Newsletter - Heads Up

Heads Up! The 30% Sale Continues!
 
Books will be 30% off when you buy a minimum $50 purchase.
The sale will continures through January 3, but don't wait. This time of year, books sell quickly, especially the rare and collectibles.

New Years Hours
We will close at 5:00 on Thursday the 31st and be open noon to 6:00 on Jan. 1st.

On the Calendar
Friday January 8th, 7:00 – 9:00.
Charles Kettner Ph.D. will be here signing Die Kettner Briefe Dr. Kettner edited this collection of letters which consists of 39 letters exchanged between Franz Kettner and his family in Germany from 1850 to 1875. The letters, printed in German with their English translations, is enhanced by photographs, both old and new, and other supporting documents. Franz was an early farmer and stockman in Comal, Gillespie, and Mason Counties . He participated in several campaigns with the Texas Rangers and later, during the Civil War, was a member of the Minute Men (local militia). He ran a store and post office in Castell. He hauled freight from the Texas coast to Fort Mason . He was a sheriff in both Gillespie and Mason Counties and was the Tax Accessor. Franz held the prestigious position of Cattle and Hide Inspector during the era of large cattle drives from Mason County . Dr. Kettner will talk about the book and how it came about from 7:30 – 8:00.

An Evening with W.C. Jameson and Mike Blakely.
Mike and W.C. are both musicians, songwriters, authors and poets. They will play original music in an intimate setting and sign books. CD’s will also be on sale. Mike and W.C.have many fans and for good reason. Don’t miss this truly personal evening with two of the most gifted and prolific musicians and songwriters in Texas . Saturday January 9th, 7:00 – 9:00 (or longer)
http://www.mikeblakely.com/
http://wcjameson.com/

Personal Book Sellers
One of our favorite things about our customers is that we get to know you. A healthy number of you inquire and purchase books mentioned in the newsletter or featured on the blog. If you would like more information about a book, let us know and we will send you additional photos and more specific information about the book. We can take your payment information over the phone and ship it to you.

New Arrivals
Around the World with General Grant by J. Russell Young, two volume set, 1879, $150

Cowboy Life in Texas by W. S. James, 1893, $120

Old Ranches of the Texas Plains paintings by Mondel Rogers, signed first ed., 1976, $95

Texas, Its Lore and Lure by Caleb Pirtle, Jr. with paintings by Donald Mitchell, signed, 1983, $35

Tempest Valley by Vince Taylor, signed first ed., 1985, $85

Eden Tree by Witter Bynner, signed first ed., 1932, $100

The Birds of Heaven by Peter Matthiessen, signed first ed., 2001, $125

Hot Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman, signed, second printing, 2008, $45

John James Audubon by Richard Rhodes, signed first ed., 2004, $45

Happy New Year!
From Jessica, Lucy, David and Emily the shop cat

Last Minute Update

Recent New Arrivals in Time for Christmas

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Garcia-Marquez, 1970, $50

Leaves of Grass by Whitman, 1902, $35

Little Prince by DeSaint-Erupery, 1942, $35

Pastures of Heaven by Steinbeck, first ed., 1946, $45

Cannery Row by Steinbeck, 1945, $25

Works of Jane Austen, 10 vol box set, 1969, $125

Watch the Northwind Rise by Robert Graves, signed first ed., $150

Problems by John Updike, signed limited ed., #109 of 350, 1979, $185


We will close Christmas Eve at 6, and reopen on the 26th at 10.

Merry Christmas!

Newsletter: Faux Snow

Holiday Special for the Online Inhibited
We have a store on eBay with around 250 titles. If you are eBay shy browse our store anyway and e-mail me if you see a title you want. Stop by to pick it up and pay without the online details. If you live out of town, e-mail me and we will arrange payment and shipping details over the phone (830-997-1535). The special will run until December 30.
Here’s the link: http://stores.ebay.com/berkman-books

Recent New Arrivals
Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, first American ed. illustrated by Arthur Rackham, 1915, $950

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway first ed., first state, 1940, $400

Pioneers in Gods Hills, vol 1, 1983, $80, and vol 2, 1974, $80 and another vol 2, 1972, $85

Lyndon Johnson Story by Booth Mooney, first ed., signed by LBJ, 1956, $200

Where Flies the Flag by Henry Harbour, first American edition, illustrated by Arthur Rackham, 1904, $450

Give a Rare Gift
A book is a gift that can live a lifetime and beyond. It is valuable and thoughtful. It might bring laughter or tears. It can be visually delightful. Children’s books expand young minds and inspirational books can change the way you think. Frolic in a romance, get to know a historical figure, race through a mystery or just enjoy having a rare book on the shelf that has a story behind it. So many antiquarian books were originally gifts and have inscriptions written with pen and ink, some scrawled and some swirling script.

