Pike, Matt
HEAD ON A PIKE. The Illustrated Lyrics of Matt Pike. Signed by Matt Pike
Rare Bird Books, Los Angeles: 2021
- $125
This copy signed by Matt Pike. This is a retrospective of musical poetry by heavy metal guitarist and frontman, Matt Pike, which spans twenty years beginning in 1998 with the album Art of Self Defense up to the latest release, the 2019 Grammy-Award winning record, Electric Messiah. Every chapter features brand-new artistic interpretations from the minds and hearts of an incredible cast of illustrators, tattooers, printmakers, and painters Pike has been trusted since the beginning to depict his vision. The cast of artists are Arik Roper, David V. D'Andrea, Santos, Brian Mercer, Skinner, Jondix,Stash, Tim Lehi, Jordan Barlow, and Derrick Snodgrass created brand new, never before seen works specifically inspired by each album, including one large illustration to define the chapter ahead and two additional vignettes that are directly inspired by the songs. Each has their own bold and iconic style that perfectly compliments the breadth of Pike's various works. These prolific artists transport the reader further into a far-away landscape of ominous Lovecraftian entities, shrouded in wondrous and esoteric darkness. Together, they have redefined the way we perceive Underground Doom Metal these past twenty years and it is our honor to showcase them together along with the incredible written word of Pike. 87 pages. Issued sans dust jacket. A fine copy bound in illustrated boards with black backstrip
More from Ed Smith Books
CROW FAIR. Stories
Signed by McGuane on a tipped in sheet. Set in Big Sky Country, a triumphant collection of stories written with a comic genius in the vein of Twain and Gogolâ"from the acclaimed author of Ninety-two in the Shade and Cloudbursts, "one of America's best short-story writers of the last 50 years" (The Boston Globe) These stories attest to the generous compass of Thomas McGuane's fellow feeling, as well as to his unique way with words. In this collection, filled with grace and humor, the ties of family make for uncomfortable binds: A devoted son is horrified to discover his mother's antics before she slipped into dementia, and a father's outdoor skills are no match for a change in the weather. But complications arise equally in the absence of blood, as when lifelong friends on a fishing trip finally confront their deep dislike for each other. Or when a gifted traveling cattle breeder succumbs to the lure of a stranger's offer of easy money. McGuane is as witty and large-hearted as we have ever known him, and Crow Fair is a jubilant, thunderous confirmation of his status as a modern master.ANCIENT VOICES. With Illustrations by Murray Kimber
4to. This copy is warmly inscribed by Kate Hovey on the title page and dated March 13, 2004: "To Peg / Your encouragement, wise feedback / and generous support were crucial in / bringing this to birth / With all my love / and gratitude / Kate." This innovative and spellbinding collection of poems, the gods of Mount Olympus, the sea, the underworlds and the forest come alive with their unique and powerful voices. Beautifully realized in Kate Hovey's mesmerizing poetry and Murray Kimber's stunning illustrations, these twenty-three poems illuminate the personalities of the gods and the humor and pathos of their stories. A fine copy in slick decorated boards in a near fine crisp dust jacketBEST SCIECE FICTION STORIES OF THE YEAR. Tenth Annual Collection 1980
Includes; THE UGLY CHICKEN by Howard Waldrop, THE GREEN MARAUDER by Larry Niven, THE FEAST OF St. JANIS by Michael Swanwick, THE LAST ANSWER by Isaac Asimov, NIGHTFLYERS by George R. R. Martin, STRATA by Edward Bryant, SLOW MUSIC by James Tiptree, Jr., THE FINGER by Naomi Mitchison, WAR BENEATH THE TREE by Gene Wolfe, and UNICORN TAPESTRY by Suzy McKee Charnas. A fine unread copy in boards in a very good jacket that would be fine and crisp except for the sunning to spine (yellow background)MERCURY PICTURES PRESENTS. A Novel
This copy signed on a tipped-in sheet. Winner of the David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Historical Fiction.The epic tale of a brilliant woman who must reinvent herself to survive, moving from Mussolini's Italy to 1940s Los Angelesâ"a timeless story of love, deceit, and sacrifice. A near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket (SIGNED COPY sticker to front panel)HALAS BY HALAS. The Autobiography of George Halas
With three full-sized sheets laid in; A letter from the Chicago Bears President to Season ticket holders celebrating the NFL team entering their seventy-fifth anniversary season; and a 2-page foreword. The story of the start of the NFL -- and the man who founded it. Halas tells about his philosophy of football and life, and he talks about the players he's known. A classic book for football fans everywhere. 351 pages. Illustrated from photographs. Index. A near fine tight copy in a very good spine sunned dust jacketNO ONE LEFT TO LIE TO. The Triangulations of William Jefferson Clinton
