books literature

Hardcover. San Francisco, Sierra Club Books, 1st, 1986, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a lightly worn dust jacket. 51 pages, illustrated with wood engravings by Michael McCurdy. Bly's commentary sheds important new light on the intellectual and spiritual development of a major American literary figure. Mild fade to dj spine. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, New Directions Books, 1st, 1941, Book: Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, red cloth with black title on spine. Collected stories and essays "not for readers who hate to think," Mild shelf wear, clean.

Hardcover. Lanham MD, Rowman & Littlefield , 1st, 2021, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, glossy pictorial boards, 374 pages. This new biography of Ian Fleming presents a fresh and illuminating portrayal of the iconic creator of James Bond. Oliver Buckton provides the first in-depth exploration of the entire process of Ian Fleming's writing--from initial conception, through composition, to his involvement in the innovative publication methods of his books. He also investigates the vital impact of Fleming's work in naval intelligence during World War Two on his later writings, especially the wartime operations he planned and executed and how they drove the plots of the James Bond novels. Buckton considers the vital role of wartime deception, disinformation, and propaganda in shaping Fleming's later techniques and imaginative creations. Offering a radically new view of Fleming's relationships with women, Buckton traces the role of strong, independent, and intelligent women such as Maud Russell, Phyllis Bottome, and his wife, Ann, on Fleming's portrayal of female characters. The book concludes with a thorough analysis of the James Bond films from Eon productions, and their influence in promoting, while also distorting, the public's recognition of Fleming's writing. Clean copy.

Softcover. NY, Oxford University Press, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 192 pages. Dr. Seuss's infectious rhymes, fanciful creatures, and roundabout plots not only changed the way children read but imagined the world. And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, Green Eggs and Ham,The Cat and the Hat, these and other classics have sold hundreds of millions of copies and entertained children and adults for decades.fter graduating from Dartmouth, Theodor Geisel used his talents as an ad-man, political provocateur, and social satirist, gradually but irrevocably turning to children's books. Theodor Geisel tells the unlikely story of this remarkable transformation. In this compact and engrossing biography, Donald Pease reveals the evolution of Dr. Seuss's creative persona while offering an honest appraisal of his life. The book also features many of Dr. Seuss's lesser-known illustrations, including college drawings, insecticide ads, and wartime political cartoons--all of which offer a glimpse of his early artistic style and the visual origins of the more famous creatures that later populated his children's books.As Pease traces the full arc of Dr. Seuss's prolific career, he combines close textual readings of many of Dr. Seuss's works with a unique look at their genesis to shed new light on the enduring legacy of America's favorite children's book author.

Hardcover. Boston, Little, Brown, and Company, 2nd pr., 1928, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, light blue boards with dark blue cloth spine, paper title on spine. 410 pages, color frontis., many b&w illustrations, top edge gilt. An entertaining account of book collecting packed with anecdotes of books and bookmen. From the blurb: "In This Book-Collecting Game there are discussions of bindings, of the earmarks of editions, of auctions, of the "knock-out," of all the rewards and perils of the collector's life. And there are also the excursions in literature and friendship without which no book of Mr. Newton's would be natural or complete. Mr. Newton gives valuable and generous hints to enterprising lovers of books - hints which, shrewdly pursued, may start them on the same road to friendly fame and famous friendships which Mr. Newton himself has traveled. Clean, square copy.

Hardcover. New York, N.Y., Carlton Press, reprint, 1990, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 287 pages, b&w illustrations. INSCRIBED BY AUTHOR on front end paper. Light edgewear to dust jacket, else a clean, tight copy.

Softcover. NY, Archipelago Books, 1st, 2008, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover in pictorial wrappers, 292 pages. Tranquility, the acclaimed third novel by Hungarian Attila Bartis, is simultaneously a private psychodrama and a portrait of the end of the Communist era. Reading it, "we arrive at ourselves, at our own obsessions, in our own silence," writes Ilma Rakusa. A thirty-six-year-old writer struggles to escape his hellish, Oedipal inter dependency with his actress mother as Hungary's Communist infrastructure collapses around him. One of the most psychologically dark and ironic novels to have emerged from contemporary Hungarian literature, it is also, as far as human psychology and political farce are concerned, one of the most illuminating. Clean, bright copy.