Many of these books were handed down from generation to generation, over decades, even centuries. A good book can change the way we see our world or take us to another world. What other gift has this power?

I’m not implying that a tie or pair of gloves is less remarkable than a book. For that person who loves books as well as a beautiful tie or comfy gloves, seriously think about giving a rare or collectible book. Here are a few suggestions for affordable gifts for all kinds of book enthusiasts on your list.
Consider childhood classics that will be sure to bring a broad smile of recognition. Tom Swift, Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames and for your friends that were children in the 30’s and 40’s, a Big Little Book or Zane Grey.

For your Sci-Fi buffs we have a first edition Dune and for poetry lovers we have a sweet book, For Loves Sweet Sake, an 1899 collection edited by G. Hembert Westley.

Cook book collectors might enjoy our 1939 World Wide Cook Book or an early Fredericksburg Home Kitchen Cook Book.

A Book-Lovers Holidays in the Open by Theodore Roosevelt from 1924 is a handsome gift your history/outdoor enthusiast.

Masters of American Comics is an eye popper for the budding doodling illustrator.

Artistically minded friends may enjoy photographer Andrew Eccles’s Ailey Ascending, A Portrait in Motion.

Blue Dog Speaks by George Rodrigue is original art that appeals to the playful at heart.

My favorite art book in the children’s’ section is the four volume set How Artist See by Colleen Carroll.

We have several copies of Lady Bird Johnson’s White House Diary 1970 first edition and LBJ’s Vantage Point 1971 first edition.

From the Antiquarian Case
The two volume set of Alexandre Dumas’s 1889 D’Artagnan Romances Twenty Years After is one of the more affordable and appealing items in the antiquarian case.

World Displayed – Ancient History, from the 1800’s, is a beautiful old leather piece that states that the world began in 4004 B.C. (FYI) Fascinating.

A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life by William Law is the 18th edition printed in 1821. Imagine a work that had already been printed 18 times by 1821! Another tactile delight.

If the book you are drawn to is out of your price range, ask a friend of family member to pitch in. They may never have thought of giving such a unique gift. You might be surprised to see the reaction to the suggestion. The recipient’s reaction will be pure pleasure.

We Wish You a Joyful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year,
Lucy, David, Jessica and Emily (she who naps in the Dickens Village faux snow)

New Rare Arrivals

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, eight printing, 1985, signed, $200

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, first ed., 1985, $150

Where the Blue Begins by Morely, illustrations by Arthur Rackham, 1922, $45

Arabian Nights by Kate Douglas Wiggin, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish, 1909, $75

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, 35th anniversary ed., signed, $1500

The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum, first ed., signed, 1980, $250

The Road by Cormac McCarthy, first ed., signed, $550

Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, First Ed., signed, $75

King Ranch by Tom Lea, first ed., first state, signed, 1957, $325

On the Way:

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, first ed., 1940

The Night Before Christmas, Arthur Rackham

New Arrival Bargains

If you want to purchase a book featured on the blog or newsletter, email or call us and you will get a 20% discount! For our out-of-town friends, we can send you more a detailed description and pictures. If you like what you see, we will ship it to you. Remember, the blog features are update about every ten to 14 days. They sell quickly, so be sure to check it out regularly. http://berkmanbooks.blogspot.com


Coming Up

Saturday Dec., 5th Jennifer Ramsey will be here signing the latest in the series, A Lady’s Day Out in the Texas Hill Country. This is volume three of the Texas series highlighting great places to shop and see in the central Texas area. Read stories and history about unique Texas entrepreneurs, their shops (us, too!) and lodging accommodations, including many Fredericksburg establishments. Jennifer will be here from 11 am to 1 pm.