Hitchens, Christopher "Just as the necessary qualification for a good liar is a good memory, so the essential equipment of a would-be lie detector is a good timeline, and a decent archive." In No One Left to Lie To, a New York Times bestseller, Christopher Hitchens casts an unflinching eye on the Clinton political machine and offers a searing indictment of a president who sought to hold power at any cost. With blistering wit and meticulous documentation, Hitchens masterfully deconstructs Clinton's abject propensity for pandering to the Left while delivering to the Right, and he argues that the president's personal transgressions were ultimately inseparable from his political corruption. Hitchens questions the president's refusals to deny accusations of rape by reputable women and lambasts, among numerous impostures, his insistence on playing the race card, the shortsightedness of his welfare bill, his ludicrous war on drugs, and his abandonment of homosexuals in the form of the Defense of Marriage Act. Opportunistic statecraft, crony capitalism, "divide and rule" identity politics, and populist manipulations-these are perhaps Clinton's greatest and most enduring legacies. A very good plus copy in black boards, the jacket is very good only due to a 1/2 inch vertical sunned strip on the back panel close to the spine- $50
- $50
THE OVERSTORY. A Novel
Powers, Richard This copy is signed by the author on a tipped in decorated sheet. Winner of the National Book Award, the novel was also short-listed for the Man Booker Prize. "A sweeping, impassioned work of activism and resistance that is also a stunning evocation ofâ"and paean toâ"the natural world. From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, Richard Powers's twelfth novel unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. There is a world alongside oursâ"vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive, and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn how to see that world and who are drawn up into its unfolding catastrophe". 500 pages. A fine copy in a fine jacket (small 'signed copy' sticker to the top right of the dust jacket front panel- $450
- $450
BEST SCIENCE FICTION STORIES OF THE YEAR. The Sixth Annual Collection 1976
Dozois, Gardner, Editor Includes; Ursula K. Le Guin THE DIARY OF THE ROSE, CUSTER'S LAST JUMP by Steven Utley and Howard Waldrop, John Varley AIR RAID, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THIS IS YOUR CRISIS by Kate Wilhelm, Jake Saunders BACK TO THE STONE AGE, ARMAJA DAS by Joe Haldeman, HOWARD WALDROP by Mary Margaret Road-Grader THE SAMURAI AND THE WILLOWS by Michael Bishop, and Honorable Mentions. 185 pages. A near fine crisp unread copy (price sticker to front flap) in a crisp fine dust jacket- $30
- $30
LITTLE FAILURE. A Memoir
Shteyngart, Gary Signed by the author on a tipped-in sheet. A Memoir framed by a panic attack Shteyngart suffered in 1996 after seeing a picture of the Chesme Church in a New York City bookshop. 349 pages illustrated from black and white photographs. A fine copy in a near fine dust jacket- $50
- $50
READY PLAYER TWO
Cline, Ernest Days after winning OASIS founder James Halliday's contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything. Hidden within Halliday's vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the OASIS a thousand times more wondrousâ"and addictiveâ"than even Wade dreamed possible. With it comes a new riddle, and a new questâ"a last Easter egg from Halliday, hinting at a mysterious prize. And an unexpected, impossibly powerful, and dangerous new rival awaits, one who'll kill millions to get what he wants. Wade's life and the future of the OASIS are again at stake, but this time the fate of humanity also hangs in the balance. Lovingly nostalgic and wildly original as only Ernest Cline could conceive it, Ready Player Two takes us on another imaginative, fun, action-packed adventure through his beloved virtual universe, and jolts us thrillingly into the future once again. A near fine copy in a very good plus jacket with some light scratches to the rear panel- $75
- $75
FLYBOYS. A True Story of Courage
Bradley, James Over the remote Pacific island of Chichi Jima, nine American flyers-Navy and Marine pilots sent to bomb Japanese communications towers there-were shot down. One of those nine was miraculously rescued by a U.S. Navy submarine. The others were captured by Japanese soldiers on Chichi Jima and held prisoner. Then they disappeared. When the war was over, the American government, along with the Japanese, covered up everything that had happened on Chichi Jima. The records of a top-secret military tribunal were sealed, the lives of the eight Flyboys were erased, and the parents, brothers, sisters, and sweethearts they left behind were left to wonder. Flyboys reveals for the first time ever the extraordinary story of those men. Bradley's quest for the truth took him from dusty attics in WAmerican small towns, to untapped government archives containing classified documents, to the heart of Japan, and finally to Chichi Jima itself. What he discovered was a mystery that dated back far before World War II-back 150 years, to America's westward expansion and Japan's first confrontation with the western world. Bradley brings into vivid focus these brave young men who went to war for their country, and through their lives he also tells the larger story of two nations