biography

Hardcover. New York , W. W. Norton & Company, 1st, 2010, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 271 pages, illustrated throughout in color and b&w. Light shelf-wear to dust jacket, else a clean, tight copy.

Hardcover. Berkeley, University of California Press, 3rd pr., 2018, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 279 pages, b&w photos. Sophisticated Giant presents the life and legacy of tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon (1923-1990), one of the major innovators of modern jazz. In a context of biography, history, and memoir, Maxine Gordon has completed the book that her late husband began, weaving his "solo" turns with her voice and a chorus of voices from past and present. Reading like a jazz composition, the blend of research, anecdote, and a selection of Dexter's personal letters reflects his colorful life and legendary times. It is clear why the celebrated trumpet genius Dizzy Gillespie said to Dexter, "Man, you ought to leave your karma to science." Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Sotheby's, 1988, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, lots # 501- 618. The jewels and personal possessions of the Honorable Clare Boothe Luce, (1903-1987). Editor, playwright, Congresswoman, war correspondent, ambassador and more, Luce was one of the most versatile and accomplished women of her time. A biography and photos of Luce are included, along with photos and descriptions of 618 lots of jewelry, ornamented boxes, and other precious objects that she had collected. Prices realize list laid in. Clean copy.

Hardcover. London, Hogarth Press, Reprint, 1967, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a dust jacket. 206 pages. Ex-library copy with minimal marking. Clean, tight copy.

Hardcover. Boston, Little Brown, 1st, 1987, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 162 pages, b&w photos. Biography of the producer who made four great movies: On the Waterfront; African Queen; Bridge on the River Kwai; and Lawrence of Arabia and lots of mediocrities. Most successful when he assembled talent and let them work, he became controlling and destructive. Very good in a bright dust jacket.

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.

Softcover. New York, Aperture, 1st, 2001, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover. In original shrink wrap, spotless and tight. Poet, scholar, philosopher, and master of Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche led a life of profound dedication to spiritual enlightenment and teaching. During the final fourteen years of his life his personal assistant was Matthieu Ricard. Together they traveled throughout Tibet, Bhutan, India, and Nepal, returning to the places of Khyentse Rinpoche's youth: his birthplace in Eastern Tibet; the monastery of Shechen which he had entered at the age of eleven; and the retreats where he spent years in meditation and study. At every stop on his journey, Khyentse Rinpoche was welcomed with elaborate ceremonies and outpourings of devotion. Ricard's deeply personal photographs of this journey are enhanced by a biographical narrative that is interspersed with extensive passages from the writings and teachings of Khyentse Rinpoche. Together, these images and texts form an inspiring portrait of one of the great spiritual leaders and teachers of our time. Many masters of Tibetan Buddhism studied with Khyentse Rinpoche, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who regarded him as his principal instructor in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

Hardcover. Seattle, University of Washington Press, 1st, 1984-09-01, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 316 pages, b&w illustrations. Light edgewear and rubbing o dust jacket. Small stain to fore edge, else a clean, tight copy.

Hardcover. Boston, David R. Godine, 1st, 2000, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 273 pages, oblong hardcover illustrated in color and b&w. Frank Benson, a pivotal artist of the American Impressionist movement had three great loves in his long and productive life: his family, his art, and the sporting life. As a boy, Benson dreamed of being an ornithological illustrator. In mid-life, after an extremely successful career as a portraitist, he returned to the wildfowl and sporting subjects that were his lifelong passion. Over the next forty years, in etching, lithography, watercolor, and oil and wash, he portrayed birds beloved since childhood, scenes of his hunting and fishing expeditions, and still lives of incomparable delicacy. Whether painting a hunter setting out decoys, a wash of geese by moonlight, a watercolor of a companion poised to gaff a salmon, or an etching of a group of ducks silently gliding in for a landing, Benson conveyed the joy and beauty of a sportsman's life.

Softcover. New Lebanon NY, Omega Publications, 1st, 2007, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 234 pages, b&w photos. Everything about Noor Inayat Khan was extraordinary. A great-great-great granddaughter of Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore, she was born in Moscow to an American mother and an Indian Sufi Muslim father. Due to the unrest in Russia the family moved to London and from there to France where she spent the happiest years of her life studying music, child psychology and writing children's books. In 1940, her father having deserted the family and died in India years before, the family moved once again to England where Noor was trained as a wireless operator with the aim of sending her to German-occupied France to join up with the resistance. Noor was small and delicate, emotional, imaginative, shy, easily flustered and distracted. On the other hand there was her steely determination to serve her country, the desperate need for wireless operators and her perfect French. She was sent on her mission in June 1943. Her biography contains all the elements of an exciting spy novel but it was horrific and deadly reality. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, David McKay, 2nd pr., 1971, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 247 pages. For Gibbons the good life is sharing & enjoying nature & maintaining an environment where natural thing can flourish. Camping without polluting or plundering. Memorable journeys into the wild. Creative specific solutions to ecological poblems. Clean copy.

Hardcover. New Haven CT, Yale University Press, 1st, 2020, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 179 pages. From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a meditation on the deeply Jewish and surprisingly spiritual roots of Stan Lee and Marvel Comics Few artists have had as much of an impact on American popular culture as Stan Lee. The characters he created--Spider-Man and Iron Man, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four--occupy Hollywood's imagination and production schedules, generate billions at the box office, and come as close as anything we have to a shared American mythology. This illuminating biography focuses as much on Lee's ideas as it does on his unlikely rise to stardom. It surveys his cultural and religious upbringing and draws surprising connections between celebrated comic book heroes and the ancient tales of the Bible, the Talmud, and Jewish mysticism. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Chelsea MI, Scarborough House, 1st US, 1990, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 411 pages, b&w illusttrations. This biography recounts the life of the eccentric and indomitable African explorer Henry M. Stanley (1841-1904), who circumnavigated Lakes Tanganyika and Victoria, fixed the source of the Nile, and traveled the length of the Congo River. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Arbor House, 1st, 1985, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 220 pages, b&w photos. Complete filmography. Clean copy in a bright, unclipped dust jacket.