December 10th at 7:00. Llano author Laurie Wagner Buyer will be here signing and reading her newest release, Infinite Possibilities: A Haiku Journal. In addition to reading poetry, Mrs. Buyer will have a general workshop for poets that want to develop their skills and find a publisher.

When she is not on the road presenting workshops, poet and novelist Laurie Wagner Buyer divides her time between Woodland Park, Colorado, and Llano, Texas.
Laurie has an MFA in Writing from Goddard College and is the author of three collections of poetry, Glass-eyed Paint in the Rain, Red Colt Canyon and Across the High Divide, which won the Western Writers of America Spur Award in Poetry and was named a Willa Cather Literary Award Finalist.

Her first novel, Side Canyons, was released in 2004. Laurie received the Beryl Markham Prize for Spring's Edge, a memoir released in 2008 which became a finalist for the Colorado Book Award in 2009. A member of The National League of American Pen Women and Women Writing the West, Laurie's freelance articles and photographs have appeared in dozens of periodicals, journals, reviews, and anthologies.

New Arrivals

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, first ed., 1940, $50

Atlas Shrugged by Ann Rand, 1975, $50

Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers, 1936, $200

Rachel Papers by Martin Amis, first American ed., 1974, $100

Wildflower Portraits by Eloise Reid Thompson, signed first ed., 1964, $60. The lovely thing about this book is the previous owner dried flowers in it. What wonderful inspiration the paintings provided.

Leaving Cheyenne by Larry McMurtry, first ed., 1963, $750

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, first ed., 1985, $110

I Love Art Books

Words and Images of Edvard Munch by Bente Torisen, first ed., 1986, $50

Seeing Red, the Rapture of Redheads by Howard Schatz, first ed., 1993, $95

Erotic Drawings by Gustov Klimt, first American ed., 1980, $200

Where’s Waldo?

He’s not here. He was last seen outside the store October 26, the evening of a big storm. We have done all the obvious things like contacting SPCA and animal control and putting a classified ad in the paper. We have given posters to neighboring businesses and residences, to no avail. We would like to widen the search to more residences in the area. If anyone can help distribute fliers, come by or call 997-1535. It is quite strange here without his presence.

Blog Bargains
If you want to purchase a book featured on the blog or newsletter, email us and you will get a 20% discount! For our out-of-town friends, we can send you more a detailed description and pictures. If you like what you see, we will ship it to you. Remember, the blog features are update about every ten to 14 days.

Coming Up

Saturday, November 14th, Author Signing, 10:00 – 5:00
George Arnold will be here talking about and signing his numerous humorous publications. He has something for everyone.
www.ciacats.com

Saturday evening from 7:00 to 9:00, Kerrville Author G. R. Williamson will be signing his new book, The Texas Pistoleers: Ben Thompson & King Fisher. This is an accurate telling of the true and deadly story of these two gunfighters. Known as the most feared gunmen of their day their exploits have largely been forgotten - until now.
G.R. Williamson lives in Kerrville, Texas with his wife, J.A., and trusty Chihuahua, “Shooter”. Born in Dallas, he spent his early years living in Crystal City, Texas which is located twenty miles west of King Fisher's ranch in Dimmitt County. As a Boy Scout he hunted arrow heads on the land that once belonged to King Fisher and he fished in the alligator waters of Espantosa Lake where the Texas Rangers shot it out with Fisher’s gang.
Growing up in this rough Texas brasada of the infamous “Nueces Strip” he soaked up the stories told by old vaqueros around campfires. After years of historical research he has authored books and articles that cover the people and events that truly transformed the era into the Wild West.
Currently he is putting the final touches on a non-fiction book entitled, Frontier Gambling: The Games, The Gamblers & The Great Gambling Halls of the Old West.
The signing will start at 7:00 and at 7:30 G. R. will give a colorful reading from his book in full western costume.
www.oldtimetexas.com

Saturday, November 21st, Author signing, 2:00 – 4:00
Seminole Bill, A Black Cowboy, 1860 is the eight book by Bert M. Wall.

Friday, November 27th, Author signing 4:00 – 7:00,
Empty Bottle Moments by Clive Berkman,

To Be Announced – Laurie Wagner Buyer
Infinite Possibilities: A Haiku Journal by poet and novelist Laurie Wagner Buyer.

