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Biography / Memoirs

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1) With a Daughter's Eye: a Memoir of Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson
Bateson, Mary Catherine

New York: William Morrow & Company, 1984. First American Edition. Hard Bound. Fine/Fine. This is a deep and loving memoir by the daughter of Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, legends in Anthropology.The author looks back to an extraordinary childhood as she describes worlds found and created for her by parents who translated their passionate interests into images a child could share. Bateson does not deescribe an idyllic childhood, for the pain of separation was frequent and predictable. Her parents divorced, after living apart for years, when she was eleven. As an adult, anthropologist Mary C. Bateson became her parents' colleague. She recounts the fascinating paths traveled separately by each of these groundbreaking scientists, and describes complex ties that endured between Margaret and Gregory until their deaths. 242 pages with notes and selected bibliography. Numerous photographs included within the text. No marks or tears. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $12.00
2) Everyday Sacred; a Woman's Journey Home
Bender, Sue

San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrisco, 1996. First Edition. Soft Cover. Fine. Bender, Sue and Richard. The pictoral cover is fine, a red pot with a deep blue background. The pages are fine, interspersed with small drawings. The first page has a smudge on the right top as though someone had tried to erase something, otherwise pages are fine, no tears or marks. 159 pages. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $8.02
3) Vanished Kingdoms: A Woman Explorer in Tibet, China, and Mongolia 1921-1925
Cabot, Mabel H

New York, New York, U.S.A.: Aperture, 2003. 3rd Printing. Hard Cover. New/New. Wulsin, Janet Elliot and Frederick. NEW - "Don't fall for the temptation that this extraordinary book presents to get lost in the pictures - because, as wonderful as the photographs are, it's a great story. Author Mabel Cabot has painstakingly put together the pieces to create a fascinating and beautiful book." - Cokie Roberts, ABC News, National Public Radio. This is the story of Janet Elliott Wulsin and her husband, Frederick, as they set out for the far reaches of Tibet, China, and Mongolia in the early 1920's. Their purpose was to study the people, flora, and fauna of the region. Janet's strenuous, eventful exploration is detailed by a text enriched with vivid observations from her candid personal letters. The journey proved to be a test of the Wulsins' endurance and of their relationship. Both took photographs of the worlds they explored. Photographic records of these regions are rare, and this book offers a perspective on an expedition, at a time, and a place that continues to command our interest and attention. A fabulous book! 190 pages, 9 7/8" x 11 1/2". 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. more information

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Price: $20.00
4) Kissing Cousins; a Memory
Calisher, Hortense

Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1988. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Very Good. DJ has a 1/2" tear and one tiny tear, both at the top, otherwise the jacket is fine. The binding is fine, spine is tight. 118 pages. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $8.02
5) The Fall of the House of Hutton
Carpenter, Donna Sammons; Feloni, John

Harper & Row, Publishers, 1990. First Edition. Soft Cover. Very Good/No Jacket. First Perennial Library (Harper & Row) edition. The cover has a small bump at the top and scuffing. The story of E.F. Hutton's downfall. Colorful characters like Robert Fomon, who ran Hutton like a dictatorship. Written like a day-by -day journal. 322 pages. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. more information

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Price: $10.03
6) Without a Doubt
Clark, Marcia with Carpenter, Teresa

Viking Press, 1997. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. This book is extremely intense, very interesting, never a slow moment. Judge Ito was clearly a weak link instead of a strong leader as he refused to admit numerous, potentially harmful pieces of evidence. This is the whole story, not the media story. 502 pages, including index. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $15.04
7) Thirty Years in a Red House: A Memoir of Childhood and Youth in Communist China
Di, Zhu Xiao; Terril, Ross (foreword by)

