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Old School Book Report

Last week my wife and I happened by an estate sale near our house, Now really, who can resist those? We sure didn’t. Unfortunately, it was the last day of the sale and much of the really good stuff (as far as my wife was concerned) was already gone or paid for. Luckily for Old Book Junkies like me, a lot of treasures are overlooked by the non-book lovers. And I thank them for their ignorance!

I snapped up two books this time, neither of which is particularly valuable except for the interest I have in their subjects. The first is an old literature textbook called, fittingly enough, “Junior High School Literature, Book Two,” (Scott, Foresman and Company, 1928.) I love thumbing through old textbooks to get a feel for what was being taught in our past and how. This literature book offered a nice view into what was being taught in our public schools 85 years ago.

The book was divided into four parts: The World of Nature, The World of Adventure, Freedom and Democracy and Literature and Life in the Homeland. Four parts, and two of them dedicated to the life and philosophy of the United States. How many of today’s textbooks could claim that?

Selections include “The American Boy” by Theodore Roosevelt, an explanation of the American experiment by Daniel Webster, an excerpt from George Washington’s farewell address, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry W. Longfellow and Walt Whitman’s “Pioneers! O Pioneers!”

The other volume was Albert Schweitzer’s autobiography, “Out of My Life and Thought,” (Henry Holt and Company, 1949.) One of the last century’s most brilliant men, Schweitzer was a theologian, philosopher, musician and doctor. He was well known for his book “Quest of the Historical Jesus” and other volumes on theology. At 274 pages, it should be a crisp read.

That’s all for now, folks. Have a great week!

2 Comments

Posted by Rob on May 5, 2013 in Book Hunting

Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Albert Schweitzer, American life, books, Daniel Webster, George Washington, Gettysburg Address, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, literature, patriotism, Paul Revere, textbook, Theodore Roosevelt, Walt Whitman

I’ll Take “Book Hunting” For 100!

25 Feb

Unless I’ve miscounted or my blog program is lying to me, this should be my 100th post here at the Old Book Junkie. 100. Didn’t know if I’d make it that long. Thanks to all of you who have read and/or followed me here. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all your “likes” and comments. Hopefully, I can earn your continued patronage in the year ahead. Now, onward.

Once again I have been out among the thrift stores and library sales, and once again I have found some nice books. This past Friday my wife and I were at the Disabled American Veterans Thrift store, one of our favorite places to rummage around in. They have great items at great prices and for a great cause.

For example, I found a nice copy of “Egermeier’s Bible Story Book: A Complete Narration from Genesis to Revelation for Young and Old,” (1955, Warner Press Publication, Gospel Trumpet Company.) These versions of the biblical stories were first written and published in 1923 by Elsie E. Egermeier. The 1955 version I found was revised slightly by Arlene Hall.

Elsie Egermeier’s intent was to “present these stories in such a simple, direct manner that her youthful readers will have no difficulty in comprehending their teaching.” It seems that this type of book, re-telling the key Bible stories in plain language for younger readers, was very popular in the early to mid-20th century. Some of the newer ones I’ve seen today tend to be cartoonish in their approach, particularly the illustrations. As you can see from this picture, that’s not the case with ”The Bible Story Book.” The book is full of wonderful color and black and white lithographs that don’t turn the stories into fairy tales. I have concerns about children seeing cartoon depictions of Moses or Jesus. Do they understand that they were real people and not some cartoon characters?

I also picked up a good, clean copy of “The Oxford Annotated Apocrypha, Expanded Edition,” (1977, Oxford University Press, Inc.) It is edited by the great Bruce M. Metzger and this expanded edition contains the third and fourth books of the Maccabees and Psalm 151. That’s right, Psalm 151, which is purportedly a psalm of David commemorating his battle with the giant Goliath. Is it true? God knows, but the psalm is great:

I went out to meet the Philistine,

and he cursed me by his idols.

But I drew his own sword;

I beheaded him, and removed

reproach from the people of Israel.

Whether you think the Apocrypha should be canonical or not, it is a marvelous enhancement to the Scriptures. I’ve always enjoyed reading it, particularly the Wisdom of Solomon and Tobit. This annotated copy of the Revised Standard Version is a great addition to my library.