Softcover. New York, Nan A. Talese, 1st, 2001, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 224 pages. UNCORRECTED PROOF. Softcover with CD of author and her son reading selections from the book. Clean, tight copy. Soil on bottom of page block.

Hardcover. Heidelberg, Germany, Kehrer Verlag, 1st, 2014, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 108 pages. Hardcover with no dust jacket. Very clean, unmarked copy still in shrink wrap. Many color photographs throughout. Tight copy. "State Fair" is filled with captivating images. Christopher Chadbourne takes you on a journey filled with interesting characters, vibrant colors, and memorable moments - all compiled from years of photographing the goings-on at this uniquely American institution. Chadbourne knows state fairs and has an uncanny ability to catch often peculiar scenarios as people mingle, eat, and participate in this once a year event.

Hardcover. Heidelberg, Germany, Kehrer Verlag, 1st, 2014, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 108 pages. Hardcover with no dust jacket. Very clean, unmarked copy still in shrink wrap. Many color photographs throughout. Tight copy. "State Fair" is filled with captivating images. Christopher Chadbourne takes you on a journey filled with interesting characters, vibrant colors, and memorable moments - all compiled from years of photographing the goings-on at this uniquely American institution. Chadbourne knows state fairs and has an uncanny ability to catch often peculiar scenarios as people mingle, eat, and participate in this once a year event.

Hardcover. NY, ZE Books, 1st, 2020, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, black cloth with white lettering. No dust jacket issued. With Stay, acclaimed poet, artist, and bestselling memoirist Nick Flynn presents a self-portrait via a constellation of topics that have circled his work. Ranging from the impact of suicide and homelessness to addiction, political engagement, and the vital power of artistic friendships, Stay is a mixed-media retrospective that shows nothing is created in isolation. Mirroring Flynn's life, this work of visual and literary memoir is populated by examples of his collaborations since the 1980s with such luminaries as the photographers Amy Arbus and Catherine Opie, composer Guy Barash, actor Robert De Niro, cartoonist Josh Neufeld, author Sarah Sentilles, filmmaker Paul Weitz, and artists John Baldessari, Marilyn Minter, and Bill Shuck. In Flynn's refusal to conform to narrative or the safety of his own perspective, Stay grasps for an essential truth, an answer to what art, in the end, can and cannot reflect. Illustrated in color, b&w.

Hardcover. Middlebury, VT, Paul Eriksson, 1st collected ed., 1979, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover in a nice dust jacket. The relationship between the novelist and his editor Pascal Covici. Some fade, light wear to dj. Steinbeck and Covici is a major contribution to the literature about John Steinbeck. "Steinbeck Quarterly" magazine wrote, "Thomas Fensch offers the first comprehensive account of one of John Steinbeck's most enduring, intimate, and important relationships: his association with his editor, Pascal Covici. The results are revealing, and broaden the dimension of Steinbeck studies." This book was first published in l979 and received not one, but two separate reviews in "The New York Times." It was also widely reviewed elsewhere and won the Book of the Year Award in Biogaphy from the Ohioana Library Association, in l980.

Softcover. Middlebury VT, Paul S. Eriksson, 1st pbk, 1979, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, pictorial wraps. 248 pages. Appendix, bibliography and notes. A study of the relationship between John Steinbeck, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist, and his editor, Pascal Covici, based upon their correspondence. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Simon & Schuster, BC Ed., 1984, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 349 pages, b&w photos. One of the most endearing of American heroes, Casey Stengel guided the New York Yankees to ten pennants in twelve seasons. Here is the brilliant manager stripped naked--the person underneath all the clowning, mugging, and double-talking. Robert Creamer shows us Casey at twenty-two, famous from his very first day in the big leagues. We see Casey's playing career fall apart as he is traded, shunted to last-place teams, hampered by injuries, considered finished--until he bats a glorious home run in the 1923 World Series. Here are Casey's managing successes and failures--dismissed by the Yankees, he returns to the limelight with his new and inept New York Mets, the team he single-handedly lifts into the nation's consciousness. Clean copy, like new.

Hardcover. NY, Oxford University Press, 1973, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, lightly worn dust jacket, 993 pages. A biography of the "Little Giant from Illinois", Lincoln's highly influential opponent for the Presidency in 1860. Name on front fly leaf, otherwise clean.

Hardcover. NY, Oxford University Press, 1st, 2005, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 627 pages, b&w illustrations. The literary, political, and artistic interests of poet and cultural icon Stephen Spender (1909-1995) are illuminated in this narrative based on his private papers, tracing his rise to success as a poet in the 1930s through his later years as cultural statesman of the twentieth century, and examining his relationships with such luminaries as Dylan Thomas, Sylvia Plath, T. S. Eliot, and Virgina Woolf. Clean copy.

Hardcover. London, Faber & Faber, 1st, 2008, Hardcover, 524 pages, b&w illustrations. SIGNED BY BOTH HEANEY & O'DRISCOLL on title page. Widely regarded as the finest poet of his generation, Seamus Heaney is the subject of numerous critical studies; but no book-length portrait has appeared until now. Through his own lively and eloquent reminiscences, Stepping Stones retraces the poet's steps from his early works, through to his receipt of the 1995 Nobel Prize for Literature and his post-Nobel life. It is supplemented with a large number of photographs, many from the Heaney family album and published here for the first time.