Boston, MA: University of Massachusetts, 1998. Unknown. Soft Cover. New. (This book) (p)rovides a balanced and realistic view of one family's experience in post-revolutionary China. In addition to offering readers a glimpse of the personal llife of a Chinese official (Zhu's father) and the ideals that inspired him, Zhu's memoir documents his own coming of age and eventual departure from a country that ultimately failed to live up to the hard-fought ideals of his father's generation." - Sampan. 255 pages with 11 pages of photographs. The corners are lightly worn, one is creased. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $22.00
8) From My Grandmother's Bedside
Field, Norma

Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1997. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Near Fine. The author of this memoir lived in Japan during her childhood, and her adult years in the United States. She went back to Japan in the 1990's to tend to her gravely ill grandmother; modern postwar Japan made a great impression on her, which she discusses in juxtaposition with her life in the United States. Many subjects are important to both countries including facets of how the war affected individuals, biracial/bicultural families, last farewells of kamikaze pilots, and the dehumanizing effect of Japan's postwar economic boom. A strong, intimate look at happenings mostly not familiar to Americans. Running through this essay is the realization that the personal and the political are perpetually entangled, that past and present converge and overlap. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $9.00
9) Unsafe on Any Burner: Misadventures of a Rookie Cook
Gosman, Fred

Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Bashford & O'Neill, 1998. First Edition. Hard Cover. New/New. Fred Gosman had an old-fashioned marriage. His wife cooked, and he ate. But when his 22 year marriage ended. he was forced to fend for himself. He made a life changing decision - he would learn to cook! Astonishing things happened along the way. He destroyed a blender and a towel rack. Prepared Minute Rice for Asians. But this book is more than a funny book about cooking. It's downright helpful, even for experienced cooks. Fred shares cooking tips, provides instructions for 18 simple delicious dishes, and reveals the common sense strategies and healthy recipes that allowed him to lose 50 pounds. He even chronicles his attempts to link cooking with romance. You will marvel at his perseverence and delight in his success in the cooking realm. 210 pages, one corner bumped. 64mo - up to 3" tall. more information

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Price: $12.50
10) Random Descent
Govier, Katherine

Penguin Books, 1987. Soft Cover. As New/No Jacket. This book has never been read. The book is about a young divorced woman who sets out to discover her family, visiting her grandparents and compiling a picture of her ancestors from their memories. 228 pages, includes a family tree. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. more information

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Price: $5.50
11) Too Late to Die Young: Nearly True Tales from a Life
Johnson, Harriet McBryde

Too Late to Die Young: Nearly True Tales from a Life
New York, New York, U.S.A.: Picador USA, 2006. First Trade Paper Edition. Soft Cover. New/No Jacket. This lady pulls no punches. An entertaining look at an activist who insists on living life her way, disability or no; strongly recommended." - Library Journal. Harriet McBryde Johnson's witty and highly unconventional memoir opens with a lyrical meditation on death and ends with a bold and unsentimental sermon on pleasure. Born with a neuromuscular disease, Johnson has never been able to walk, dress, or bathe without assistance. With assistance, she passionately celebrates her life's richness and pleasures and pursues a formidable career as an attorney and activist. Whether rolling on the streets of Havana, on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, or in an auditorium at Princeton challenging philosopher Peter Singer, Johnson defies every preconception about people with disabilities, and shows how a life, be it long or short, is a treasure of infinite value. 261 pages. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $9.00
12) Riding the White Horse Home : A Western Family Album
Jordan, Teresa

New York, NY, U.S.A.: Knopf Publishing Group, 1993. First Edition. Hard Bound, Cloth. Fine/Fine. This is Teresa Jordan's story of four generations of her family's devotion to the land, a devotion that required at once physical courage and psychic endurance. She celebrates the strength and character of the women of her family, the men, the hay crew, cooks, and cowboys. With reverence and grace, she uses the history of her family to mirror the demise of a quintessential American way of life. This is not only Jordan's family history, it is every Western family's story: It is the story of the American West. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $7.02
13) Jew Boy : A Memoir
Kaufman, Alan

