

2012-02-21T17:13:00.000-05:00

The Darwin Awards: Survival of the Fittest, by Wendy Northcutt (small HC, 2003, $2.50)
"A new volume commemorating individuals who improve our gene pool... by removing themselves from it."

This is the third in a set of 3. I read the first one and laughed guiltily the whole way through. I laughed because it was so funny, and felt guilty because I am a compassionate person, and laughing at these fools showed a total lack of compassion. Oh, well. No one is perfect.

Look for this book in the comedy section.

The Woman Who Rides the Beast

2012-02-21T17:05:00.000-05:00

A Woman Rides the Beast: The Roman Catholic Church and the Last Days, by Dave Hunt (Oversize TPB, 1994, $3)

Revelations talks not only about the coming Antichrist, but also, according to Hunt, about "a mysterious woman who rides the beast." Hunt "sifts through biblical truth and global events to present a well-defined portrait of the woman and her powerful place in the Antichrist's future empire". Look for this in the religion section.

Benjamin Franklin's words on wealth and finance

2012-02-21T16:57:00.000-05:00

The Way to Wealth and Other Writings on Finance, by Benjamin Franklin, edited by Walter Isaacson (HC, 2006 edition, $2)

"Wealth is not his that has it, but his that enjoys it."

(Witty man!)
Here are a lot of fun pithy sayings, but also some longer pieces. Find this book in the financial section.

Photographs/ Photographis '72

2012-02-21T15:57:00.000-05:00

There are some new books on photography just in. The best of the lot so far:

Photographis '72, edited by Walter Herdeg (oversize HC, 1972, $13, which is 1/3 the internet price) This book has the text written in 3 languages, English, German, and French.

According to the introduction written by Allen Hurburt, editorial influence over photographs printed as ads in magazines started in the 1930s with the publishers of Vanity Fair and Vogue. By the time this book was written in 1972, editors and photographers were battling over control. Hurbert writes here of the irony that as editors take more control over magazine photographs, there are fewer and fewer photo magazines, and therefore fewer editors. In 1972 Look no longer exists, and Life is in trouble.

Are there any photography magazines still out there? Do you know of any, because I don't. Which is a shame, because I still miss Life. Why I liked it so much more than Look I don't remember, just that I did. Some Best of Life photo books are still available on line. ( I know because I bought some.) Look for this book in the photography section.

Twins that hate and love in silence

2012-02-21T05:31:00.000-05:00

The Silent Twins: A true story of love and hate, dreams and desolation, genius and destruction, by Marjorie Wallace (HC, 1986, $2)

Almost all identical twins become independent of each other. The Gibbons sisters, June and Jennifer, tragically never could. They were born with speech impediments, and would only talk to each other and their dolls. Gradually they spoke less and less, seemingly able to communicate with each other using only gestures. For awhile they were thought only to be shy, but eventually teachers realized their problem was something much, much worse, even if no one quite knew what it was. The twins' first connection with the world was through their writing. They had been given diaries, and wow, did they write. They wrote poems, short stories and novels. By this time they were entering adolescence, would experiment with drugs, alcohol, sex and criminal behaviors. After being arrested, they would stay in "remand" for months, be tried, and sentenced to a psych. hospital for 14 years. There they would be put on anti-psychotics and separated. By the time they "conformed" to the staff's expectations, their creative spark was gone.

Marjorie Wallace had reported the Gibbon's trial. After becoming interested in them, she interviewed their parents and was shown bags and bags of their writing. Over a three year period she would meet them, and gain their trust, using their writing as the key.

Wallace wrote, "June and Jennifer emerge, through these diaries, as two human beings who love and hate each other with such intensity that they can neither live together nor apart. Like twin stars, they are caught in the gravitational field between them, doomed to spin round each other for ever. If they come too close or drift apart, both are destroyed. So the girls devised games and strategies and rules to maintain this equilibrium."

June Gibbons is still alive. Jennifer died suddenly the day they were discharged from the hospital. According to Wallace, they were certain in order for one to live, the other had to die. How strange that Jennifer would die when she did, not from any drug, but from sudden heart inflammation.

This is one creepy story! You can find this book on the new non-fiction table, avail. 2/22. (event. in biography)

Weird History 101 (Or who was President For A Day?)

2012-02-21T02:05:00.000-05:00

Weird History 101 (My Dinner with Attila the Hun, I started WWI, Watching Custer's Last Stand, and other tales of Intrigue, Mayhem, and Outrageous Behavior), by John Richard Stephens (TPB, 1997, $2)

This is a combination history, trivia, and literature book. Some are personal accounts of famous, or weird events. (ie. Charles Dickens writing about seeing a death by Guillotine. What it is like to be an opium addict in 1822) Some are a collection of stuff you never knew (ie. Some uses for Egyptian mummies over the years- medicine, wrapping paper, fuel.) Some give good (?) advice on strange subjects ( Ben Franklin's advice on picking a mistress: pick an older woman, and Mark Twain's advice on.... well, sex. I'd better not be too specific here.)

My favorite section was on the US Presidents. For example, did you know:

1) John Quincy Adams "liked to go skinny-dipping in the Potomac. On one occasion, someone stole his clothes and he had to ask a passing boy to run to the White House to get him some more."

