Hardcover. NY, Pantheon Books, 1st, 1985, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, price-clipped dust jacket, 402 pages. SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR on the title page. Worster presents a picture of a technological empire based on vast water projects, designed by engineers and controlled by a small managerial elite. This reality, he argues, considerably limited the West's fabled freedom, the claims of promoters, hack writers, and self-serving local historians notwithstanding . this is a major theoretical work, well-argued and generally well-written, a must for any bookshelf that seeks thoroughness in matters western. Chapter five "The Grapes of Wealth," is focused on irrigation in the Central Valley of California and the Central Valley Project. Donald Worster (born 1941) is a prize-winning American academic, one of the founders of, and leading figures in, the field of environmental history. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Nevada City NV, Underwood Books, 1st, 2010, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 112 pages illustrated in color. Showcases the popular period illustration which prefigured and helped create the violent visual language in today's popular aboveground cinema, comic books, and ultra-violent multi-million copy video games. Featuring full-page illustrations by pulp artists Walter Baumhofer, Rafael de Soto, Margaret Brundage, Jerome Rozen, Virgil Finlay, Norman Saunders, H.J. Ward, Harold McCauley, Austin Briggs, Emsh and others, this beautifully produced full-color collection documents Depression-era masculine violence, in fantasy and reality, as depicted on the covers of popular literature. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Cambridge MA, The MIT Press, 1st, 2009, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 329 pages. The chapters include: the social economic & political life of sidewalks; construction & evolution of sidewalks; parades festivals & celebrations; disruption & confrontation; the right to the sidewalk; sidewalk as space of dissent; sidewalk as shelter; sidewalk as urban forest. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Hoboken NJ, John Wiley & Sons, 1st, 2007, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, glossy pictorial boards, 210 pages illustrated in color and b&w. Utilizing a cross-disciplinary approach that makes the information relevant to architects, interior designers, landscape architects, graphic designers, and industrial engineers alike, this book arms you with the skills needed to apply a standard, proven design process to large and small projects in an efficient and systematic manner. Clean copy.

Softcover. Princeton NJ, Princeton University Press, 1st US, 2018, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 276 pages, b&w illustrations. Wry political fairy tales from a nineteenth-century politician that speak to our current times. Edouard Laboulaye (1811-1883), one of nineteenth-century France's most prominent politicians and an instrumental figure in establishing the Statue of Liberty, was also a prolific writer of fairy tales. Smack-Bam, or The Art of Governing Men brings together sixteen of Laboulaye's most artful stories in new translations. Filled with biting social commentary and strong notions of social justice, these rediscovered tales continue to impart lessons today. Inspired by folktales from such places as Estonia, Germany, Iceland, and Italy, Laboulaye's deceptively entertaining stories explore the relationships between society and the ruling class. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Santa Barbara CA, Black Sparrow Press, 4th pr., 1976, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover in an acetate dust jacket. Bright clean copy. 6 x 9, 153 pages, b/w author photo, black endpapers.

Softcover. Princeton NJ, Princeton University Press, 1st, 1995, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 443 pages. In the first political analysis of unemployment in a socialist country, Susan Woodward argues that the bloody conflicts that are destroying Yugoslavia stem not so much from ancient ethnic hatreds as from the political and social divisions created by a failed socialist program to prevent capitalist joblessness. Under Communism the concept of socialist unemployment was considered an oxymoron; when it appeared in postwar Yugoslavia, it was dismissed as illusory or as a transitory consequence of Yugoslavia's unorthodox experiments with worker-managed firms. In Woodward's view, however, it was only a matter of time before countries in the former Soviet bloc caught up with Yugoslavia, confronting the same unintended consequences of economic reforms required to bring socialist states into the world economy. Clean copy.