in a hellish war. With no easy moralizing, Bradley presents history in all its savage complexity, including the Japanese warrior mentality that fostered inhuman brutality and the U.S. military strategy that justified attacks on millions of civilians. And, after almost sixty years of mystery, Bradley finally reveals the fate of the eight American Flyboys, all of whom would ultimately face a moment and a decision that few of us can even imagine. Flyboys is a story of war and horror but also of friendship and honor. It is about how we die, and how we live-including the tale of the Flyboy who escaped capture, a young Navy pilot named George H. W. Bush who would one day become president of the United States. A masterpiece of historical narrative, Flyboys will change forever our understanding of the Pacific war and the very things we fight for. 398 pages illustrated from photographs. Includes acknowledgments, notes, bibliography and Index. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket- $50
- $50
BRENNAN’S WAR. Vietnam 1965-69
Brennan, Matthew A veteran with 39 months of combat experience in Vietnam describes the war, the people, the land, and how the soldiers changed as the war progressed. 290 pages illustrated from photographs and a few maps. A very good copy in a near fine clean dust jacket- $50
- $50
THE ANNOTATED SHAKESPEARE. The Comedies, Histories, Sonnets and Other Poems, Tragedies and Romances Complete. Edited, with Introductions, Notes, a Biography and Bibliography by A.L. Rowse. With 4200 Illustrations
Rowse, A. L. (Editor) In three 4to volumes with dust jackets and slipcase, as issued. During a career in which he turned out some 90 books -- among them a monumental four-volume study of the Elizabethan age, two biographies of Shakespeare and an exhaustively annotated edition of Shakespeare's complete works -- Rowse awed reviewers with both the brilliance of his writing and the sheer scope of his scholarship. A near fine set in cloth with jackets housed in a very good, sound slipcase- $300
- $300
THE GNOSTIC PYNCHON
Eddins, Dwight The appearance of Vineland, his first novel in seventeen years, has rekindled critical debate on Thomas Pynchon. Written before the publication of the new novel, but remarkably prescient about its themes, The Gnostic Pynchon is a provocative reading of Pynchon's work. Where most critics find in Thomas Pynchon a postmodern writer of indeterministic, relativistic, contingent fiction, Dwight Eddins also finds a man on a religious quest. Pynchon's quest, Eddins shows, is for some principle of organic order that will provide an alternative to hopeless ambiguity, or an equally hopeless choice between total chaos and total control.The Gnostic Pynchon is a profoundly revisionist view of one of this century's most important writers. With notes, bibliography, and index. 173 pages. A near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket- $50
- $50
SHADOW DIVERS. The True Adventure of two Americans who risked everything to solve one of the last mysteries of World War II
Kurson, Robert Inscribed by the author on the title page. In the tradition of Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air and Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm comes a true tale of riveting adventure in which two weekend scuba divers risk everything to solve a great historical mystery-and make history themselves. For John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, deep wreck diving was more than a sport. Testing themselves against treacherous currents, braving depths that induced hallucinatory effects, navigating through wreckage as perilous as a minefield, they pushed themselves to their limits and beyond, brushing against death more than once in the rusting hulks of sunken ships. But in the fall of 1991, not even these courageous divers were prepared for what they found 230 feet below the surface, in the frigid Atlantic waters sixty miles off the coast of New Jersey: a World War II German U-boat, its ruined interior a macabre wasteland of twisted metal, tangled wires, and human bones-all buried under decades of accumulated sediment. No identifying marks were visible on the submarine or the few artifacts brought to the surface. No historian, expert, or government had a clue as to which U-boat the men had found. In fact, the official records all agreed that there simply could not be a sunken U-boat and crew at that location. Over the next six years, an elite team of divers embarked on a quest to solve the mystery. Some of them would not live to see its end. Chatterton and Kohler, at first bitter rivals, would be drawn into a friendship that deepened to an almost mystical sense of brotherhood with each other and with the drowned U-boat sailors-former enemies of their country. As the men's marriages frayed under the pressure of a shared obsession, their dives grew more daring, and each realized that he was hunting more than the identities of a lost U-boat and its nameless crew. Author Robert Kurson's account of this quest is at once thrilling and emotionally complex, and it is written with a vivid sense of what divers actually experience when they meet the dangers of the ocean's underworld. The story of Shadow Divers often seems too amazing to be true, but it all happened, two hundred thirty feet down, in the deep blue sea. With acknowledgements and index. 335 pages illustrated from photographs. A near fine clean copy in a near fine dust jacket- $50