Finally, I found a copy of the “Abingdon Bible Handbook,” (1975, Abingdon Press) by Edward P. Blair. This will be a useful reference book since it includes nice, brief summaries and backgrounds on each book of the Bible, as well as chapters on Bible translation, interpretation, history, archaeology and chronology.

Well, that’s all for now. Thanks again for hanging with me and I hope to have a lot more interesting things for all of you in the year ahead!

2 Comments

Posted by Rob on February 25, 2013 in Book Hunting, Children's Books

Tags: Abingdon Press, Bible, Bruce M. Metzger, David, Edward P. Blair, Oxford Annotated Apocrypha, Psalm, religion, Revised Standard Version

Wonderful Find !

15 Jan

So I stopped by my local library today and checked in the children’s section. They have a box by the children’s librarian’s door with free books and magazines they will eventually throw-away if no one grabs them. I’m all for giving unwanted children’s books a home!

Today I found 11 short paperback books published by The Westminster Press as part of their “Christian Faith and Life” series which is billed as a “program for church and home.” All of them appear to be from the 1950s and 60s and are illustrated in that classic 60s style art. I’m guessing the books are aimed at children in the 8 to 12 year-old age range. On top of everything else, they’re all in very good condition!

I have to say, after a brief skimming of a few of them, the theological concepts I found are clear and very well presented for children. Today’s churches could use these books!

I’ll try to share more of the contents with you as I have the chance to go through them.

3 Comments

Posted by Rob on January 15, 2013 in Book Hunting

Tags: books, Children, Children's literature, Christian Faith and Life, religion, theology, Westminster Press

Good Holiday Book-Hunting

21 Dec

I guess I must have been a good boy this past year because I’ve been having very good luck in my book-hunting the last few weeks. Between my favorite thrift stores and the local library, I’ve acquired some very nice volumes to add to my library.

Perhaps my favorite is an annotated copy of Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick or The Whale,” (W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1976, 1967.) It was illustrated by Warren Chappell and includes a commentary by Howard Mumford Jones, who taught at Harvard University from 1936 until 1962. It’s a hard cover with the dust jacket still in decent condition. It also has a nice inscription reading, “A classic worthy of you, your attention, and retention. Merry Christmas, 1975. Jack and Margaret.”

I guess you could say it was re-gifted. Thank you very much.

But wait, there’s more! Anyone familiar with Winston Churchill knows that not only was he a brilliant leader, but he was also an accomplished writer and historian. Perhaps his most famous work is his four-volume “History of the English-Speaking Peoples.” Fortunately for me, Barnes & Noble put out a well-done single-volume of that massive undertaking back in 1994. It was arranged by noted historian Henry Steele Commager and follows the main stream of Churchill’s work. Commager included the chapters on Alfred the Great, Richard the Lion-Hearted, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and George Washington, among many others. Purists may sniff at me – I have a friend who has read all four volumes more than once – but for someone with limited time it’s the perfect format.

Finally, for now at least, I picked up what looks to be a fascinating read, “The Brother of Jesus: The Dramatic Story & Meaning of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus & His Family,” (HarperSanFrancisco, 2003). It was co-written by two pretty big names in the fields of biblical archaeology and theology: Hershel Shanks and Ben Witherington III. It’s the story of an ancient limestone ossuary, or burial box, that bears the inscription “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” As the promo on the back cover of the book says, “Could this be the first tangible proof of Jesus’ existence?” I love this kind of book!

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll fill you in another time on more of the books I’ve managed to get my hands on. Plus with Christmas around the corner, you can guess what I might find under the tree!

Merry Christmas all!

2 Comments

Posted by Rob on December 21, 2012 in Book Hunting

Tags: Ben Witherington III, Henry Steele Commager, Herman Melville, Hershel Shanks, History of the English Speaking Peoples, Jesus, Moby Dick, The Brother of Jesus, Winston Churchill

Score at the Thrift Store

27 Oct

So by now, most of you know that I LOVE to shop for books at thrift and second-hand stores. One of the main reasons is because I just never know what I’m going to find. The element of surprise makes each trip an adventure and when I come across that special book or books, well . . .

Yesterday my wife and I went to the D.A.V. (Disabled American Veterans) Thrift in Prescott. This is one fabulous shop, with all sorts of nifty nic-nacs, old clothes, furniture and, of course, books. And I scored! I found some of the old “Companion Library” series of children’s classics published by Grosset & Dunlap back in the ’60s. What was wonderful about these volumes wasn’t just that they made available some of the all-time best stories for young people, but also the way they did it.