2) You probably all know that FDR was related to TR, but do you know that FDR was actually related to 11 of our presidents?

3) And my very favorite, President David Rice Atchison. "What, what", say you.... "Who is he? Not a president of this country." Except, yes he actually was, even if it was only for March 4th, 1849. (Atchison later revealed that he had slept most of the day.) Luckily on March 5th, Zackary Taylor allowed himself to be sworn in.

Want to read more? This is quite a book. I found it fun to read even on the second go-round. Look for it on the new non-fiction table, avail. 2/22.

John Hersey, the first "New Journalist"

2012-02-19T03:58:00.000-05:00

Into the Valley: A Skirmish of the Marines, by John Hersey (HC, 1943, first edition, $4)

John Hersey was born in China to missionary parents. He spoke Chinese before he learned English. His parents moved back to the States when he was 10. He went to Yale. One summer he worked as a secretary for Sinclair Lewis, and hated it. When he got an offer to become a foreign correspondent, he grabbed it. He would go on to report on WW II. He was with the troops when they landed at Sicily. (That's when he survived four, yes four, plane crashes!) From there he went in with the marines at Guadalcanal, where there weren't any plane crashes, but plenty of everything else. The Secretary of the Navy gave him a commendation for helping evacuate the wounded there. I doubt most journalists end up with navy commendations, but he was clearly unique.

This is the true story of an three day long "insignificant battle". "But the battle... illustrated how war feels to men everywhere. The terrain, the weapons and races of war vary, but certainly never the sensations except in degree, for they are as universal as those of love. This book is an attempt to recapture the feelings of Rigaud, his men, and myself, when we went into that jungle valley. If people in the homes could feel those feelings for an hour, or even just know about them, I think we would be an inch or two closer to winning the war and trying like hell to make the peace permanent."

New Journalism got its name in the 1970s, but Hersey was using "storytelling devices of the novel... fused with non-fiction reportage" much earlier. His truly amazing book was Hiroshima, but he won the 1945 Pulitzer for A Bell For Adano. (I have always loved that book, and have had a copy in my library for 40 years.) (Ye gads, don't I now feel old!) Look for this book in the classics section, avail. 2/22.

Being Young and Arab in America

2012-02-19T02:38:00.000-05:00

How Does It Feel To Be A Problem: Being Young and Arab in America, by Moustafa Bayoumi (TPB, 2009, $2.25)

"Moustafa Bayoumi's portraits of seven young Arabs living in Brooklyn asks the same question W.E.B. DuBois posed a century ago to African Americans. How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? manages to not only be humorous, intelligent, and filled with fantastic storytelling- it is also essential reading for those hoping to understand the unknown, unsung causalities of terrorism." - Samantha Hunt, the Courier-Journal (Louisville)

Look for this on the new non-fiction table, avail. 2/22. (Event. anthro.)

Poetry, selected by Field Marshal Viscount Wavell

2012-02-19T01:20:00.000-05:00

Other Men's Flowers: An Anthology of Verse, selected and Annotated by A. P. Wavell, Field Marshal Viscount Wavell (HC, 1945, $2)

Written on this book's front cover is "The poems that have meant most to one of the outstanding soldiers of our day". How interesting a description, as Wavell always kept getting himself replaced as a commander in WWII.

After WWII, Wavell was promoted to Field Marshal and given the title of Viscount. He had won his early battles against the Italians, but lost against Rommel. He was replaced, and sent to India, where he again lost, this time to the Japanese in Singapore. He was again replaced. He would eventually become Viceroy of India, but again was replaced when he pressed Churchill to grant independence to India. (Churchill never did respect him, but ironically Rommel did, both as a soldier, and as an author. Wavell was a scholar before entering Sandhurst Military Academy. He loved poetry, and loved to recite it. This book is a collection of his favorite poems.

Look for this book in the poetry section.

Mars needs Moms!

2012-02-19T01:07:00.000-05:00

Mars Needs Moms!, by Berkeley Breathed, Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of Bloom County (oversize children's HC, 2007, $3)

"Mothers. Milo often wondered what was so special about them..."

He gets his answer when a Martian spaceship lands and looks for moms to capture. (Moms, you see, can't be found on Mars, so they must be imported.)

Look for this delightful book in the children's section. (I loved the drawings!) Avail. 2/22.

The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog?

2012-02-19T00:56:00.000-05:00

The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog, by Nancy Ellis-Bell (HC, 2008, $2.75)

Nancy's husband gave her a "Parrot Weekend Experience" as a gift. They already had dogs and cats, so maybe she would like to try something different. She decided she wanted an African Grey, a mild mannered small parrot. Who she ended up with was Sarah, a two feet tall, mean, one-legged macaw who liked to scream out "It's crap", even when Nancy was on the phone with her editor. Sarah ate the dogs' food, washed in their water dishes, destroyed their toys, and started annoying the neighbors with her "barking". And this was all before she was given the freedom of the entire house!

"Touching, eye-opening, and laugh-out-loud funny, The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog is a tender tale of two worlds colliding, two lives enriched, and two souls restored. It is also a rewarding reminder that love can come from the most unexpected places."

