Greene, Kendra A.
Mythic creatures, natural wonders, and the mysterious human impulse to collect are on beguiling display in this poetic tribute to the museums of an otherworldly island nation, for readers of Atlas Obscura and fans of the Mütter Museum, the Morbid Anatomy Museum, and the Museum of Jurassic Technology. Iceland is home to only 330,000 people (roughly the population of Lexington, Kentucky) but more than 265 museums and public collections. They range from the intensely physical, like the Icelandic Phallological Museum, which collects the penises of every mammal known to exist in Iceland, to the vaporously metaphysical, like the Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft, which poses a particularly Icelandic problem: How to display what can't be seen? In The Museum of Whales You Will Never See, A. Kendra Greene is our wise and whimsical guide through this cabinet of curiosities, showing us, in dreamlike anecdotes and more than thirty charming illustrations, how a seemingly random assortment of objects--a stuffed whooper swan, a rubber boot, a shard of obsidian, a chastity belt for rams--can map a people's past and future, their fears and obsessions. "The world is chockablock with untold wonders," she writes, "there for the taking, ready to be uncovered at any moment, if only we keep our eyes open." Illustrated. 252 pages, with acknowledgments, appendices. A fine copy in slick illustrated boards, issued without dust jacket
Porter, Katherine Anne
This fourth printing copy has the ownership signature of "Madeleine L'Engle Camp / March 4, 1941 / Bird-in-Hand-Court" to the front pastedown in black ink. The three short novels are: Old Mortality, Noon Wine, and Pae Horse, Pale Rider. From the gothic Old South to revolutionary Mexico, few writers have evoked such a multitude of worlds, both exterior and interior, as powerfully as Katherine Anne Porter. This collection gathers together the best of her Pulitzer Prize-winning short fiction, including 'Pale Horse, Pale Rider', where a young woman lies in a fever during the influenza epidemic, her childhood memories mingling with fears for her fiancé on his way to war, and 'Noon Wine', a haunting story of tragedy and scandal on a small dairy farm in Texas. In all of the compelling stories collected here, harsh and tragic truths are expressed in prose both brilliant and precise. As for Madeleine L'Engle, she is perhaps best recognized as the author of A Wrinkle in Time (1962), the enduring milestone work of fantasy fiction that won the 1963 John Newbery Medal for excellence in children's literature and has enthralled millions of readers. A very good copy bound in light green cloth (spine sunned) lacking the dust jacket
Kidder, Tracy
Signed by the author on the title page. Here, Kidder gives us the superb story of a hero for our time. Strength in What Remains is a wonderfully written, inspiring account of one man's remarkable American journey and of the ordinary people who helped him-a brilliant testament to the power of will and of second chances. Deo arrives in America from Burundi in search of a new life. Having survived a civil war and genocide, plagued by horrific dreams, he lands at JFK airport with two hundred dollars, no English, and no contacts. He ekes out a precarious existence delivering groceries, living in Central Park, and learning English by reading dictionaries in bookstores. Then Deo begins to meet the strangers who will change his life, pointing him eventually in the direction of Columbia University, medical school, and a life devoted to healing. Kidder breaks new ground in telling this unforgettable story as he travels with Deo back over a turbulent life in search of meaning and forgiveness. An extraordinary writer, Tracy Kidder once again shows us what it means to be fully human by telling a story about the heroism inherent in ordinary people, a story about a life based on hope. 277 pages. A nearly fine copy in a nearly fine dust jacket
Edge, John T.