There were two tales per volume, but also two front covers. If you were looking at one cover and you wanted to see the second, instead of just turning it over, you would flip it upside down and THEN turn it over. Hard to explain with words, but if you saw one you’d understand. And these were the full versions of each story, not some abridged one.

So here’s what I snagged: The first volume has Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (it says “Revised and Slightly Abridged”. Oooops!) which was first published in 1727. along with Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. The second volume has The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame sharing the covers with Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Finally, the third volume has The Adventures of Pinocchio by C. Collodi (in reality, Carlo Lorenzini, NOT Walt Disney) followed on the reverse side by the Howard Pyle version of The Story of King Arthur and His Knights.

There were several more of these wonderful books on the shelf when I left, but I didn’t want to be greedy. But if they’re still there next time, consider them gone. I’m going to build a nice library for my grandson and these books are a great way to do it!

Monday Musings

24 Sep

I’ve been having pretty good luck with the book hunting lately, but I was exceptionally fortunate this past Saturday at my local library’s ongoing book sale. I found a beautiful copy, in excellent condition, of “Ivanhoe,” by Sir Walter Scott. This hardbound edition put out by the The Heritage Club (The Heritage Press, 1950) includes the original slipcase and a copy of the Heritage Club newsletter, “Sandglass,” which goes over some of the more interesting historical notes about the novel.

“Ivanhoe” was published in 1819 and became Scott’s crowning success. I haven’t read it before, but according to the “Sandglass” insert, it’s a true swashbuckler and includes two of my all-time favorite characters: Locksley (AKA Robin Hood) and Friar Tuck. How they got in there I have no idea, but I’ll let you know when I find out. I don’t remember any Ivanhoe being in “The Adventures of Robin Hood!”

Also interesting is the fact that Scott raised some eyebrows by including Jews as prominent characters in his novel, which at that time was considered “startling, exotic.” The character of Rebecca was based on a real Jewish American Tory named Rebecca Franks who lived in Philadelphia during the Revolution. Being a Tory, after the rebels won America’s independence, Rebecca and her family were evacuated to England where she eventually met Scott. The rest, as they say.

__________

The Wall Street Journal had an excellent Books section this past weekend. I was particularly interested in two reviews.

First off, the Library of America has just published a two-volume set, “The Little House Books” by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The set puts together all nine of the Little House books plus special supplemental texts for a total of 1,490 pages. The timing on this review was perfect, considering I had just done a brief spotlight post on Wilder’s “Writings to Young Women” about a week back. Laura Ingalls Wilder was a wonderful writer and a real American icon, who wrote these books for children so that they would understand “what it is that made America as they know it.”

Something that all too many people today seem to have forgotten.

The other review of interest was about Jonathan Sacks’ new book, “The Great Partnership: Science, Religion and the Search for Meaning,” (Schocken, 370 pages, $28.95). Sacks, the chief rabbi of the Untied Kingdom, has a go at the currently flaring battle between science and religion. I find this topic fascinating, though I expect neither side will win a final victory. I know where I stand, and I’m sure that Richard Dawkins knows where he stands, but I don’t see either of us changing our minds any time soon. But it is fun to watch the volleys each side lofts at the other. Ah, the bombs bursting in air!

__________

Finally, I received the advance copy of “The Core of Johnny Appleseed” a few days back. This is the book I wrote the Foreword to. It’s beautiful, if I say so myself.

It’s scheduled to be released on November 1st. Here’s the link to the Amazon listing for those who are interested.

Thanks and have a great week all!

Laura Ingalls Wilder, Advice Columnist?

16 Sep

Author Laura Ingalls Wilder used her experiences growing up near De Smet as the basis for four of her novels. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of the pleasures of book hunting at yard sales, thrift stores and library sales is finding that unknown book or author. Or even, as in this case, an unknown book by a well-known author.

I came across “Writings to Young Women From Laura Ingalls Wilder, Volume One: On Wisdom and Virtues,” at a Salvation Army Thrift Store a few weeks back. Everyone who’s been near a television in the past several decades has heard of the series, “Little House on the Prairie,” based on her books of the same name.She and her family were true pioneers and her accounts of her years on the American frontier are not just great stories for young people but are also considered valuable historical records of that time. So I admit to be being more than a little surprised by this title from her.

