The Story of Ernie Pyle, by Lee G. Miller (HC, 1950, $3)
Ernie Pyle was a great man, and a great reporter, but if you are not of the WWII generation you probably don't know his name. I am a boomer, and I had heard his name, but that was about it until my dad went into a nursing home. Once I realized he could comprehend, and even remember what I read to him, I started to read and read to him. Sometimes I read long after the visiting hours were over, and my voice was hoarse. Those times are still some of my most precious memories.
This all started with Treasure Island, which Dad wanted me to read to him on Christmas, even though I wanted to read the Bible to him. Hey, he was a minister. And it was Christmas. But no, he wanted Treasure Island. (I guess he might have already been acquainted with the nativity passages.) At any rate, it started there, but it continued into books about WWII. Did he ever like to hear about WWII! And that is where Ernie Pyle comes into the story. Ernie was a middle age reporter who tagged along with the advancing troops, and wrote about it for the folks back home. Of course it was partly propaganda, as the stuff he wrote was funny, and war isn't funny, but his writing still feels real. I somehow felt connected to those "boys" over there. Ernie always gave the home addresses of the boys he talked to, addresses right down to the street number. Dad and I followed Ernie from the invasion of Africa, to the taking of the Pacific islands. His last book was titled "The Final Chapter", and I knew how it ended. As the pages became few, I knew his death by a Japanese sniper was close. For over 60 years this man had been dead, but Dad and I still grieved his passing.
The Story of Ernie Pyle is his biography. Read it, and read Ernie's actual writings. Even if you don't have a dad like me, he was still something special. Look for this in the biography section, avail. 1/4.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Mandela's Speeches, 1990 ***SOLD***
Nelson Mandela Speeches 1990: 'Intensify the Stuggle to Abolish Apartheid' (74 page pamphlet, 1990, $1.50)
After thirty years, on February 2, 1990, Africa unbanned the African National Congress. Their leader, Nelson Mandela, was released from prison 9 days later. He had been imprisoned since 1962.
Until I wrote the above I don't think it had hit me how long Mandela had really been in prison. If my subtraction is right, that means he was there for over 35 years. It means he was in prison since when I was 7 years old, and since Kennedy was president. As I write this, some of the reality of it all sets in, and I feel even more in awe of him than I did before. (Internet information disagrees with the pamphlet's claim, and states Mandela was only in prison for 27 years. Whatever the actual years, it was still more than a quarter of a century, under horrid conditions.)
These seven speeches are all from the early 1990 period. The publisher is a Marxist one, but I doubt it makes a difference here. Look for this pamphlet in the South African section, avail. 1/4.
After thirty years, on February 2, 1990, Africa unbanned the African National Congress. Their leader, Nelson Mandela, was released from prison 9 days later. He had been imprisoned since 1962.
Until I wrote the above I don't think it had hit me how long Mandela had really been in prison. If my subtraction is right, that means he was there for over 35 years. It means he was in prison since when I was 7 years old, and since Kennedy was president. As I write this, some of the reality of it all sets in, and I feel even more in awe of him than I did before. (Internet information disagrees with the pamphlet's claim, and states Mandela was only in prison for 27 years. Whatever the actual years, it was still more than a quarter of a century, under horrid conditions.)
These seven speeches are all from the early 1990 period. The publisher is a Marxist one, but I doubt it makes a difference here. Look for this pamphlet in the South African section, avail. 1/4.
Monday, January 2, 2012
"Grandpa's Magic Drawer"
Grandpa's Magic Drawer, by Pamela D. Kopen, M.D. (oversize HC children's book, 1992, Autographed, $6, which is 1/3 the internet price.)
