history

Softcover. New Haven CT, Yale University Press, reprint, 1992, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 654 pages, b&w illustrations. This major revisionist account of the pre-Reformation Church recreates lay people's experience of religion in 15th-century England. Eamon Duffy shows that late mediaeval Catholicism was neither decadent nor decayed, but was a strong and vigorous tradition, and that the Reformation represented a violent rupture from a popular and theologically respectable religious system. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Boston, Little, Brown and Company, reprint, 1950, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, blue cloth with gilt lettering on spine. Volume V in The History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. 389 pages, illustrated with maps (one fold-out) and b&w photos. Gilt on spine with light fading, lacks dust jacket, otherwise clean, tight copy.

Softcover. The New Press, 1st, 2008, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 364 pages. Collects the Pulitzer Prize-winning oral historian's remarkable conversations with some of the greatest luminaries of film and theater. Originally published under the title The Spectator, this "knowledgeable and perceptive" (Library Journal) look at show business presents the actors directors, playwrights, dancers, lyricists, and others who created the dramatic works of the twentieth century. Among the many highlights in these pages, Buster Keaton explains the wonders of unscripted silent comedy, Federico Fellini reflects on honesty in art, Carol Channing reveals that she is far more serious than she lets on, and Marlon Brando turns the tables and wants to interview Terkel. We learn about crucial artistic decisions in the lives of Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, and Edward Albee and hear from a range of film directors, from Vittorio De Sica and King Vidor to Satyajit Ray. We even get to witness Terkel playing straight man to a wildly inventive Zero Mostel. Clean copy.

Hardcover. London, Reaktion Books, 1st, 2016, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 240 pages, illustrated in color and b&w. The story of this most familiar garment, from its emergence in western Europe at the end of the seventeenth century to today. Suit-wearing figures such as the Savile Row gentleman and the Wall Street businessman have long embodied ideas of tradition, masculinity, power and respectability, but the suit has also been used to disrupt concepts of gender and conformity. Adopted and subverted by women, artists, musicians and social revolutionaries through the decades - from dandies and Sapeurs to the Zoot Suit and Le Smoking. Clean, bright copy.

Softcover. Other Press, reprint, 2021, Softcover, 550 pages, b&w illustrations. The little-known story of screenwriter Salka Viertel, whose salons in 1930s and 40s Hollywood created a refuge for a multitude of famous figures who had escaped the horrors of World War ll. Hollywood was created by its "others"; that is, by women, Jews, and immigrants. Salka Viertel was all three and so much more. She was the screenwriter for five of Greta Garbo's movies and also her most intimate friend. At one point during the Irving Thalberg years, Viertel was the highest-paid writer on the MGM lot. Meanwhile, at her house in Santa Monica she opened her door on Sunday afternoons to scores of European emigres who had fled from Hitler--such as Thomas Mann, Bertolt Brecht, and Arnold Schoenberg--along with every kind of Hollywood star, from Charlie Chaplin to Shelley Winters. In Viertel's living room (the only one in town with comfortable armchairs, said one Hollywood insider), countless cinematic, theatrical, and musical partnerships were born. Clean copy.

Hardcover. London, Gardner, Darton and Co., 1st, Book: Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover in a light blue pictorial binding. 379 pages with 68 b&w illustrations by Gordon Browne. Top edge gilt. 20 pages of publisher's ads in rear. Front hinge cracked, creasing to front fly leaf, otherwise a clean, tight copy. The story of two brothers; a young boy's fantasy life, rich with humor and creativity amidst a world of annoying adults and their societal expectations.

Hardcover. Princeton NJ, Princeton University Press, 1st, 1974, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, brick-red cloth covers, 448 pages with index. The attempted modernization of Central Asia by the central Soviet government in the 1920's was a dramatic confrontation between radical, determined, authoritarian communists and a cluster of traditional Moslem societies based on kinship, custom, and religion. The Soviet authorities were determined to undermine the traditional social order through the destruction of existing family structures and worked to achieve this aspect of revolution through the mobilization of women. Gregory J. Massell's study of the interaction between central power and local traditions concentrates on the development of female roles in revolutionary modernization. Women in Moslem societies were segregated, exploited, and degraded; they were, therefore, a structural weak point in the traditional order-a surrogate proletariat. Through this potentially subversive group, it was believed, intense conflicts could be generated within society which would lead to its disintegration and subsequent reconstitution. Marginal notes to about 15 pages, otherwise clean, solid copy.