- $50
TUSCANY: Inside the Light. Limited Edition With Print (Image measures 7 3/4 x 9 3/4 inches)
Meyerowitz, Joel and Maggie Barrett Includes a fine art ready-to-frame Photographic Print. With 79 full-page color plates. The Tuscan countryside is among the most well-loved on earth, for its beauty, its natural bounty, its magnificent light. Award-winning photographer Joel Meyerowitz and novelist/playwright Maggie Barrett have combined talents to create a loving and personal portrait of Tuscany through the seasons. Meyerowitz provides the breathtaking images; Maggie Barrett offers poetic, evocative commentary that pays loving tribute to this alluring rural world. They take you inside everyday Tuscan life and landscape, and also capture the warmth of the people who live there and their profound connection to the land. Joel Meyerowitz, who has published 14 books, is a Guggenheim fellow and an NEA and an NEH award-winner. His photographs have shown in major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art. He was the only photographer granted access to Ground Zero, where he persistently captured both the devastation and the dedication of the many workers who toiled at the World Trade Center site. Maggie Barrett is the author of three novels and a collection of short stories. Her play, Give it Up, was performed off Broadway. A very good plus to near fine copy bound in tan cloth with inset color photograph to front cover and text on the back cover- $600
- $600
A SINGULAR AESTHETIC. Photographs & Drawings 1921-1941. A Catalog Raisonne
Outerbridge, Paul 4to. Edited by Elaine Dines in Collaboration with Graham Howe. Introductory Essay by Bernard Barryte with Graham Howe and Elaine Dines. Laid in is a color postcard, 5 1/2 x 8 inches, featuring a color photo by Outerbridge "Nude with Marble Bust", on the verso is an invitation to see the exhibition of Paul Outerbridge Jr on view at the Laguna Beach Museum of Art. A catalogue-raisonné including fifty-six black and white photographs, six line drawings, one dye-transfer print, and thirty-nine Carbro-color prints comprising the museum exhibition reproduced as full page plates. In addition, a supplementary section of 438 half-tone reproductions contains all known images by Paul Outerbridge produced during the artist's most prolific years, 1921-1941. Published in 1981 by The Laguna Art Museum. What makes this volume special is "The three dimensional front cover of this volume with its mounted hinged mat displaying one of Outerbridge's most famous Carbro-color prints, "Woman with Claws". With the hinged mat lifted, that part of the original image subsequently edited out by Outerbridge can be examined, allowing the viewer to study the aesthetic of Outerbridge's editorial process. His original intention was to objectify the model, evidenced by the mask; however, the full intention was not achieved until the final presentation-the overmatting." According to the publisher only about 400 copies were produced in this deluxe edition instead of the stated 1500 copies in the colophon. A near fine sharp copy in cloth with photo mounted to front cover- $500
- $500
A BIRD OF PASSAGE. The Story of My Life. From the Alps of Austria to Hollywood, U.S.A.
Lang, Otto This copy stamped in black ink on the front free endpaper; "Seattle7Writers / NOT FOR RESALE". Inscribed on the title page by the author; "To My Dear Friend / Emmett / Sempre Fidelis / (signed) Otto and dated Sept' 95." Emmett Watson was Seattle's journalist emeritus who showed great enthusiasm and advice as this book was being written. Among the great names in the world of alpine skiing, that of Otto Lang ranks high. And not just a great sportsman, Lang was to become an important contributor to the world of American filmmaking as well. In this compelling and richly anecdotal autobiography, Lang tells his fascinating life story. "Born in Bosnia in 1908 and raised in Salzburg, Austria, Lang came to the United States in 1935 to introduce fellow Austrian Hannes Schneider's revolutionary Arlberg method of ski instruction to the New World. "During his early years in the U.S., Lang founded ski schools on Mounts Rainier, Baker, and Hood in the Pacific Northwest and eventually succeeded Friedl Pfeifer as director of the famed Sun Valley Ski School. "At Sun Valley, Lang taught many of Hollywood's elite to ski, among them the legendary Darryl F. Zanuck of Twentieth Century Fox. Through Zanuck, Lang found an introduction to the world of American cinema. From acting in and later producing ski films, he graduated to feature films, eventually directing and producing dozens of films and over 100 television programs. "His screen credits include Call Nourished 777, starring Jimmy Stewart; the 1952 James Mason thriller Five Fingers; and the Japanese sequences of Tora! Tora! Tora! Lang received four Academy Award nominations during his distinguished career. "As ski instructor and filmmaker, Otto Lang made many remarkable friends, and in these pages, he recalls in vivid detail his relationships with an international cast of characters, among them the great Austrian writer Stefan Zweig, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (the Shah of Iran), Russian operatic star Feodor Chaliapin, ski filmmaker Warren Miller, documentarian Lowell Thomas, plus Darryl Zanuck and a host of Hollywood notables. 463 pages illustrated from photographs. A near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket- $125