Personally, this "worlds colliding" stuff is not for me, but then I don't handle chaos very well, which is probably why I have never had a pet. Well, I did have goldfish for a few weeks when I was really little. After the fish died from my excessive love, and overfeeding, my parents never tried again. (Actually that was likely because they didn't handle chaos any better than I did!) This book about a family who does thrive on chaos, can be found in the pets section, avail. 2/22.

A Good Night's Sleep?

2012-02-18T09:53:00.000-05:00

The Harvard Medical School Guide to A Good Night's Sleep, by Lawrence J. Epstein (TPB, 2007, $2.50)

I was a night worker for 17 years, and loved it, most of the time. The winter was the best part of my year because when it is dark, it is easier to sleep. For me, the sun was the enemy. Now that I am retired, I am still up at night. So, per chapter 3 of this book, I am neither standard, nor a lark, just an owl. Well, I already knew that.

I recommend the chapter on sleep myths. I also recommend the chapter on snoring and sleep apnea. You may not know about sleep apnea, but it can still kill you. Many people don't even know they have it. Either you think it is just snoring, or you sleep alone and don't even know you snore. I stayed over night with a friend after knee surgery, and noticed she would snore, and then would become quiet, on and on during the night. This is sleep apnea, and should be checked out.

Look for this book in the medical section, avail. 2/22

New Age Stuff

2012-02-17T08:09:00.000-05:00

We just received a bunch of books on new age topics. Most are PB. All are to be found on the new age shelf of the religion section.

What did Jesus really say?

2012-02-17T08:07:00.000-05:00

The Five Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus (What Did Jesus Really Say?), by Robert Funk, Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar (oversize TPB, 553 pages, 1993, $5)

Have you heard of the Jesus Seminar? For six years, bible scholars of the Jesus Seminar "inventoried all the surviving ancient texts for words attributed to Jesus. They then examined those words in the several ancient languages in which they have been preserved. They produced a translation of all the gospels, known as the Scholars Version. And, finally, they studied, debated, and voted on each of the more than 1,500 sayings of Jesus in the inventory. The Five Gospels is a color-coded report of the results of those deliberations. It answers the question 'What did Jesus really say?' within a narrow range of historical probabilities."

The critics of all this complain the Seminar scholars were all liberals, of similar opinions. Whatever, this is quite an accomplishment.

For those unacquainted with liberal scholarship, the inclusion of Gospels Q and Thomas may be a new idea, perhaps even offensive. The idea of voting to determine what Jesus really might by itself be offensive. As I always say, read about it and make up your own mind. Look for this in the religion section. Avail. 2/22.

Doctor Brinkley and His "Eternal Youth" Goats

2012-02-16T18:37:00.000-05:00

The Roguish World of Doctor Brinkley, by Gerald Carson ( HC, 1960, $2)

Doctor John Brinkley "revived the old dream of eternal youth on a spacious scale, and devised a goat-gonad operation which, he promised, would make any oldster once again a marvel of sexual potency. Six thousand goats gave up their virility for his patients, netting the doctor twelve million dollars. He owned the most powerful radio station in North America, and had his own busy hospital. He was a guest at the White House, a 32nd degree Mason, and the owner of a vast fleet of Cadillacs, three yachts, and a palatial Texas estate." He even ran for Governor of Kansas, and almost won. Actually he would have won if he had entered the race early enough to have his name put on the ballot, instead of being a write-in candidate. Unfortunately he had done business through the US mail, and was arrested for federal mail fraud.

Amazing, just amazing! Look for this book along with the others.

The Cons of Philip Musica

2012-02-16T18:11:00.000-05:00

Magnificent Masquerade: The Strange Case of Dr. Coster and Mr. Musica, by Charles Keats (HC, 1964, $2)

Philip Musica had been "sentenced to Elmira Reformatory for a cheese swindle- his sentence commuted by no less a person than the President of the United States! Then there had been a human-hair hoax, which cost banks on three continents a million dollars. Given a suspended sentence, Philip Musica calmly crossed the Bridge of Sighs from the Tombs to the D.A.'s office, where he was hired as "William Johnson, Special Investigator" by the same D. A.'s staff that had prosecuted him."

From there he takes on the name Dr. Donald Coster, and builds up a drug manufacturing empire. He was even urged to run for President!

He made himself a fortune, "borrowed millions of dollars from banks on inventories that did not exist, stored in warehouses that did not exist, sent abroad in ships that did not exist. Wizardly transactions- a shipment to Australia by truck rolled Down Under, for example- were questioned by no one."

You would think these stories were fiction... but they aren't. Look for this book with the others.

The 12,000,000 Acre Land Swindle

2012-02-16T17:05:00.000-05:00

The Baron of Arizona: The Great 12-Million-Acre Land Swindle, by E. H. Cookridge (HC, 1967, weak spine, $1.50)

James Reavis' job was to handle land claims. Some of the ownership documents looked pretty questionable, which gave him the idea to forge his own. Eventually he got really good at this "other" job.

"He produced a claim to a gigantic property in Arizona and New Mexico, worth half a billion dollars in today's money, which had ostensibly been granted by the crown of Spain in the 18th century to one ' Don Miguel Nemecio Silva de Peralta y de la Cordoba.' To bolster his claim, he 'discovered' a direct descendant of the Peralta family and married her, calling himself thereafter Baron de Peralta y Cardoba; actually she was a part-Indian from California, upon whom he performed a Pygmalion act so successfully that he passed her off as genuine in the royal courts of Spain and England."