It turns out that Laura Ingalls Wilder was also a newspaper columnist for The Missouri Ruralist, a small publication reportedly still in business. She didn’t start her career in journalism until she was in her forties, according to the book’s introduction. She wrote for the Ruralist for about fifteen years before beginning her Little House stories. So take heart, late bloomers: Laura began her career as a book author in her sixties!

Edited by Stephen W. Hines, this book is a compilation of some of her columns from the Ruralist about the use of wisdom in this life. Her writing here is clear, direct and somehow touching. As editor Hines puts it in his introduction, ” . . . nothing of real importance ever changes. Her concerns are not so different from the ones we have today, though they take different form.” Here are a few samples,

The habit of saying disagreeable things or of being careless about how what we say affects others grows on us so easily and so surely if we indulge it.

__________

I am sure we will all agree that these laws of ours should be as wise and as few as possible.

__________

Our hearts are mostly in the right place, but we seem weak in the head.

The book is a delight to read, filled with stories and anecdotes and lessons learned from years of living. It is, indeed, a book of wisdom of which there are way too few in these days. Our children and grandchildren should be exposed to these types of books at every opportunity. We should read them and talk about them together.

One last observation. Laura Ingalls Wilder died in 1957. Born in 1867, she lived nearly a century. It gives me a chill and a deep sense of our connected history to think that I was three years old when she passed.

Thank you and God bless you, Laura.

1 Comment

Posted by Rob on September 16, 2012 in Authors, Book Hunting, History

Tags: History, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie, Pioneers, Virtues, Wisdom

Book Hunt Results and Some Thoughts

30 Aug

Thank goodness for my local library. When the Old Book Junkie needs a fix, he knows where he can go. It paid off nicely this past Saturday.

I found something I’ve been looking for for quite a while; a volume of the collected stories of Edgar Allan Poe. “Edgar Allan Poe Stories: Twenty-seven Thrilling Tales by the Master of Suspense” (Platt & Munk, 1961) has what most Poe fans would expect like The Telltale Heart, The Pit and the Pendulum and The Murders in the Rue Morgue. But it also has a story called Metzengerstein, about the transmigration of souls (brownie points for those who know the difference between transmigration and reincarnation!) The volume ends with a nice selection of his poetry.

I also snagged a copy of “Tozer on the Holy Spirit” (Christian Publications, Inc., 2000). It’s “a 366-Day Devotional” which includes a daily scripture reading, extended passages from A.W. Tozer‘s best books as well as quotes from other authors. This will be a welcome addition to my mornings!

__________

One of my favorite Sunday activities is going over the book reviews in the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal. This weekend, however, reminded me of why I prefer older books.

Some of the books reviewed included books about small behaviors such as yawning and sneezing, books about natural versus technological navigation and books about the future of cities. Now I’m sure these are all fine books, but there wasn’t a big idea to be found anywhere. Our culture seems to become more self-absorbed with each passing year. We’re fascinated with our smallest of behaviors, with how we do this or do that, how we created our technological wonders, where we live and how we’ll live in that great promised-land called the “Future.”

It all seems a bit superficial to me somehow. Maybe it was just a slow publishing week.

__________

It wasn’t a totally negative WSJ Weekend, however. There was a great piece in the Off Duty section of the paper called “E-Books, A Breakup” by Joshua Fruhlinger. Well written and funny, Joshua cuts to the heart of the matter with one succinct sentence: “I realized then: E-readers are needy, but a paperback will always be there for you.”

Right on, Joshua!

__________

A while back I wrote about my experience writing the foreword to “The Core of Johnny Appleseed”. For those of you interested, here’s a link to the book as it appears in the Christian Bookstore. Go check it out!

4 Comments

Posted by Rob on August 30, 2012 in Authors, Book Hunting, E-Readers, Ideas, Old Books

Tags: A W Tozer, books, E-book, Edgar Allan Poe, Johnny Appleseed, Joshua Fruhlinger, Metzengerstein, Swedenborg Foundation, Wall Street Journal

The “Odd” Miscellany

03 Aug

Geek that I am, about two years ago I wrote a fan letter to Dean Koontz. Much to my delight the author had the kindness and grace to write me a personal reply. I also merited a subscription to “Useless News,” Mr. Koontz’s quarterly newsletter which contains updates on his writing projects as well as recently written afterwords from new editions of his novels and other pieces of, well, useless news. But believe me, it’s all very entertaining.