Softcover. University of Washington Press, 1st pbk., 1977, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 365 pages. Provides an over-all picture of the least studied and most obscured part of Balkan history, the Ottoman period. The book begins with the early history of the Ottomans and with their establishment in Europe, describing the basic Muslim and Turkish features of the Ottoman state. The author goes on in subsequent sections to show how these features influenced every aspect of life in the European lands administered directly by the Ottomans (the "core" provinces) and left a permanent mark on states that were vassals of or paid tribute to the empire. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Mysterious Press, 1st, 2022, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 372 pages, b&w illustrations. There has never been a full-length biography of Mickey Spillane, the most popular and influential mystery writer of his era--until now. Beginning in 1947 with I, the Jury, and continuing with his next six novels, Spillane quickly amassed a readership in the tens of millions, becoming the best-selling novelist in the history of American publishing. Surrounded by controversy for the overt violence and suggestive sexual content of his iconic Mike Hammer private eye novels, Spillane was loathed by critics but beloved by his readers. There is, however, more to Spillane's life than the books. He also starred as Hammer in a movie, was a circus performer, worked with the FBI in capturing a notorious criminal, and starred in Miller Light beer commercials that were so popular they ran for a quarter of a century. Max Allan Collins became Spillane's friend and collaborator, continuing the Mike Hammer series for years after the author's death, building upon unfinished manuscripts the writer left behind. Now, with co-author James Traylor, Collins has produced the first comprehensive and authoritative profile of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Rizzoli, 1st, 1990, Book: Very Good, Hardcover, 191 pages. Hardcover. Dust jacket unclipped. Color illustrations throughout. Ginn, a New Zealander who spent three years traveling through the regions covered here, depicts in photographs and explains in brief captions dance traditions in her own country, Australia, the Solomon Islands, India, Burma, Thailand, Nepal and Indonesia. Dust jacket has a touch of moisture damage to back. Otherwise clean inside and out. DOMESTIC SHIPPING ONLY.

Softcover. NY, M. Knoedler & Co., 1st, 1965, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, stapled wrappers, 53 pages illustrated in color and b&w. Published on the occasion of the exhibition held from October 12-November 6, 1965 featuring works by Patrick Henry Bruce, Joseph Stella, Morgan Russell, Andrew Dasburg, and others. Clean copy.

Softcover. NY, Aperture Books, 1st, 1987, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, oblong format, 106 pages. "A testament o the regenerative power of the human spirit, Taking Refuge in L.A. explores the experiences of the Vietnamese Buddhist refugees in America. In the tradition of great documentary photographers, Don Farber shares an intimate view of the Vietnamese people and their spiritual way of life. Author Rick Fields illuminates the tragic and moving history of Vietnamese Buddhists, both before, during, and after the Vietnam War, focusing on their courageous attempt to sustain their rich cultural and spiritual heritage in America." Clean copy.

Hardcover. Portland OR, Timber Press, 1st, 2009, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 277 pages, illustrated in color. Ornamental grass expert John Greenlee creates a new model for homeowners and gardeners. For Greenlee, a meadow isn't a random assortment of messy, anonymous grasses. Rather, it is a shimmering mini-ecosystem, in which regionally appropriate grasses combine with colorful perennials to form a rich tapestry that is friendly to all life -- with minimal input of water, time, and other scarce resources. Kids and pets can play in complete safety, and birds and butterflies flock there. A prairie style planting is a place you want to be. With decades of experience as a nurseryman and designer, John Greenlee is the perfect guide. He details all the practicalities of site preparation, plant selection, and maintenance; particularly valuable are his explanations of how ornamental grasses perform in different climates and areas. Gorgeous photography by Saxon Holt visually illustrates the message with stunning examples of meadow gardens from across the country. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Knopf, 2nd pr., 1976, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 270 pages. The final Lew Archer mystery, in which the detective investigates a missing painting and uncovers buried secrets that echo the violence of the past. Clean copy.

Hardcover. UK, Osprey Military Books, 1st, 1999, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, brown cloth with gilt lettering on spine, 160 pages. The Boer War devastated the South African economy and left a legacy of bitterness. It saw the invention of the concentration camp and a new style of guerilla warfare. This history of the campaign includes artwork of maps, weapons and uniforms, with contemporary photography from the period. Clean copy. No dust jacket.