New Arrivals

New World Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Five Volumes, first ed., 1953, $100
USS Lexington (CVA-16) 1958 Far Eastern Cruise Carrier Air Group 21, $95

Saint Edward’s University Centennial History by William Dunn, signed first ed., 1986, $50

The Romance of Old Sylvan Beach by Erna Foxworth, signed first ed., 1986, $75

An Independent People by Halldor Laxness, first ed., 1946, $85

Texas by James Michener, signed first ed. with all kinds of personal photos and letters, 1985, $180

Dalhart Windberg, Artist of Texas by Jerry Allen Potter, first ed., 1984, $75

The Gay Place by Billy Lee Brammer, first ed., 1978, $45

A Bunch of Aviation Books, history, combat and pictorials.

Cookin’ it Up Right

A Cook Book of Leftovers by Clare Newman, first ed., 1941, $35

Dinner at Omar Khayyam’s by George Mardikian, signed first ed., 1944, $35

Fredericksburg PTA Cook Books, a whole stack of them, from 1962, 1967, 1971, and 1975

Waldemar, Hunt, Texas Cook Book by Roy Spears, signed first ed., 1991, $150

I Love Art Books

Gauguin, A Retrospective, edited by Marla Prather, 1987, $20

The Bauhaus, Masters and Students by Themselves, first ed., 1992, $40

de Kooning, by Mark Stevens, first ed., 2004, $20

No Hobbies - October 23, 2009

Blog Bargains

If you want to purchase a book featured on the blog or newsletter, email us and you will get a 20% discount! For our out-of-town friends, we can send you more a detailed description and pictures. If you like what you see, we will ship it to you. Remember, the blog features are update about every ten to 14 days. They sell quickly, so be sure to check it out regularly. (New releases are not included.)

Coming Up

Sunday, October 25^th, Author signing 3:00 – 4:30 and reading at 3:30

Spies Can’t Have Friends by Dr., Elisabeth Scheidker-Scull.

Elisabeth Scheidker-Scull spent her teenage years in Communist East Germany. In 1954, she crossed over to West-Berlin where she found employment as bilingual secretary. Three years later, she immigrated to the United States. She holds a Ph.D. degree in German Literature and lives with her husband in the Texas Hill Country. This is her first novel.

November 5^th, 7:00 – 9:00, Wine and Cheese Night,

What a great way to spend an evening: wine, cheese and books. Bring a friend or meet another book fan. Children will have books, puzzles and drawing available to keep them busy while you browse. Make it a night out!

Saturday, November 21^st, Author signing, 2:00 – 4:00

Seminole Bill, A Black Cowboy, 1860 is the eight book by Bert M. Wall. Bert came to Wimberley in 1948 when his family purchased a small place on the Blanco River on the Flite Acres road near the Little Arkansas Bridge. (love this area) His first published work was The Devil's Backbone (1985).  Since then he has published several books of Texas Hill Country ghost stories. One-fourth of Bert’s royalties go to the Central Texas Medical Clinic in San Marcos for designated charities.

www.bertmwall-author.com

Friday, November 27^th, Author signing 4:00 – 7:00,

Empty Bottle Moments by Clive Berkman, a native of Johannesburg, South Africa, grew up with a love of good food as he watched his mother teach cooking classes in their home. He was trained as a chef at Cassio College in London and became chef, manager, and part owner of one of the finest restaurants in Houston. The restaurant is one of only three in Texas to win Wine Spectator magazine’s Grand Award, and has achieved many other accolades, including the DiRoNa Award and Travel and Holiday magazine’s Dining Award. He has also owned and operated Créme de la Créme Catering and a special events company, True Concessions.

www.cookingwithclive.com

To Be Announced- Author signing and reading

The Texas Pistoleers by Ron Williamson tells the story of King Fisher and Ben Thompson in vivid detail and relates the historically accurate account of their deaths in an ambush in a San Antonio saloon in 1884. G.R. Williamson lives in Kerrville, Texas with his wife, J.A., and trusty Chihuahua, “Shooter”. This is Ron’s first book. His second book, The Frontier Gambler, is set for release next year.