For me, there were two magic drawers. Both Mom Mom and Pop Pop had antique desks, and both had wonderful top drawers filled with lots of strange stuff, all of which I was allowed to play with. (I wasn't supposed to go into the lower drawers, but that was OK with me. That other stuff was boring.) Come to think of it, my dad had an interesting desk drawer too. When I was sorting through his stuff, getting the house ready to sell, I found all kinds of goodies there too. This was stuff I hadn't seen in decades, or even stuff I couldn't identify, and at age 52 I thought I had seen it all.
A really cool part of this book is the little illustration the author drew next to her autograph.This book just cries to be taken home. Look for it on top of the glass case in the front, avail. 1/4.
For me, there were two magic drawers. Both Mom Mom and Pop Pop had antique desks, and both had wonderful top drawers filled with lots of strange stuff, all of which I was allowed to play with. (I wasn't supposed to go into the lower drawers, but that was OK with me. That other stuff was boring.) Come to think of it, my dad had an interesting desk drawer too. When I was sorting through his stuff, getting the house ready to sell, I found all kinds of goodies there too. This was stuff I hadn't seen in decades, or even stuff I couldn't identify, and at age 52 I thought I had seen it all.
A really cool part of this book is the little illustration the author drew next to her autograph.This book just cries to be taken home. Look for it on top of the glass case in the front, avail. 1/4.
Ormond McGill and Stage Hypnotism
Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism, by Ormand McGill (spiral softcover, 1947, $10, which is 1/3 the internet price.)
Gosh, do I love this blogging job. These books come in as donations, and I get to sort through them to pull out the interesting ones. Stage hypnotism, I thought, now that is interesting, and who is this McGill fellow?
Turns out that he was really someone quite something. Even today he is considered to be the Dean of American Hypnotists. He started out taking a correspondence course in magic, then studied psychology, art and advertising in college. Eventually he became a very famous hypnotherapist, and an early expert in Eastern mysticism, meditation, wisdom and healing. Look him up on Amazon and there are CDs, DVDs, and many of his books for sale. Look him up on Google, and you can watch videos of his performances. He died in 2005, and was teaching right up to the week he died.
This book is one of his classics. Note the "For Magicians Only" written on the title page. There are over 300 pages here, filled with diagrams and step by step instruction on how to do hypnotism on individuals, and even on the whole audience.
Check out the chapter "Sensational Stunts", where a volunteer is made rigid, then lifted on top of two chair backs. McGill can then either get up and stand on the volunteer, or use a sledge hammer to break a rock on the volunteer's chest. Mind you, that volunteer is still stretched out on those two chair backs. Can this stuff really be real?
What I doubt is still done is a "Pins Through the Flesh Test", where a sharp needle and thread are pushed through the subjects cheek and out his mouth. McGill does caution,"it is always possible to injure the small nerves in the cheek" (NO KIDDING!)
All in all, one heck of one strange book, by one strange man. It is hard for me to do the transition from him as a magician, to him as a hypnotherapist. What do you think? Look for this book on the new non-fiction table, avail. 1/4. (Later: magic)
Gosh, do I love this blogging job. These books come in as donations, and I get to sort through them to pull out the interesting ones. Stage hypnotism, I thought, now that is interesting, and who is this McGill fellow?
Turns out that he was really someone quite something. Even today he is considered to be the Dean of American Hypnotists. He started out taking a correspondence course in magic, then studied psychology, art and advertising in college. Eventually he became a very famous hypnotherapist, and an early expert in Eastern mysticism, meditation, wisdom and healing. Look him up on Amazon and there are CDs, DVDs, and many of his books for sale. Look him up on Google, and you can watch videos of his performances. He died in 2005, and was teaching right up to the week he died.
This book is one of his classics. Note the "For Magicians Only" written on the title page. There are over 300 pages here, filled with diagrams and step by step instruction on how to do hypnotism on individuals, and even on the whole audience.
Check out the chapter "Sensational Stunts", where a volunteer is made rigid, then lifted on top of two chair backs. McGill can then either get up and stand on the volunteer, or use a sledge hammer to break a rock on the volunteer's chest. Mind you, that volunteer is still stretched out on those two chair backs. Can this stuff really be real?