Hardcover. NY, Africana Publishing, 1st US, 1971, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 419 pages, 6 maps, appendix, bibliog., index. Based on many original & unpublished materials, this book examines the impact of Omani rule & trade and the growing involvement of Western powers in Zanzibar politics in the first half of the 19th century. Owner's signature on front fly leaf, college bookplate on inside front cover. About 10 pages with light underlining.

Softcover. Boston, Back Bay Books, 1st, 1999, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 246 pages, b&w illustrations. Documents the history of swing music and dancing, covering the important artists, style and fashion, albums, and dance moves of swing. A bright, clean copy that has a light smoker's odor.

Softcover. NY, Public Affairs, 1998, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover in pictorial wraps, 422 pages, b&w illustrations. Combining razor-sharp analysis with dramatic narrative, vivid portraits of soldiers and commanders with illuminating discussions of battle tactics and covert actions, The Sword and the Olive traces the history of the IDF from its beginnings in Palestine to today. The book also goes beyond chronology to wrestle with the political and ethical struggles that have shaped the IDF and the country it serves--struggles that are manifesting themselves in the recent tragic escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Often revisionist in attitude, surprising in many of its conclusions, this book casts new light on the struggle for peace in the Middle East. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Alfred A. Knopf, 1st thus, 1976, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Two volumes in a pictorial cardboard slipcase, quarter bound in purple cloth and decorated boards without jackets, as issued. The Tale of Genji was written in the eleventh century by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady of the Heian court. It is universally recognized as the greatest masterpiece of Japanese prose narrative, perhaps the earliest true novel in the history of the world. Until now there has been no translation that is both complete and scrupulously faithful to the original text. Edward G. Seidensticker's masterly rendering was hailed as a classic of the translator's art. DOMESTIC SHIPPING ONLY. Clean, bright copy.

Hardcover. NY, Crown Publishers, 1st, 1975, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket with light edgewear, price-clipped. Here is a story of Salem and the frightening time of the Witch Hunts emphasizing the role of John Alden, one of the unjustly accused "witches." Beautiful b&w illustrations throughout by Charles Mikolaycak.

Hardcover. Los Angeles, Ward Ritchie Press , 1st, 1965, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 224 pages, b&w illustrations. Story of a real sailor, Capt. Barney Burnett, aboard the four-masted bark Astral. The ship is smashed and dismasted. at Cape Horn. The crew laboriously clear away the wreckage, rerig the shattered masts, and sail on to San Francisco through the teeth of the gale. Much related ephemeral material laid-in, including correspondence by Burnett.

Hardcover. NY, Hyperion Books, 5th pr., 2003, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 217 pages. "In early October 2001, Dominic DiMaggio and Johnny Pesky begin a 1,300-mile trip by car to visit their beloved teammate Ted Williams, knowing that he is dying. Bobby Doerr, the fourth member of this close group - "my guys," Williams used to call them - is unable to be with them because he is back in Oregon tending to his wife of sixty-three years, Monica, who has suffered her second stroke." "At the core of the book is the friendship of these four very different but extraordinary men, the key players in a remarkable Boston Red Sox team, who stayed close to each other for more than sixty years." The Teammates is the story of two the final one that DiMaggio and Pesky are taking to see Williams, and another, a flight back in time, as they and Bobby Doerr recall the wonders of their years together and reminisce about a magical era. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Simon & Schuster, 1st, 1978, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 414 pages, b&w illustrations. Explores the history of the Teamsters up through the 1970's by looking at the subject from the perspective of a number of the key players -- one at a time. A novel yet very effective approach to a large and complicated subject. The book proves to be both informative and entertaining. Remainder stamp to bottom edge, otherwise clean.

Hardcover. Singapore, Times Editions-Marshall Cavendish, 1st, 2005, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 335 pages. The Temples of Lhasa is a comprehensive survey of historic Buddhist sites in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. The study is based on the Tibetan Heritage Fund`s official five-year architectural conservation project in Tibet, during which the author and his team had unlimited access to the buildings studied. The documented sites span the entire known history of Tibetan Buddhist art and architecture from the 7th to the 21st centuries The book is divided into thirteen chapters, covering all the major and minor temples in historic Lhasa.