www.oldtimetexas.com

New Arrivals

Divine Comedy by Dante, illust. Leonard Baskin, 3 vol., first ed., 1969

Horseman, Pass By by Larry McMurtry, 1990

John O. Meusebach, A German Colonizer in Texas by Irene Marschall King, signed by author, 1967

Texas Under Many Flags by Wharton, first ed., 5 vol., 1930

Yankee in German America: The Hill Country by Vera Flach, signed second printing, 1974

Alluring San Antonio Through the Eyes of an Artist by Lillie May Hagner, signed first ed., 1940

The Damned Engineers by Janice Holt Giles, first ed., 1970

Newsletter - October 23, 2009

No Hobbies

Blog Bargains

If you want
to purchase a book featured on the blog or newsletter, email us and you will
get a 20% discount! For our out-of-town friends, we can send you more a
detailed description and pictures. If you like what you see, we will ship it to
you. Remember, the blog features are update about every ten to 14 days. They
sell quickly, so be sure to check it out regularly. (New releases are not
included.)

Coming Up

Sunday, October 25^th, Author
signing 3:00 – 4:30 and reading at 3:30

Spies Can’t Have Friends by Dr., Elisabeth Scheidker-Scull.

Elisabeth
Scheidker-Scull spent her teenage years in Communist East Germany. In 1954, she
crossed over to West-Berlin where she found employment as bilingual secretary.
Three years later, she immigrated to the United States. She holds a Ph.D.
degree in German Literature and lives with her husband in the Texas Hill
Country. This is her first novel.

November 5^th, 7:00 – 9:00,
Wine and Cheese Night,

What a
great way to spend an evening: wine, cheese and books. Bring a friend or meet
another book fan. Children will have books, puzzles and drawing available to
keep them busy while you browse. Make it a night out!

Saturday, November 21^st,
Author signing, 2:00 – 4:00

Seminole Bill, A Black Cowboy, 1860 is the eight book by Bert M. Wall. Bert
came to Wimberley in 1948 when his family purchased a small place on the Blanco River
on the Flite Acres road near the Little Arkansas Bridge. (love this area) His
first published work was The Devil's Backbone (1985).  Since then he has published several books of
Texas Hill Country ghost stories. One-fourth of Bert’s royalties go to the
Central Texas Medical Clinic in San
Marcos for designated charities.

www.bertmwall-author.com

Friday, November 27^th, Author
signing 4:00 – 7:00,

Empty Bottle Moments by Clive Berkman, a native of Johannesburg, South Africa, grew up with a love
of good food as he watched his mother teach cooking classes in their home. He
was trained as a chef at Cassio College in London and
became chef, manager, and part owner of one of the finest restaurants in Houston. The restaurant
is one of only three in Texas to win Wine
Spectator magazine’s Grand Award, and has achieved many other accolades,
including the DiRoNa Award and Travel and Holiday
magazine’s Dining Award. He has also owned and operated Créme de la Créme
Catering and a special events company, True Concessions.

www.cookingwithclive.com

To Be Announced- Author signing and
reading

The
Texas Pistoleers by Ron
Williamson tells the story of King Fisher and Ben Thompson in vivid detail and
relates the historically accurate account of their deaths in an ambush in a San Antonio saloon in 1884. G.R. Williamson lives in Kerrville, Texas with his
wife, J.A., and trusty Chihuahua,
“Shooter”. This is Ron’s first book. His second book, The Frontier Gambler, is set for release next year.

www.oldtimetexas.com

New Arrivals

Divine Comedy by Dante, illust. Leonard Baskin, 3 vol., first ed., 1969

Horseman, Pass By by Larry McMurtry, 1990

John O. Meusebach, A German Colonizer in Texas by Irene Marschall King, signed by
author, 1967

Texas Under Many Flags by Wharton, first ed., 5 vol., 1930

Yankee in German America: The Hill Country by Vera Flach, signed second
printing, 1974

Alluring San Antonio Through the Eyes of an Artist by Lillie May Hagner, signed first
ed., 1940

The Damned Engineers by Janice Holt Giles, first ed., 1970

Newsletter

Rather Sweet

October 15^th, 4:00 to 7:00

Rebecca Rather will be here signing her fabulous new cookbook, Pastry Queen Parties: Entertaining Friends and Family, Texas Style. WE will be THE first store to have her signing her new book! If you can’t make it to the signing, Rebecca can sign one (or a bunch) and we will hold it for you, or ship it to you. Pre-order by calling us at (830) 997-1535 or e-mail info@berkmanbooks.com. Ummmm, can’t wait.