Softcover. NY, Archipelago Books, 1st, 2008, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover in pictorial wrappers, 223 pages. Heinrich Heine (1797-1856), one of Germany's most revered poets, is equally well-known for his idiosyncratic prose, the vibrant voice of which feels astonishingly modern in its familiar tone and thematic acrobatics. Travel Pictures comprises the accounts of four journeys taken at different times in his life. The opening "Harz Journey," a quirky chronicle of his walking tour in the Harz Mountains, is the text that first made him famous. But in all four accounts, Heine, seasoned by the skepticism of a born outsider, does more than climb mountains, ford streams and cross borders. In this remarkable book, Heine propels German letters into the Modern mindset. Freud cites a few of Travel Pictures' most humorous passages in Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious. Heine's incomparable lyric vision lifts the book into the transcendent realm of great journey literature. Clean, bright copy.

Softcover. NY, Avon Books, reprint, 1988, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 511 pages, b&w illustrations. Britain's most illustrious SF writer, Brian Aldiss, provides a witty and perceptive history of this extraordinary phenomenon, set in its social and literary context. Crammed with fascinating insights, this generous spree takes us through decades of treats for the escape to other dimensions, flights to other planets, lost worlds, utopias, mechanical creatures and intelligent aliens. Amusing, intelligent and authoritative, it takes us on a tour through that zone where literature and science engage in an eternal flirtation. Examining the great writers SF has produced, and the images that have become the cultural wallpaper of the present day, this comprehensive expedition is for buffs and tenderfoots alike. Remainder line to bottom edge otherwise clean.

Hardcover. NY, Viking, 1st, 2011, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 554 pages. This compilation of correspondence is aptly titled. British travel writer and novelist Chatwin traveled widely, constantly, and obsessively--everywhere under the sun, in other words. He possessed a restless soul, to be sure. And to a large degree, he was secretive; information about his homosexuality and his affliction with the AIDS virus was closely guarded. He cast a personal spell with his charm and a lasting one through his works, which are so imaginative they are pure excitement to read; at the same time, however, it can be confusing to determine whether to see them as fiction or nonfiction. Nevertheless, beginning with his first published book, In Patagonia (1977), Chatwin maintained a reputation among discerning readers for his riveting characters--invented or not is unimportant, even in his travel books--and his rigorously precise writing style. Chatwin's wife and his biographer (Bruce Chatwin, 2000) combined efforts over a two-decade period to retrieve more than 90 percent of Chatwin's correspondence from childhood to immediately before his untimely death at 48. Chatwin's many appreciators will see the compilation in its overall significance as a personal visit with one of their literary heroes, as much as that is possible now. Remainder line on bottom edge otherwise like new.

Hardcover. Burlington VT, Ashgate , 1st, 2011, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket. 259 pages. Despite the growing critical relevance of Shakespeare's two Venetian plays and a burgeoning bibliography on both The Merchant of Venice and Othello, few books have dealt extensively with the relationship between Shakespeare and Venice. Setting out to offer new perspectives to a traditional topic, this timely collection fills a gap.

Hardcover. NY, HarperCollins, 1st, 1999, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. 48 pages illustrated in color by Aliki. With her characteristically sprightly words and pictures, Aliki brings Shakespeare's life, times, and legacy to life in this highly acclaimed information-packed treasury that is truly for readers of all ages. This nonfiction picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for children ages 6 to 8. It's a fun way to learn to read and as a supplement for activity books for children From Hamlet to Romeo and Juliet to A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare's celebrated works have touched people around the world. Aliki combines literature, history, biography, archaeology, and architecture in this richly detailed and meticulously researched introduction to Shakespeare's world-his life in Elizabethan times, the theater world, and the Globe, for which he wrote his plays. Then she brings history full circle to the present-day reconstruction of the Globe theater.