His land ownership claims were supported by senators and tycoons, and even the Southern Pacific Railroad itself. Over the years he made a fortune on rents he collected. When the Surveyor General of Arizona reported him as a fraud, Reavis immediately sued the US government for $11,000,000!

Truth sometimes is stranger than fact. Look for this in the box of fraud books, on the floor in front of the general non-fiction.

Frauds, Hoaxes, Conterfeiters, and Rogues

2012-02-16T16:27:00.001-05:00

Stories of frauds, hoaxes, conterfeiters and rogues,

especially-
The Gentleman Was a Thief: The Colorful Story of Arthur Barry, a 1920's Rogue, by Neil Hickey
( He stole an estimated $10,000,000 worth of jewelry!)

The Rascal and the Road, by Robert Crichton
(The continuing story of Ferdinand W. Demara, the Great Imposter)

The Art of the Faker: 3,000 Years of Deception, by Frank Arnau ($3)

Most of these are HCs, @ $2 each, and can be found on the floor of the general non-fiction section, in a box marked "blogged"

Will the Japanese Emperor Surrender?

2012-02-16T04:28:00.001-05:00

The Fall of Japan: A Chronicle of the End of an Empire, by William Craig (HC, 1997, $3.50)- Avail. soon, maybe the 22nd. (I have decided to reread it myself first)
During the final weeks of WWII Japan had to decide whether to surrender or fight on to the bitter end. The first atomic bomb had been dropped, with the mission going perfectly. Now it was The Fat Man's turn to be dropped over Nagasaki, and nothing went right. Among other things, there was a thick fog over the targets, all of them, and their fuel was low. Would they make it home?

The Emperor, the generals, and his cabinet were gathered to decide about surrender. Amazingly I felt compassion when Hirohito announced his wish that Japan surrender, with "I cannot bear to see my innocent people struggle any longer." For sure, not all of them were innocent, but a lot of them were.

Meanwhile a group of young officers had attempted to overthrow the government and continue the war. Of course the surrender did take place, but did you know the plane taking the Japanese delegation, and the surrender papers, back to Japan had to crash land in the ocean? Those delegates were not having a good day.

What did Admiral Perry's 1853 flag have to do with all this? And how, logistically, did the allies take over control of Japan? How did the arriving Americans feel, and what about the Japanese? This is all fascinating stuff. I know, because I ended up reading the whole book. I didn't plan to, but it was impossible to put down.

Look for this book in the WWII section.

Soseki Natsume's "I Am A Cat"

2012-02-15T22:02:00.001-05:00

I Am a Cat, by Soseki Natsume (PB, 1992, $1.50)- Avail. 2/17

"A nonchalant string of anecdotes and wisecracks, told by a fellow who doesn't have a name, and has never caught a mouse, and isn't much good for anything except watching human beings in action."- The New Yorker

In 1905 Soseki had meant to write only a short story, but his tale was so loved he wrote nine more about the cat and his master, a schoolteacher living in upper middle class Japanese society during the Meiji era. This book includes the translations of Soseki's first three chapters. Look for it in the PB fiction section, shelved under "s" for Soseki.

The White Nile

2012-02-15T08:02:00.002-05:00

The White Nile, by Alan Moorehead (oversize TPB, 1983, $3.50)- Avail. 2/17

Filled with numerous drawings and 21 color plates, this lushly illustrated history of the Egyptian/Sudan region covers from 1856 to 1900. Herodotus had looked for the source of the Nile, and failed. Nero also tried, and failed. Even as late as 1856 the center of Africa was still uncharted. The Nile was a mystery. "No one could explain why it was that it should rise and flow over its banks in the Nile Delta in September, the driest and hottest time of the year... nor how it was possible for the river to continue... for well over a thousand miles through one of the most frightful of all deserts without receiving a single tributary and hardly a drop of rain." The men who would followed the Nile to its beginning had to travel all the way to Lake Victoria, both by boat and by foot where the river was unnavigable.

This is also the story of the Sudan, which Egypt claimed from 1819 on. Mixed in this history of Egypt and the Sudan are the British, the Ottomans, and a Sudanese Islamic leader/ warrior named Mahdi. The British cared about the area because of the Suez Canal, the slave trade, Egypt's claim to the Sudan, and eventually the race by European countries to accumulate new colonies in Africa.

I had never heard of Mahdi's Muslim Revolt. At first the revolt was between Mahdi's Sudan Muslims and the Ottoman "sort-of" Muslims. Mahdi wanted to revive the true Muslim religion, and to liberate the Sudan. For awhile, from 1883 to 1898, he and his followers were successful. The British were arrogant, and thoroughly amazed that they continued to lose against him. Mahdi was so successful the British even withdrew for a time, because they could not afford the cost of sending a force large enough to defeat him.