Book Marketing Workshop

October 22^nd, 6:30 – 8:00

Local author and expert book seller George Arnold will be here for a workshop for writers who want to be published and published authors who want to sell more of their books.  Seating is limited to 15 and there is a $30.00 registration fee.  George’s book BestSeller: Must-Read Author’s Guide to Successfully Selling Your Books is included.  Call the store to register (997-1535) or e-mail info@berkmanbooks.com

Wine and Cheese Night

The next one will be November 5th, 7:00 - 9:00

Special Orders Are Baaaaack!

We will finally be able to order those books you want. We will place orders every Tuesday and they should arrive every Friday. That means the cut off for taking orders will be Monday at noon to get your book by that Friday. Of course, we will work with you if there are special circumstances.

Generally Hangin’ In

We cannot thank you enough for hanging in there with us during this crummy economic episode. Rumors of recovery keep whistling by and we keep reaching for them. Let’s hope the talking heads (newscasters and politicians) know what they are talking about. We hope the best for everyone; it has been tight for all. Our recovery would mean a return to our former self with new releases, full shelves and the happy register ding. What's that bumper sticker? 'Visualize Book Mania'?

Remember the Frequent Buyer program, too. For every $100.00 you spend, you get a $15.00 Gift Certificate. If you have not been in for a while, come back and see us, soon! Let’s hang in together.

New Arrivals

Hope Dies Last by Studs Terkel signed, 2003

Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs. We have a stack of 1920’s and ‘30s, some first editions, too many to list on the newsletter. I’ll send you a list of titles if you are interested, or go to the blog to see the stack.

Forgive My Grief - A Critical Review of the Warren Commission Report on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Penn Jones Jr., vol 1,,signes first ed., 1966

Hope Dies Last by Studs Terkel, signed, 2003

Diary of a Writer by Dovstoievsky, 2 vols., 1949

Fabre’s Book of Insects by Mrs. Rodolf Stawell, illustrated by E. J. Detmold, revised ed., 1935

Alfred Striglitz Photographs and Writings by Sarah Greenaugh and Juan Hamilton, first ed., 1983

Ireland by Ludwig Bieler, first ed., 1963

The Iliad of Homer translated by Richard Lattimore, first ed., 1962

Nothing Fancy by Diana Kennedy, 2 vols., 1949

The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, first ed., 1979

The Glorious Nosebleed by Edward Gorey, signed second printing, 1974

Newsletter

Say What?
September 23, 2009

Rather Sweet
October 15th, 4:00 to 7:00


Rebecca Rather will be here signing her fabulous new cookbook, Pastry Queen Parties: Entertaining Friends and Family, Texas Style. WE will be THE first store to have her signing her new book! If you can’t make it to the signing, Rebecca can sign one (or a bunch) and we will hold it for you, or ship it to you. Pre-order by calling us at (830) 997-1535 or e-mail info@berkmanbooks.com. Ummmm, can’t wait.

Book Marketing Workshop
October 22nd, 6:30 – 8:00

Local author and expert book seller George Arnold will be here for a workshop for writers who want to be published and published authors who want to sell more of their books. Seating is limited to 15 and there is a $30.00 registration fee. George’s book BestSeller: Must-Read Author’s Guide to Successfully Selling Your Books is included. Call the store to register (997-1535) or e-mail http://info@berkmanbooks.com

The Sale Continues! All books are 30% off with a $50 minimum.