What I doubt is still done is a "Pins Through the Flesh Test", where a sharp needle and thread are pushed through the subjects cheek and out his mouth. McGill does caution,"it is always possible to injure the small nerves in the cheek" (NO KIDDING!)
All in all, one heck of one strange book, by one strange man. It is hard for me to do the transition from him as a magician, to him as a hypnotherapist. What do you think? Look for this book on the new non-fiction table, avail. 1/4. (Later: magic)
Pocket Library of the World's Essential Knowledge
Pocket Library of the World's Essential Knowledge, by Funk and Wagnalls (small HC, 1929, 9 volumes of a set of 10, $5 for the set of 9)
We are missing the eighth volume (Part II of literature), so the set is not complete.
But what we do have are these 9 cute little hardcovers on:
History, Science, Philosophy, Literature and Business.
Look for these in the sets section, avail. 1/4.
We are missing the eighth volume (Part II of literature), so the set is not complete.
But what we do have are these 9 cute little hardcovers on:
History, Science, Philosophy, Literature and Business.
Look for these in the sets section, avail. 1/4.
Che Guevara
Che Guevara, by David Sandison (oversize TPB, ?, $3)
As I skimmed this book, I pondered the question of who Che really was, and what did I think of him. I had learned a lot. That he liked Faulkner and Verne. That he was a medical doctor. That he was Castro's second in command, and eventually even the head of the Cuban Bank. That his quests to bring Marxism to the Congo and to Bolivia failed. And that his picture on various stuff, including bikinis, sells almost as well as Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. So what do I make of all this? He was probably admirable, because he fought for the rights of the poor. He was evil, because he wished nuclear missiles had been used against American cities. He is to be thought of both as a revolutionary, and as an icon adopted by the capitalistic masses. He read both Marx and Robert Frost. He was a man of many layers. Read this book, and come to your own conclusions. Look for it on the new non-fiction table, avail. 1/4. (Later: biog. section)
As I skimmed this book, I pondered the question of who Che really was, and what did I think of him. I had learned a lot. That he liked Faulkner and Verne. That he was a medical doctor. That he was Castro's second in command, and eventually even the head of the Cuban Bank. That his quests to bring Marxism to the Congo and to Bolivia failed. And that his picture on various stuff, including bikinis, sells almost as well as Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. So what do I make of all this? He was probably admirable, because he fought for the rights of the poor. He was evil, because he wished nuclear missiles had been used against American cities. He is to be thought of both as a revolutionary, and as an icon adopted by the capitalistic masses. He read both Marx and Robert Frost. He was a man of many layers. Read this book, and come to your own conclusions. Look for it on the new non-fiction table, avail. 1/4. (Later: biog. section)
Indridason's Icelandic Mystery
Jar City: A Reykjavik Thriller, by Arnaldur Indridason (HC, 2005, $3)
Actually, since the author's name is Icelandic, the title of this blog should read, "Arnaldur's Icelandic Mystery", but since most people, including until recently myself, wouldn't know that, I listed it the other way.
Arnaldur's crime novels have been translated into 20 languages, and more recently into English. In 2003 his novels held the top 5 spots on the Icelandic best seller lists. Now if that isn't something!
Wait till you find out what the Jar City is! I, myself, think the novel is something special, and plan to check out his other books. Look for this book in the mystery section, avail. 1/4.
Actually, since the author's name is Icelandic, the title of this blog should read, "Arnaldur's Icelandic Mystery", but since most people, including until recently myself, wouldn't know that, I listed it the other way.
Arnaldur's crime novels have been translated into 20 languages, and more recently into English. In 2003 his novels held the top 5 spots on the Icelandic best seller lists. Now if that isn't something!
Wait till you find out what the Jar City is! I, myself, think the novel is something special, and plan to check out his other books. Look for this book in the mystery section, avail. 1/4.
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