During this time the Sudanese leader, Khalifa, ruled over a depopulating land. Continual wars, executions, the slave trade, endemic smallpox and syphilis, locusts, and famine killed about 75% of the Sudanese people! Even so, in 1898 Khalifa was able to raise an army of 50,000 to meet the British. This time, fighting against a crack British army and modern weapons, the Mahdis would lose. Britain would then control the Sudan until its independence in 1956. Of course, even since then Sudan has been a killing field.

This is both an uplifting and tragic tale. Look for this book in the African section.

Charles Dickens' Children

2012-02-15T05:12:00.000-05:00

The Children of Dickens, by Samuel McChord Crothers (HC, 1937, $8.50, which is 1/3 the internet price.)- Avail. 2/17

Beautiful book, with 10 wonderful color prints.

Crothers's first chapter, on Dickens himself, notes that though children are mentioned in Dickens' stories, they are "all mixed up with the older people". So if you want to read Dickens' stories to children, you can't. What Crothers has done is to tell the stories of Dickens' children in a form you CAN read to children.

Look for this book in the children's section.

Roller Coasters!!!!! SOLD

2012-02-15T03:22:00.002-05:00

Roller Coasters, by Scott Rutherford (oversized TPB, 2003, $4)- Avail. 2/17

Okay, I should probably confess to you that roller coasters make me queasy. Today I found out I even feel queasy looking at a book about roller coasters. But I know you all are much braver than I.

Probably the first roller coaster in North America was built by Josiah White in 1827. Well, actually what he built was a railroad to carry coal. Mules would haul up the empty cars to the mountain top. After coal was loaded into the cars, the cars would travel down the winding mountain path by gravity, the mules riding in their own cars. One afternoon some brave soul asked to ride down in a coal car, and a new entertainment was born. Tourists had to pay 50 cents to ride one way, a princely sum in 1827!

There are two basic types of roller coasters- ones with wood tracks and ones with steel tracks. (Except that some wood tracks have steel supports, and some steel ones have wood supports. Hmm.) The first adult steel track was built for Disneyland in 1959)

Steel coasters "offer a more controlled ride experience than the wooden variety. The precision with which they are designed and the tight tolerances applied to steel coast trains gives steel-track rides a relatively quiet, sanitized flavor, but at the same time it allows for a far more convoluted track plan, complete with vertical loops, barrel rolls, and other acrobatics..."

Heat, humidity, and especially wind make a difference in coaster speeds. If the winds are high enough they can even cause rollbacks (where a train doesn't make it over the top of the hill.) Riding a coaster during a light rain can make the coaster speed up. (Think of oil and water mixing on top a track.)

As to where you should sit, it depends. If you want a smooth ride, sit in the middle. If you want to experience the best view, or love floating low-G moments, sit in the front. If you want a wilder, whip-like ride, sit in the back. (Or, if you are like me, avoid sitting in one at all!)

The final chapter here includes pictures of the newest rides, but since this book is almost 10 years old there are probably even worse ones now... oops, what I meant to say was "wilder" ones. Look for this book on top the glass case in the front.

History of the Dominican Republic

2012-02-15T02:28:00.000-05:00

Quisqueya, A History of the Dominican Republic, by Selden Rodman (HC, 1964, ex-lib., 1964)

Quisqueya is the native name of the island containing both the Dominican Republic and Haiti. This book is mostly about the Dominican Republic.

The Dominican Republic is known to be a far better place to live in than Haiti, but that is only because Haiti is one of the world's worst... and that was before the earthquake struck. This book was written in 1964 when Trujillo had been assassinated, and Bosch overthrown. There is hope of better times to come. But in 1965 President Johnson sends in the Marines to keep the Dominican Republic from becoming "another Cuba". Oh, well.

Read here about the Dominican Republic's history from the coming of the Europeans to the overthrow of Bosch. Look for this in the Caribbean history section.

Boating: General stuff?

2012-02-15T02:17:00.000-05:00

Weather at Sea, by David Houghton (TPB, 1988, $1.50)

If you are going to be a top meteorologist at the British Met Office, it helps to have a doctorate from MIT. And if you are going to be a sailor, it helps to know something about weather. Houghton claims "...weather is not as fickle as it sometimes appears. There is an ordered sequence in the unfolding of a thunderstorm or the development and oscillations of a sea breeze. A fundamental understanding of the mechanisms will make you a better local forecaster..."

The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea, by Sebastian Junger (TPB, 1997, $1.50)

(I assume this story has a happy ending. After all who would kill off George Clooney?)

The wildest part here is this storm wasn't even considered a hurricane, "just" a northeaster. Having grown up in a suburb of Atlantic City, I know about northeasters, and have heard about hurricanes. Atlantic City is actually an island joined by causeways to the mainland. Causeways, for you landlubbers, are roads built over marshes, and they flood during storms. Translation, once the storm hits, you ain't going no where no how. Margate, where I lived, was 5 blocks wide, and when a hurricane came to town, the ocean level would rise, the bay would rise, and then the sewers would back up. So even if your house wasn't under water, you still had problems. The Perfect Storm's northeaster spawned waves 10 stories high, and winds 120 mph. Sure sounds like a hurricane to me. (I am not sure the Weather at Sea book would have helped these fishermen.)

Do-It-Yourself Improvement Projects: Upgrading for Increased Enjoyment and Enhanced Resale Value, edited by Keith Lawrence (HC, 1988, $2)

I was going to shelve this under home improvements, till I realized it went along with the other sailing books.