Softcover. Princeton NJ, Princeton University Press, 1st US, 2020, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 187 pages, b&w illustrations. A collection of radical political fairy tales-some in English for the first time-from one of the great female practitioners of the genre Hermynia Zur Muhlen (1883-1951), one of the twentieth century's great political writers, was not seemingly destined for a revolutionary, unconventional literary career. Born in Vienna to an aristocratic Catholic family, Zur Muhlen married an Estonian count. But she rebelled, leaving her upper-class life to be with the Hungarian writer and Communist Stefan Klein, and supporting herself through translations and publications. Altogether, Zur Muhlen wrote thirty novels, mysteries, and story collections, and translated around 150 works, including those of Upton Sinclair, John Galsworthy, and Edna Ferber. A wonderful new addition to the Oddly Modern Fairy Tales series, The Castle of Truth and Other Revolutionary Tales presents English readers with a selection of Zur Muhlen's best political fairy tales, some translated from German for the first time. Clean copy.

Softcover. Ann Arbor MI, University of Michigan Press, reprint, 2002, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 316 pages. The first known mystery written by an African-American, set in 1930s Harlem. Rudolph Fisher, one of the principal writers of the Harlem Renaissance, weaves an intricate story of a native African king, who, after receiving a degree from Harvard University, settles into Harlem in the 1930s. He becomes a "conjure-man," a fortune-teller, a mysterious figure who remains shrouded in darkness while his clients sit directly across from him, singly bathed in light. It is in this configuration that one of these seekers of the revelation of fate discovers he is speaking to a dead man. Thus a complex mystery begins, involving suspects and characters who are vividly and richly portrayed, and who dramatically illuminate for the reader a time, a place, and a people. Clean copy.

Softcover. NY, Pantheon Books, 1st US, 1983, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 301 pages. The classic study of the life of the nobility at the royal court of France, especially under Louis XIV. Paper tanning slightly, clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Julian Messner, 1st, 1963, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover in a edgeworn, price-clipped dust jacket, 190 pages, b&w frontis photos. The biography of the colorful pitcher for the 1930's Saint Louis Cardinals. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Walburg Pers, 1st, 2003, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 192 pages illustrated in color and b&w. A study about the development of a company founded in Amsterdam in the Dutch Golden Age. The VOC, as it was called, was a joint venture company of the Dutch in controlling trade in the world. This scientific paper is one of the main references in terms of research on VOC History. Clean copy.

Hardcover. UK, White Owl/Pen & Sword, 20231st, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 191 pages, b&w photos. Charlie Chaplin's career has been described, critiqued, and scrutinized. There are book-length studies on Chaplin's music hall career, his career at Keystone Studios and the Mutual Studios. Somehow, his tenure with First National studios, however, has been largely neglected, even though it was during this several-year contractual time period that Chaplin built and occupied his own studio for the first time, that he attempted and succeeded in filming a comedy feature (The Kid) and that he helped to set up United Artists, an organization that protected the salaries and creative freedom of actors in Hollywood. This period in Chaplin's story is especially interesting because such landmark moments are accompanied by Chaplin's first marriage and divorce, the death of his first child, his friendship with French silent film comedian Max Linder, World War I and the role he would play in it, and the production and release of several unsuccessful films that marked Chaplin's first creative blockage - one that threatened his future career. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Alfred A. Knopf, 2nd pr., 2023, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 432 pages. James Ellroy--Demon Dog of American Letters--goes straight to the tragic heart of 1962 Hollywood with a wild riff on the Marilyn Monroe death myth in an astonishing, behind-the-headlines crime epic. Ellroy dissects 1960s LA, the failing Hollywood studio system, the American addiction to porn and drugs, our willingness to defame and dethrone and murder, and in doing so writes his most relevant novel in years. Clean copy.

Softcover. Philadelphia, J B Lippincott, 1st, 1975, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 103 pages. Edited by Harold M Hyman. Clean copy.

Softcover. Stanford CA, Stanford University Press, 1st pbk., 1994, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 473 pages, b&w illustrations. This book is the first full analysis of the gentry in the early modern period. It offers a synthesis of the recent specialist work on this key social and political group, but will also provide a distinctive approach to its subjects through the use of the texts and artifacts by which the gentry sought to fashion themselves. Clean, bright copy.