Anyway, I received my Summer 2012 issue the other day and it had a bit of news in it that has me very excited. One of my favorite Dean Koontz novels will be coming to movie theaters sometime this winter. “Odd Thomas” was directed by Stephen Sommers (of “The Mummy” and “Return of the Mummy”) and stars Anton Yelchin (Chekov in the 2009 film “Star Trek”) as Odd Thomas.

Mr. Koontz was given a preview of the film and, as he describes it, he was “whacked flat by happiness.” This is a major sign of good. He has previously been very disappointed with film versions of his books. Indeed, Hollywood and books have had a long and rocky relationship. Hollywood loves books, but often treats them poorly. Fortunately for us, this book was treated right.

Now there are two major films I have to see this winter: “Odd Thomas” and “The Hobbit.” Can’t wait!

__________

I guess this must be a book and movie kind of day. While roaming through a thrift store yesterday I nabbed a copy of “The Neverending Story” by Michael Ende, the award-winning German author of children’s novels. The novel was first published in Germany in 1979 and was made into a movie by Wolfgang Petersen in 1984. The movie was very good, but as the cliché always goes, “the book is so much better!” At least, that’s what I’ve read and been told.

I’ve always wanted to read this book, and for 50 cents the price of admission was right. It’s a Puffin Books paperback bearing the same cover art as the hardback, which is beautiful. My initial skimming of pages was promising. This should be fun!

__________

While I was perusing the used books at the thrift store yesterday, I heard a bright, young voice exclaiming,”That’s BIG book on wizards!” A few minutes later, the voice’s owner and his mom and sister came around the corner.

The boy looked to be about 9 or 10 years-old and he was carrying a plastic basket that was filled with various books. As he walked past I couldn’t resist and asked him, “Hey, buddy. Are all those books yours?”

As he nodded his head happily, he added, “I got a book about dragons, too!” This put a big smile on my face. I gave him the thumbs-up sign and told him, “Keep on reading!”

Things like this give me hope.

2 Comments

Posted by Rob on August 3, 2012 in Authors, Book Hunting, Children's Books

Tags: Anton Yelchin, authors, books, Dean Koontz, dean koontz novels, Hollywood, Neverending Story, Odd Thomas, Puffin Books, Stephen Sommers

Book Hunt 7/28/12: Tales Old And New

29 Jul

My wife deserves a medal or some sort of official recognition. Every Saturday I have my errands to run, and inevitably I wind up at the local library to check out the ongoing book sale there. Rarely do I come home empty-handed. I mean, I DO call myself the old book “junkie” for a reason. My wife seldom complains even though we have too few book cases to put them all in.

Yes, I love her.

Had a good hunt today. Found a nice copy of the Reader’s Digest book “American Folklore and Legend” (Reader’s Digest Association, 1978, 1983.) Snicker if you want, but Reader’s Digest publishes some wonderful things and this volume is no exception. It contains many tales and traditions from the earliest days of our country up until the mid-1970s. Fun stuff, yes, but also very important. One of our nation’s biggest problems today is the lack of a national sense of identity, and at least part of the reason for that is we have largely forgotten and ignored our shared stories. Part of this book’s stated goal is to help correct that.

I also grabbed a book by an author I’ve never read before, Michael Chabon. The book is titled “Summerland” (Hyperion, 2004). It’s supposedly a children’s book, but I’ve found that some of my favorite books are those for younger readers. According to the blurb on the back of the book from Time magazine, “Summerland adapts Norse mythology, Native American folklore, American fables, Homeric myth, Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, to teach the enduring lessons about finding strength within yourself.”

Sold!

The Old Book Junkie

Category Archives: Book Hunting

Old School Book Report

I’ll Take “Book Hunting” For 100!

Wonderful Find !

Good Holiday Book-Hunting

Score at the Thrift Store

Monday Musings

Laura Ingalls Wilder, Advice Columnist?

Book Hunt Results and Some Thoughts

The “Odd” Miscellany

Book Hunt 7/28/12: Tales Old And New

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