Hardcover. NY, Free Press, 5th pr., 1990, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 432 pages. INSCRIBED BY BORK on the title page, wishing someone success in his law career. A nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Bork writes about his social and legal philosophy in what is described on the front flap as "the definitive formulation of the wisdom and necessity of interpreting the Constitution according to the "original understanding" of the framers and the people for whom it was written." A brilliant argument for the wisdom and necessity of interpreting the Constitution according to the "original Understanding" of the Framers and the people for whom it was written. Illuminates the history of the Supreme Court and the underlying meaning of constitutional controversy. Relational between values and the law, concludes with a personal account of Judge Bork's chillingly emblematic experiences during the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on his Supreme Court nomination. Clean copy.

Softcover. Montpelier VT, Lake Champlain Tercentenary Commission of Vermont, 1st, 1910, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Flexible beige cloth covers, 167 pages plus pages of Press Comments. B&w illustrations. Museum bookplate on inside front cover, otherwise a clean, tight copy.

Hardcover. NY, Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1st, 2006, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. 441 pages, index, notes, glossary, chronology, b&w illustrations. A dramatic new interpretation of the French Revolution that draws troubling parallels with today's politic and religious fundamentalism.

Hardcover. Boston, Little, Brown, and Company, reprint, 1928, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover in black cloth with gilt lettering on spine, 298 pages. A collection of articles about the theater by Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1966), a stage designer and theatrical producer and director. Although he directed only a handful of plays, "his controversial theories of scene design and stagecraft gave him eminence in the European and American theater" (The New York Times). For instance, he favored three-dimensional stage effects and more innovative lighting than the traditional footlights. Craig argues that theatre is not just a form of entertainment, but a powerful medium for social and political change. He advocates for a new kind of theatre that is not bound by traditional conventions and that challenges the audience's expectations. Craig also emphasizes the importance of the actor's body and movement, and he proposes new techniques for training actors to be more expressive and dynamic on stage. Previous owner's inscription on front fly leaf, otherwise clean.

London, Rupert Hart-Davis, 1st, 1961, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, green cloth with gilt lettering on spine, 292 pages. Maps on the endpapers. Black and white illustrations by Timothy Birdsall. A illustrated guide to the major theatres in London along with a brief history of each. No dust jacket. A bright, clean copy.

Hardcover. Boston, David Godine, 1st, 2009, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 192 pages. The photography of Angus McBean encompasses more than three decades of the history of British theater. His work includes most of the memorable productions of the Old Vic Company and of what is now the Royal Shakespeare Company; opera productions at Glyndebourne and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; ballet and operetta at Sadler's Wells; and West End productions of plays and musicals both old and new-hundreds of productions in all. McBean was the favorite photographer of Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, and Edith Evans, and he photographed countless plays starring John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, and Alec Guinness, not to mention younger stars such as Audrey Hepburn, Richard Burton, and Elizabeth Taylor. In fact, McBean photographed virtually every great actor of his era, perhaps the most brilliant years in the annals of British theater.

Hardcover. Boston, David R. Godine, 1st, 2009, Hardcover, 192 pages. The photography of Angus McBean encompasses more than three decades of the history of British theater. His work includes most of the memorable productions of the Old Vic Company and of what is now the Royal Shakespeare Company; opera productions at Glyndebourne and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; ballet and operetta at Sadler's Wells; and West End productions of plays and musicals both old and new -- hundreds of productions in all. He was the favorite photographer of Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, and Edith Evans, and he photographed countless plays starring John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, and Alec Guinness, not to mention younger stars such as Audrey Hepburn, Richard Burton, and Elizabeth Taylor. In fact, McBean photographed virtually every great actor of his era, perhaps the most brilliant years in the annals of British theater.His studio was active and eclectic; among his patrons were not only actors, singers, and dancers, but also playwrights, producers, composers, artists, and writers. In his early career, McBean had been a pioneer of surrealist photography, with a highly popular series of "surrealized" portraits that appeared in The Sketch, and, later, of montage and multiple-exposure photography in a long-running series for The Tatler.In 1969, McBean approached Harvard University to initiate the sale of his collection, and in the following year his archive of glass plate negatives, index prints, and programs, together with the copyrights, became a part of the Harvard Theatre Collection, where it remains the most often-requested collection of visual material. The photographs in this book, selected and captioned by the archive's curator, Fredric Woodbridge Wilson, have been carefully reproduced from the original negatives.

Hardcover. NY, Random House, 1st, 1964, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover in a dust jacket with some fading, 461 pages. History of the six-year period between the fall of Robespierre and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. Bookplate on inside front cover, otherwise clean.