Sailing in 1895- Joshua Slocum SOLD

2012-02-15T01:54:00.001-05:00

Captain Joshua Slocum: The Adventures of America's Best Known Sailor, by Victor Slocum (TPB, 1993, $2.50)

Slocum led a boring life. He fished from Alaska, and from Honolulu. He traded with China. He was also the captain of the Northern Light, "which had two attempted mutinies on one voyage, and narrowly missed the Krakatoa eruption in the Sunda Strait." Then it was off to Brazil on a gun vessel to help put down a rebellion.

Of more minor note, he also sailed home from Brazil with his family in a homemade 35 by 8 foot canoe. (If my husband told me we were going 5000 miles in a homemade canoe, words would have been spoken, and they would not have been polite ones!)

Still bored, Slocum built "with his own hands a nine-ton yawl and sailed it single-handed around the world." This is the story of that voyage, told by his historian son.

By now you have figured out I was kidding about that "boring life" stuff.

Look for this in the sailing section.

Simulation of Discrete Stochastic Systems (1972)

2012-02-14T18:06:00.001-05:00

Simulation of Discrete Stochastic Systems, by Herbert Maisel (HC, 1972, $2, which is 1/3 the internet price)

OK, if you decide to buy this book, you probably know what discrete stochastic systems are. (Something having to do with mathematics and computers?)

So, look for it in the computer section.

Treaty of Versailles and the Road to WWII (7 CDs)

2012-02-14T17:55:00.000-05:00

Six Months that Changed the World: The Treaty of Versailles and the Road to WWII, by Margatet MacMillan (7 CDs, 2004, $5, note: the course book is missing)

Also included:
Excerpts from Select Titles in the Series
and
Ideas That Shaped Mankind: A Concise History of Human Thought (lectures 11-12)- probably an oops that was accidentally left in the set when it was donated.

An interesting bit of information: this author, a professor at the University of Toronto, is the granddaughter of former British PM David Lloyd George, one of the signers of the Treaty of Versailles.

Look for this in the WWI history section.

Illustrated Nostalgic magazines

2012-02-14T17:01:00.000-05:00

Those Were The Days (3 from 1972, each @$2.50, which is 1/3 the internet price)

Nostalgia Illustrated: The Pleasures of the Past (10 from 1974 and 1975, each @ $2, which is 1/3 the internet price)

Liberty: The Nostalgia Magazine (20 from 1971 through 1976, each @ $1)

See these in the reference section, in the box marked "blogged".

Sailing laughs!

2012-02-14T16:22:00.001-05:00

Sailing: A Dictionary for Landlubbers, Old Salts, and Armchair Drifters, by Henry Beard (TPB, 1981, $1.75)

"Sailing, 1. n. the fine art of getting wet and becoming ill while slowly going nowhere at great expense."

The Passionate Sailor, by Nat Philbrick (TPB, 1987, $1.75)

Still Wet Behind the Ears, by Lesley Black (HC, 1986, $1, spine is weak.)

Look for these in the sailing section, in a box marked "blog items" on the floor.

WW One's "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930)

2012-02-14T15:21:00.001-05:00

All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque (HC, 1930, $4, which is 1/3 the internet price)

I remember reading this in high school, and what an effect it had on me. Weeks afterward I was still thinking about it. The weird part was that this was in 1971, while US soldiers were still fighting in Vietnam. You would have thought a book about a long ago war wouldn't have mattered much. But it did. Was it that it is a masterpiece? Or because my class was to young to be part of the draft? Or because seeing pictures on the TV screen seemed too unreal? I have no answer. I just remember it did, and so much so that I have avoided re-reading it ever since.

The book was originally published in Germany in 1929. The American version also came out in 1929. Between its first American edition (June, 1929), and this edition (February, 1930), nineteen editions had been published! Wow!

Look for this in the classics section.

Khalid Hosseini's Second Novel

2012-02-07T15:56:00.000-05:00

A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini (HC, 2007, $3)

Khaled Hosseini, who wrote The Kite Runner, writes here of two Afghan generations brought together by wars- first the Soviet invasion, then the take-over by the Taliban, and finally the post-9/11 war, "where personal lives - the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness- are inextricable from the history playing out around them."

Thinking about all this makes my personal problems seem tiny, tiny, tiny in comparison. Look for this book in the fiction section.

Mystery Novels by Delacorta

2012-02-07T15:37:00.000-05:00

Nana
Luna
Lola

All are PB, English language translations published in 1984, priced at $1 each.

The author Delacorta's real name is Daniel Odier. He was born Swiss, studied in Paris and Rome, and wrote about music and art before he wrote two non-fiction books, one on Taoism, and one on William Burroughs, the Beat Generation writer. He then switched to writing novels, including these three, originally published in French ( 1979 to 1983).

These are not your usual mystery. If the introductory remarks are correct, Gorodish's wife, Alba, keeps getting kidnapped by various weirdos, who turn her into an insect. Or is it just that they dress her like an insect? Or that they make love to her like an insect? Feel free to read these books and let me know exactly what is going on here.

You can find these weird mysteries in the mystery section.