Hardcover. Boston, Twayne Publishers, 1st, 1982, Book: Good, Dust Jacket: None, 191 pages, green cloth covers. A scarce study of the Caribbean writer which has been heavily annotated and underlined by Joyce Adler, the previous owner. Adler was a literary scholar and published two books on Harris herself.

Hardcover. New York, The World Publishing House, 1st US, 1877, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 332 pages. Hardcover. With 60 b/w illustrations/plates. B/w illustrated frontispiece with tissue guard. No other printings mentioned on publication page, either 1st edition or very early printing. Cover boards bound in green cloth, title reverse in gilt on spine, black decoration on spine and front cover board, decoration blind stamped on back cover board. Some rubbing and chipping to boards (see images). Some tanning to edges and pages, doesn't affect illustrations or text. Some foxing on a few pages (see image). Binding remains tight. Spine very slightly cocked. Short stories by literary master Jules Verne, beautifully bound and ready for display. Illustrated by Henri Theophile Hildibrand, well known for his illustrations in Verne's books.

Hardcover. Portsmouth, NH, Peter E. Randall Publisher, 1st, 1995, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 93 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. With illustrations. Spotless and tight copy.

Hardcover. Portsmouth, NH, Peter E. Randall Publisher, 1st, 1995, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 93 pages, with illustrations. Spotless and tight copy. Light foxing to top edge.

Hardcover. Munich, Hirmer, 1st, 2024, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover in pictorial boards, 240 pages. Ylla (1911-1955) devoted herself exclusively to animal portraiture at a time when no one had thought of only photographing animals. Driven by her symbiotic relationship with animals, she created a new genre in animal photography: the expression and personality in animals. Ylla: The Birth of Modern Animal Photography recounts the eventful odyssey of a "New Woman" par excellence, fearless and knowing no limits. She was part of artists' circles in Belgrade and Paris, however during WW II she fled to New York via Marseille where she started her career again from square one. Originally taking beguiling photos in her studio and zoos, Ylla finally traveled to Africa and India where she died in a tragic accident during a water buffalo race. Her Animals in Africa and Animals in India are some of the first books on the subject. Ylla also introduced photography to children's literature. Her books The Sleepy Little Lion and Two Little Bears are juvenile classics. This book details her remarkable life and work.

Hardcover. NY, Firefly Books, 1st, 2019, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 528 pages, b&w illustrations. Martha Gellhorn was a strong-willed, self-made, modern woman whose journalism, and life, were widely influential at the time and cleared a path for women who came after her. An ardent anti-fascist, she abhorred "objectivity shit" and wrote about real people doing real things with intelligence and passion. She is most famous, to her enduring exasperation, as Ernest Hemingway's third wife. Long after their divorce, her short tenure as "Mrs. Hemingway" from 1940 to 1945 invariably eclipsed her writing and, consequently, she never received her full due. Gellhorn's work and personal life attracted a disparate cadre of political and celebrity friends, among them, Sylvia Beach, Ingrid Bergman, Leonard Bernstein, Norman Bethune, Robert Capa, Charlie Chaplin, Chiang Kai-shek, Madame Chiang, Colette, Gary Cooper, John Dos Passos, Dorothy Parker, Maxwell Perkins, Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Orson Welles, H.G. Wells -- the people who made history in her time and beyond. Yours, for Probably Always is a curated collection of letters between Gellhorn and the extraordinary personalities that were her correspondents in the most interesting time of her life. Through these letters and the author's contextual narrative, the book covers Gellhorn's life and work, including her time reporting for Harry Hopkins and America's Federal Emergency Relief Administration in the 1930s, her newspaper and magazine reportage during the Spanish Civil War, World War II and the Vietnam War, and her relationships with Hemingway and General James M. Gavin late in the war, and her many lovers and affairs.