Signed by the author on the title page. Like provincial dishes around the world, potlikker is a salvage food. During the antebellum era, slave owners ate the greens and set aside the leftover broth for the enslaved, unaware that the potlikker, not the greens, was nutrient rich. Today, potlikker has taken on new meanings as cooks reclaim and reinterpret the dish. Beginning with the pivotal role of cooks in the civil rights movement, noted authority John T. Edge narrates the region's journey from a hive of racism to a hotbed of American immigration. In the process, he traces how the food of working class Southerners has become a signature of American cuisine. Restaurants were battlegrounds during the civil rights movement. Access to food and ownership of traditions were key contentions on the long and fitful march toward racial equality. The Potlikker Papers begins in 1955 as black cooks and maids fueled the Montgomery bus boycott and it concludes in 2015 as a newer South came into focus, enriched by the arrival of immigrants from Mexico, Vietnam, and many points in between. Along the way, The Potlikker Papers tracks the evolution of Southern identity, from the back-to-the-land movement of the 1970s that began in the Tennessee hills to the rise of fast and convenience foods modeled on Southern staples. Edge narrates the gentrification that gained traction in North Carolina and Louisiana restaurants of the 1980s and the artisanal renaissance that reconnected farmers and cooks in the 1990s and 2000s. He profiles compelling Southern figures who played transformative American roles, including Fannie Lou Hamer, Harland Sanders, Edna Lewis, Craig Claiborne, Mahalia Jackson, Nathalie Dupree, Sean Brock, and many others. Wrenching changes transformed the South over the last two generations. During that same span, Southerners transformed America. The Potlikker Papers frames and interprets these shifts in beliefs and identities, revealing how Southern food has become a shared culinary language for the nation. Illusstrated from photographs. 307 pages. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket
Ruta, Domenica
Slipcased Edition from Powell's Books Indiespensable Series, Volume 38. Includes the signed hardcover book (sans jacket as issued) bound in black and white cloth, housed in a black cloth slipcase with silver lettering. Includes the small 21 page booklet with card cover staple bound wrappers. A darkly hilarious, shocking and complusively readable mother-daughter story for a new generation. Domenica Ruta grew up in trash-filled house in a hardscrabble town where women were once burned as witches. Her mother, Kathi, was a notorious figure, a drug addict and sometime dealer with highbrow tastes whose life swung from welfare to riches. Yet despite the chaos she caused, Kathi managed to instill in her daughter the idea that art and literature could transcend this life.With or Without You is her daughter's unflinching chronicle of an unconventional coming of age, the necessary and painful act of breaking away, and overcoming her own addictions and demons in the process. the result is a shocking, unforgettable and ultimately redemptive story of loving and leaving. 207 pages. A very good copy of the book (flaw to spine where a small piece has been removed) with the small booklet, fine, in the black cloth slipcase which is fine
Leibovitz, Annie and Susan Sontag
4to. In French. 238 plates. The photographs by Annie Leibovitz in Women, taken especially for the book, encompass a broad spectrum of subjects: a rap artist, an astronaut, two Supreme Court justices, farmers, coal miners, movie stars, showgirls, rodeo riders, socialites, reporters, dancers, a maid, a general, a surgeon, the First Lady of the United States, the secretary of state, a senator, rock stars, prostitutes, teachers, singers, athletes, poets, writers, painters, musicians, theater directors, political activists, performance artists, and businesswomen. "Each of these pictures must stand on its own," Susan Sontag writes in the essay that accompanies the portraits. "But the ensemble says, So this what women are now -- as different, as varied, as heroic, as forlorn, as conventional, as unconventional as this." A very good copy in glossy illustrated white boards with a very good rubbed dust jacket
Raban, Jonathan
For more than thirty years, Jonathan Raban has written with infectious fascination about people and places in transition or on the margins, about journeys undertaken and destinations never quite reached, and, as an expat, about what it means to feel rooted in America. Spanning two decades, Driving Home charts a course through the Pacific Northwest, American history, and current events as witnessed by "a super-sensitive, all-seeing eye. Proving that an outsider is the keenest observer of the scene that natives take for granted, this collection of Jonathan Raban's essays affirms his place as the most literate, perceptive, and humorous commentator on the places, characters, and obsessions that constitute the American scene. Raban spots things we might otherwise miss; he calls up the apt metaphors that transform things into phenomena. A very good plus copy in a very good plus dust jacket
Gilchrist, Ellen
From a Southern storyteller and National Book Award-winning author, essays on her childhood, influences, and thoughts on writing and life. Now, with this collection of essays, readers can explore the author of Victory Over Japan throughout her career. From the Mississippi plantation of her childhood to pieces featured in Vogue, Outside, New Woman, and The Washington Post Sunday Magazine, Gilchrist comes alive. With more than forty pictures, essays about Gilchrist's thoughts on writing, and a peek into the books, teachers, and artists that influenced her work, this is required reading for any fan. Illustrated from photographs. 166 pages. "This book of "journals" is actually a carefully patterned quilt sewn of the author's NPR "entries" and a few assorted essays and speeches. Underlaid with a warm, subtle (sometimes precious) humor, these homey reflections on things near and far. manage, in their spare manner, to pare down to the deceptively simple truth of things. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket
Crowley, Aleister
This first edition copy has been signed by Frater Hymenaeus Alpha who wrote the Preface to this edition, the first published collection of the fourteen Holy Books received by Crowley. It could well be called the bible of Thelema. Crowley considered these books to be theophanies--divinely inspired and beyond criticism. They form the kernel of his developmental system, and reveal the essence of his mission to mankind. This collection was prepared by Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) using painstaking editorial techniques to reproduce the most reliable source for each book. Every effort has been made to adhere to the formal prerequisites for publication. Technical questions were resolved in accordance with Crowley's instructions wherever possible. A comprehensive preface by Frater Hymenaeus Alpha, Caliph of the O.T.O., surveys the sensitive issues concerning the editorial handling of revealed material. Crowley's writings concerning the Holy Books are excerpted, including his diaries for the period. Through these, the chronology of the Holy Books' reception is outlined for the first time. In addition, Crowley's own summary of his magical development up to the reception of the Holy Books is given its first publication, editorially referenced to his widely-available 'Confessions'. A synthetic synopsis provides the reader with a concise introduction to each Holy Book in Crowley's own words, conveniently arranged by title for ease of study. Three appendices have been prepared especially for this edition: An in-depth study of the Stele of Revealing that includes three separate translations of the Egyptian text of this link with antiquity. Also included is the first authentic photograph to be published in the magical literature. A comprehensive list of Thelemic technical writings, arranged by number, class and title, and finally an annotated bibliography of the Holy Books. The traditional "Hello", the #93 is stamped under the half-title page. A near fine clean copy (small bookstore label to bottom of the half-title page) in a near fine clean dust jacket
Rice, Susan
This copy is inscribed by Susan Rice on the title page. Recalling pivotal moments from her dynamic career on the front lines of American diplomacy and foreign policy, Susan E. Rice--National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations--delivers an inspiring account of a life in service to family and country. Although you may think you know Susan Rice--whose name became synonymous with Benghazi following her Sunday news show appearances after the deadly 2012 terrorist attacks in Libya--in Tough Love, the author reveals the truth of her surprising story with unflinching honesty. Often mischaracterized by political opponents, Rice emerges as neither a villain nor victim, but a strong, compassionate leader. Mother, wife, scholar, diplomat, and fierce champion of American interests and values, Rice connects the personal and the professional. Taught early, with tough love, how to compete and excel as an African American woman in settings where people of color are few, Susan shares wisdom learned along the way. Laying bare the family struggles that shaped her early life in Washington, D.C., she also examines the ancestral legacies that influenced her. Rice's elders--immigrants on one side and descendants of slaves on the other--had high expectations that each generation would rise. And rise they did, but not without paying it forward--in uniform and in the pulpit, as educators, community leaders, and public servants. Susan too rose rapidly. She served throughout the Clinton administration, becoming one of the nation's youngest assistant secretaries of state and, later, one of President Obama's most trusted advisors. Rice provides an insider's account of some of the most complex issues confronting the United States over three decades, ranging from "Black Hawk Down" in Somalia to the genocide in Rwanda and the East Africa embassy bombings in the late 1990s, to Libya, Syria, a secret channel to Iran, the Ebola epidemic, and the opening to Cuba during the Obama years. With unmatched insight and characteristic bluntness, she reveals previously untold stories behind recent national security challenges, including confrontations with Russia and China, the war against ISIS, the struggle to contain the fallout from Edward Snowden's leaks, the U.S. response to Russian interference in the 2016 election, and the surreal transition to the Trump administration. Intimate, sometimes humorous, but always candid, Tough Love culminates with an appeal to the American public to bridge our dangerous domestic divides in order to preserve our democracy and sustain our global leadership. Illustrated from photographs. 531 pages with index.
Brooks, Malcolm
This copy is inscribed on the title page and dated in the year of publication. The author' debut novel. In the mid-1950s, America was flush with prosperity and saw an unbroken line of progress clear to the horizon, while the West was still very much wild. In this ambitious, incandescent debut, Malcolm Brooks animates that time and untamed landscape in a tale of the modern and the ancient, of love and fate, and of heritage threatened by progress. Catherine Lemay is a young archaeologist on her way to Montana with a huge task before her--a canyon "as deep as the devil's own appetites." Working ahead of a major dam project, she has one summer to prove that nothing of historical value will be lost in the flood. From the moment she arrives, nothing is familiar--the vastness of the canyon itself mocks the contained, artifact-rich digs in post-Blitz London where she cut her teeth. And then there's John H, a former mustanger and veteran of the US Army's last mounted cavalry campaign, living a fugitive life in the canyon. John H inspires Catherine to see beauty in the stark landscape, and her heart opens to more than just the vanished past. A nearly fine copy with one tiny nudge to top front corner in a fine dust jacket