The Last Dickens

2012-02-07T15:09:00.000-05:00

The Last Dickens, by Matthew Pearl (TPB, 2009, $1.50)

"Boston, 1870.
When news of Charles Dickens's sudden death reaches his struggling American publisher, James Osgood sends his trusted clerk, Daniel Sand, to await the arrival of Dicken's unfinished final manuscript. But Daniel never returns, and when his body is discovered by the docks, Osgood must embark on a quest to find the missing end to the novel and unmask the killer. With Daniel's sister Rebecca at his side, Osgood races the clock through a dangerous web of opium dens, sadistic thugs, and literary lions to solve a genius's last mystery and save his own life- and the life of the woman he loves."

Dickens' death was real. His unfinished serial The Mystery of Edwin Drood was real.

This book, The Last Dickens, though, is not, but Matthew Pearl's writing and research into the period makes it feel real. You can find this book in the mystery section.

Poetry (Some of them are free!)

2012-02-03T08:48:00.000-05:00

I have just finished straightening and shelving the poetry section, also the books on writing, so feel free to come and check out the newly organized section. We really have some unique poetry books.

While sorting and shelving, there were a fair number of less than pristine copies of poetry and writing books that are now on the free shelves outside the store, and in the free area inside the store. Feel free to come in grab some freebies, and check out the rest of the store.

The Jewish German Patriot

2012-01-31T23:18:00.000-05:00

"Fritz Haber- a Nobel laureate in chemistry, a friend of Albert Einstein, a German Jew and World War I hero- may be the most important scientist you have never heard of. The Haber-Bosch process, which he invented at the turn of the twentieth century, revolutionized agriculture by converting nitrogen to fertilizer in quantities massive enough to feed the whole world. The invention has become an essential pillar for life on earth; some two billion people on our planet could not survive without it. Yet this same process supplied the German military with explosives during World War I, and Haber orchestrated Germany's use of an entirely new weapon- poison gas. Eventually, Haber's efforts led to Zyklon B, the gas later used to kill millions- including Haber's own relatives- in Nazi concentration camps."

Talk about truth being stranger than fiction....

Master Mind: The Rise and Fall of Fritz Haber,The Nobel Laureate Who Launched the Age of Chemical Warfare, by Daniel Charles (HC, 2005, $3.50)

Look for this in the biog. section, avail. 2/3.

Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman SOLD

2012-01-31T23:05:00.001-05:00

A Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman, by Lieutenant Colonel Charles W. Dryden USAF (Retired) (HC with DJ, fine condition both, autographed, 1997, $20, which is 1/3 the internet price.)

This one is from my own collection. I remember going downtown one summer to meet the pilot. It took a bit of walking around till I found the place where he was signing books, but, oh, it was worth it.

I had first learned of the 99th from a HBO movie. Of course Dad knew all about the 99th. He never failed to amaze me. Whenever I would find out something new about WW II, I would call him, and he would always know more about it than I did, even though I had just read up on it. I don't know why I was surprised. He was, after all, a historian.

I hear there is a new movie out about the 99th. It is supposed to be based on truth, but this book IS the truth. Come and celebrate an amazing group of men, who served under the amazing General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr..

I am not in awe of many people, but I am in awe of these.

Look for this book in the biog. section, avail. 2/3.

Historical Atlas (1956) SOLD

2012-01-31T22:21:00.003-05:00

Historical Atlas, by William R. Shepherd (HC, ex-lib., $5)

"Eighth Edition, 1956- This edition contains all maps of the Seventh Revised and Enlarged Edition and a special supplement of historical maps for the period since 1929 prepared by C. S. Hammond and Company."

Beautiful colored maps, some of them double fold-outs.

Look for this book in the reference section. (Note the "Sole Distributors" of this atlas were a tiny little company called Barnes and Noble, Inc.) Avail. 2/3.

Francis Dahl's Boston (1946)

2012-01-31T21:14:00.000-05:00

Francis W. Dahl was a cartoonist for the Boston Herold, starting in 1930.

Dahl's Boston (HC, 1946, $4, which is 1/3 the internet price)
What! More Dahl? (HC, 1944, $2.50)

Ogden Nash Poems

2012-01-31T20:30:00.000-05:00

Many Long Years Ago (HC, 1945, $1, as is)
Good Intentions (HC, 1942, $2)
The Private Dining Room (HC with DJ, 1953, $4.50, which is 1/3 the internet price.)

To My Valentine (From Good Intentions)

More than a catbird hates a cat,
Or a criminal hates a clue,
Or the Axis hates the United States,
That 's how much I love you.

I love you more than a duck can swim,
And more than a grapefruit squirts,
I love you more than gin rummy is a bore,
And more than a toothache hurts.

As a shipwrecked sailor hates the sea,
Or a juggler hates a shove,
As a hostess detests unexpected guests,
That's how much you I love...

Not Ben Hur!

2012-01-31T16:25:00.000-05:00

The Prince of India, or Why Constantine Fell, by Lew Wallace (two HC volumes, 1893, weak spines, $4 for the set of two)

How many of you know the story of Ben Hur? Long Before Charles Heston played him, the novel was a smash,

but this book is not Ben Hur, just by the same author.