- $125
A LIFE IN PHOTOGRAPHY
Steichen, Edward All reproduced images are in black and white, while the original first edition had some color photographs as well. Edward Jean Steichen was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter, and curator, renowned as one of the most prolific and influential figures in the history of photography. Steichen was credited with transforming photography into an art form. Bound in black cloth with gold stamping to spine and front panel. A near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket- $75
- $75
CLOUD CUCKOO LAND. A Novel
Doerr, Anthony Five protagonists dwell in the heart of Cloud Cuckoo Land: Anna and Omeir, on opposite sides of the city walls during the 1453 siege of Constantinople; teenage idealist Seymour and octogenarian Zeno in an attack on a public library in present-day Idaho; and Konstance, on an interstellar ship bound for an exoplanet, decades from now. Like Marie-Laure and Werner in All the Light We Cannot See, Anna, Omeir, Seymour, Zeno, and Konstance are dreamers and outsiders who find resourcefulness and hope in the midst of peril. A book written in ancient Greekâ"the story of Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird so that he can fly to a utopian paradise in the skyâ"provides solace and mystery to these unforgettable characters. Doerr's dazzling imagination transports us to worlds so dramatic and immersive that we forget, for a time, our own. He has created a tapestry of times and places that reflects our vast interconnectednessâ"with other species, with each other, with those who lived before us, and those who will be here after we're gone. Dedicated to "the librarians then, now, and in the years to come," Cloud Cuckoo Land is a paean to the extraordinary human capacity to transmit stories from generation to generation and a novel about stewardshipâ"of books, of our shared planet, and of the human heart. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket- $125
- $125
AMERICA AGAIN. Re-Becoming the Greatness We Never Weren’t
Colbert, Stephen Includes the 3-D glasses in the original publisher's envelope. Book store nation, in the history of mankind there has never been a greater country than America. You could say we're the #1 nation at being the best at greatness. But as perfect as America is in every single way, America is broken! And we can't exchange it because we're 236 years past the 30-day return window. Look around--we don't make anything anymore, we've mortgaged our future to China, and the Apologist-in-Chief goes on world tours just to bow before foreign leaders. Worse, the L.A. Four Seasons Hotel doesn't even have a dedicated phone button for the Spa. You have to dial an extension! Where did we lose our way?! A fine crisp copy in a similar dust jacket- $75
- $75
THE EVERLASTING SKY. New Voices from the People Named the Chippewa
Vizenor, Gerald The author's classic first book provides a unique view of reservation life in the late 1960s and early 1970s and the early days of the American Indian Movement. Gerald Vizenor, named to Utne Reader's list of one hundred "people who could change your life," has been a significant force in Native American literature and criticism for over thirty years. In this, his classic first book of essays, Vizenor presents a stark but vital view of reservation life in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a collection that Studies in American Indian Literatures called "memorable portraits of real people who defied yet finally were overcome by the dominant society." Focusing on the people of the northern reservations, particularly the White Earth Reservation where he grew up, Vizenor puts a human face on those desperate and politically charged times that saw frequent government intervention and the emergence of the American Indian Movement (AIM). In his trademark style, Vizenor juxtaposes these snapshots of contemporary life against images and dream sequences from Anishinabe folktales and ceremonies. As the Chronicle of Higher Education has observed, Vizenor's "paradoxical achievement has been to garner a reputation as an innovative avant-garde writer by embracing, and revitalizing, ancient oral storytelling traditions." In his new introduction, composed especially for this edition, Vizenor reflects on the changes that have occurred on the reservations in the last three decades and updates the lives of this fascinating and various cast of characters. A very good plus copy in pastel blue cloth over boards with sunning to the extreme edges of the book, in a fine dust jacket- $75
- $75
HEAD ON A PIKE. The Illustrated Lyrics of Matt Pike. Signed by Matt Pike: https://rarebookinsider.com/rare-books/head-on-a-pike-the-illustrated-lyrics-of-matt-pike-signed-by-matt-pike/