Shop our ebay store! Auction and "buy it now" items are available.
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/berkman-books

New Arrivals

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald, first ed., reset, 1951

The Experience of Art Twentieth century Chinese paintings from the Shuisongshi Shanfang collection, Hugh Moss, 1983

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, first edition, modern library, 1938

Here We Go Again by Charles Whitfield Dickey, signed, first ed., 1951

Nimitz by E.B. Potter, signed by the author and Ladybird Johnson at the Nimitz dedication, November 11, 1983

Works of Shakespeare, 20 vol. limited ed., set

Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult, first ed. 1994


Hiding on the Shelf

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein, 2nd ed., 1965 book club box set with The Fellowship of the Rings, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King

Caesar’s Commentary’s on the Gallic War by Charles Anthon, 1840

Abraham Lincoln, the Man of the People by Norman Hapgood, 1903

The Great Kahn, by Dong Sung Kim, first ed., 1969

The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone, signed first ed., 1961


Literary Birthday - F. Scott Fitzgerald

American short-story writer and novelist, F. Scott Fitzgerald was known for his depictions of the Jazz Age (the 1920s). With the glamorous Zelda Sayre, Fitzgerald embarked on a life of parties and money spending, which he depicted in such novels as The Beautiful and the Damned (1922) and The Great Gatsby (1925), a story of the loss of romantic illusions and an ironic comment on the connection between love and money. The work is widely considered Fitzgerald's finest.

F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in St Paul, Minnesota of mixed Southern and Irish descent. He was given three names after the writer of The Star Spangled Banner, to whom he was distantly related. In 1913 Fitzgerald entered Princeton University. He left his studies in 1917 because of his poor academic records, and took up a commission in the US Army. His experiences during World War I were more peaceful than Hemingway's - he never saw action and even did not go to France.

Demobilized in 1919, Fitzgerald worked briefly in New York for an advertising agency. His first story, 'Babes in the Wood,' was published in The Smart Set. The turning point in his life was when he met Zelda Sayre, herself an aspiring writer, and married her in 1920. In the same year appeared Fitzgerald's first novel, This Side of Paradise originally entitled 'The Romantic Egoist', which he had started while in the army. Its hero, Armory Blaine, studies in Princeton, serves in WW I in France. At the end of the story he finds that his own self-centeredness has been the cause of his unhappiness. The book gained success and gave Fitzgerald entrée to literary magazines, such as Scribner's and The Saturday Evening Post, which published his stories, among them 'The Diamond as Big as the Ritz.'

The Beautiful and Damned, Fitzgerald's second novel, depicted Anthony Patch, who spends his grandfather's money in drinking, and in the end of the novel is declined with his wife both physically and spiritually. The work was less well received and in 1924 Fitzgerald moved to Europe. There he associated with such writers as Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway.

During the next five years the Fitzgerald's traveled between Europe and America several times. To support his amusement-park life style with Zelda, he frequently interrupted his work on his novels to write short stories and brought high fees from the popular magazines. Fitzgerald's stormy relationship with Zelda Sayre (1900-48) is told in his novel The Crack Up (1945). For a few months in 1927, and then again in 1931 and 1932, Fitzgerald worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter. Between Tender is the Night, and The Crack Up Fitzgerald wrote little. In the middle thirties he was not the young man, who lived enchanted life.

Fitzgerald's alcoholism and Zelda's mental breakdown attracted wide publicity in the 1930s. He returned to Hollywood in 1937, where he met Sheilah Graham, a gossip columnist, with whom he lived for the rest of his life. Fitzgerald worked on various screenplays, but completed only one, ‘Three Comrades’ (1938), before he was fired because of his drinking. In a letter to his daughter from Hollywood in 1938 he revealed the "what I am doing here is the last tired effort of a man who once did something finer and better".

In 1939 Fitzgerald began a novel about Hollywood, The Last Tycoon, loosely based on the life of Irving Thalberg. Fitzgerald died on December 21, 1940, in Hollywood, in Graham's apartment, before the book was finished. Zelda Sayre died in a hospital fire in 1948. Their unhappy circumstances, alcoholic, decadent life-style was basis Fitzgerald's novel Tender is the Night, which he revised repeatedly. His tortuous marriage was commented upon by Hemingway in A Moveable Feast (1964). In Tender is the Night a brilliant psychiatrist, Dick Diver, falls in love with a rich, beautiful mental patient, Nicole Warren. He marries her, and loses his idealism and potential for a great career, but Nicole, having battened on Dick's strength and love for ten years, emerges victorious.

Fitzgerald died in 1940 at the age of 44. That year, all of his books sold a total of 72 copies, with royalties of $13. Today, The Great Gatsby, alone, sells nearly 300,000 copies a year. (Source: Litweb.com)

“You don't write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say.”
- F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Say what?
Lucy and David