Wallace was a lawyer, a Union General, and the Governor of the New Mexico Territory. Ben Hur, published in 1873, was his second novel. I was amazed to find out that it was Wallace, while governor, that supposedly offered Billy the Kid a pardon in exchange for his services as an informant against leaders of the Lincoln County War. Wallace's superiors, it is rumoured, nixed the plan, and Billy went back to his outlaw ways.

Ben Hur has always fascinated me. The 1950s movie was directed by William Wyler. Amazingly he had been one of 30 assistant directors of the 1925 film, and the one to direct its chariot race. The story goes that he only wanted to direct the new chariot scene, but was told he could only do that if he would direct the whole film. This might be true, but I am sure the $350,000 (the highest salary for a director at that time) and 8% of the film's gross had something to do with his acceptance.

What does ANY of this have to do with The Prince of India? Not a thing. I have actually read the first volume and it stinks. But feel free to check it out for yourself. Look for these volumes in the fiction section. (I refuse to shelve it with the classics, even if Ben Hur probably should be.)

Fairy Tale Illustrations by Arthur Szyk

2012-01-31T15:50:00.000-05:00

Actually this book is not about Arthur Szyk's color illustrations, but it should be. I am sure the translation is great, but it is the illustrations that amaze me. There are ten color ones, and many more black and white ones. I would NEVER suggest buying a book to remove the prints for framing, but IF I did, this would be the book. How did the colors stay so vibrant?

Andersen's Fairy Tales, by Hans Christian Andersen (HC, 1945, $3.50, which is 1/3 the internet price)

These prints were so beautiful I had to check out this artist. As I thought, he was special. His works had been exhibited all over Europe, the US, and Israel. He was most well know for his caricatures of Axis leaders. Per Wikipedia, his work "is characterized in its formal aspect by its rejection of modernism and drawing on the traditions of medieval and renaissance painting, especially illuminated manuscripts from those periods. Unlike most caricaturists, Szyk always showed great attention to the colouristic effects and details of his works." His art was rediscovered in the 1990s.

If you like these prints, you should see his full page illuminated manuscript ones!

Look for this wondrous book in the children's section. And enjoy!

Philippino Rice Peasant Movement

2012-01-31T02:49:00.000-05:00

Struggle: A Life in the Peasant Movement, by Felicisimo "Ka Memong" G. Patayan (TPB, 1998, $2)

In 1998 Ka Memong was 85, and still fighting to help the small farmers of the Philippines gain control over their lives, and their farming. He headed the organization MASIPAG, a partnership between scientists and rice farmers. These peasants needed, not just new technology, but better education and scientific information on food systems. MASIPAG also worked to break the powers of both international and local rice cartels.

Look for this book in the Philippine section, avail. 2/1.

Slesinger, Marxism and Education (1937)

2012-01-31T02:09:00.000-05:00

Education and the Class Struggle: A Critical Examination of the Liberal Educator's Program for Social Reconstruction, by Zalman Slesinger (HC, spine is loose, $4, which is 1/3 the internet price.)

Slesinger did not lack courage. This doctoral dissertation needed approval from the very people his dissertation attacked. Slesinger even asked one of them, William Kilpatrick, to write the introduction. Amazingly he agreed, and asked the reader to make an honest study of the book's points, because, "This path of obedience to intelligent study is the only reliable road all know. May all have the wisdom to search out and follow this way. Nothing else is safe." (Am I crazy to think no one would now be this generous?)

Slesinger's theories are pure Marxism- The way out of the depression is through "collectivism, economic, political and cultural." Democracy, and legal measures will not solve anything. ("Democratic liberty is the result of the repudiation of democratic methods.") Force, perhaps even violence, will be necessary. Key will be the organization and radicalization of labor, of the unemployed, of farmers, of the middle class, of the intellectuals, and of students and youth. A revolutionary ideology must be developed for them to have faith in, and to follow.

In particular, "the school system must be itself revolutionized... We are now at the crossroads, sharply turning to the right or to the left. We must choose the direction which we are to take. Fascism is to the right and collectivism is to the left... The interests of civilization and of the masses are on the left."

Well, as I said earlier, he was of the Marxist faith. Look for this book in the philosophy section, avail. 2/1.

PS: I sure can't wait to tell my Ohio farming cousins that Marxism is the solution to all their problems!

Reasons to Abolish the IMF

2012-01-30T07:06:00.000-05:00

10 Reasons to Abolish the IMF and World Bank, by Kevin Danaher (PB, 2001, $1.50)

What a difference 10 years makes. Now no one is asking that the IMF be abolished. Indeed, many in the world want to enlarge the IMF as a way to deal with the European mess. There are other ironies here. Many third world countries are doing better economically than the developed ones.Their economies have become more diversified, and their balance sheets look better. Some of them are even having their credit ratings increased, while many countries in Europe, as well as the USA, have been downgraded.

This doesn't mean that the points of this book are inaccurate, just that the world's needs are more pressing. But when will it be a good time to look at the problems with the IMF? Ah.... Isn't that the question.

The IMF ,though, had listened to its critics. The IMF requirement for assistance had loosened somewhat, and it had taken a more consulting role, or at least it did until Greece "happened". As always, time will tell. Look for this book in the economics section, avail. 2/1.

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