New York, NY, U.S.A.: Fromm International Publishing Corporation, 2000. First Edition. Hard Cover. New/New. Kaufman's coming-of-age account is by turns hilarious and terrifying, written with irrevernt humor and poetic introspection. His authentically American voice, with its headlong energy, joy, and sensitivity, calls to mind the best of Jack Kerouc and Henry Miller. Jew Boy touches on themes rarely explored in American writing - the pain, guilt, and comfusion of American-born children of Holocaust survivors. The binding is cloth. The jacket is somewhat scuffed. 402 pages, includes a poem separately published. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $6.00
14) Jew Boy : A Memoir
Kaufman, Alan

New York, NY, U.S.A.: Fromm International Publishing Corporation, 2000. First Edition. Hard Cover. New/New. Kaufman's coming-of-age account is by turns hilarious and terrifying, written with irrevernt humor and poetic introspection. His authentically American voice, with its headlong energy, joy, and sensitivity, calls to mind the best of Jack Kerouc and Henry Miller. Jew Boy touches on themes rarely explored in American writing - the pain, guilt, and comfusion of American-born children of Holocaust survivors.The binding is cloth; the jacket is somewhat scuffed. 402 pages, includes a poem separately published. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $6.00
15) At Home in the World: A Memoir
Maynard, Joyce

New York, New York, U.S.A.: Picador USA, 1998. First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Near Fine. Beyond the story of Joyce Maynard's relationship with J. D. Salinger and his influence on her writing, this is the story of the daughter of brilliant and complicated parents - an adoring alcoholic artist for a father and a dazzling, funny, and wildly frustrated mother, driven to see her daughters achieve what had never been possible for herself. Joyce Maynard grew up with pen in hand, writing and publishing stories before she reached her teens. In this book, Maynard made the decision to break her 25-year silence about what had taken place with Salinger. 347 pages with photo endpapers. Bottom right corner is slightly worn, jacket has light shelf wear. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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16) My Faraway Home: An American Family's WWII Tale of Adventure and Survival in the Jungles of the Philippines
Maynard, Mary McKay

My Faraway Home: An American Family's WWII Tale of Adventure and Survival in the Jungles of the Philippines
New York, New York, U.S.A.: The Lyons Press, 2002. First Softcover Edition. Soft Cover. New/No Jacket. Photographs. NEW - "A welcome perspective on a far-flung corner of the war." - Publishers Weekly. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and simultaneously attacked the Philippines, 8-year-old Mary McKay, her parents, and several other American families working on Mindanao fled into the jungle for what they thought would be a short evacuation until they could be rescued by the Navy. Their wait lasted 2 years. This book tells the fascinating story of how they survived. The refugees encountered typhoons, fires, and cobras; they lived on dwindling stores of canned food, traded with Filipino villagers who wouldn't betray their hideout, and learned to improvise by making their own shoes, soap, and other necessities. Into this upside-down world of anxious waiting and frayed tempers came occasional simple joys - a Fourth of July feast, nighttime card games, a pet goldfish in a glass jar - as the refugees tried to recreate "normal" life in the jungle. 275 pages including a glossary, bibliography, and 16 pages of photographs. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $9.00
17) A Monk Swimming: A Memoir
McCourt, Malachy

A Monk Swimming: A Memoir
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.: Hyperion Books, 1998. Eighth Printing. Soft Cover. Near Fine/No Jacket. Malachy McCourt, brother of Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes, 'Tis) has written this memoir telling his own story of leaving his childhood of poverty in Limerick, Ireland, and heading for the promise of America. Armed with a wild humor and gift for storytelling, he ran from memories of a drunken, vanished father and the humiliations of Angela, his mother. He carved a place for himself in New York as the first celebrity bartender; on stage, performing works of James Joyce, and on television, where the tales he spun made him a Tonight Show regular. Darkly funny, shockingly raw, and everywhere making the English language do tricks the British never intended, Malachy McCourt, a true original, tells his story with passion, wit, irreverence, and charm. 290 pages; the very bottom right corner is turned up a bit. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $7.00
18) A Monk Swimming: A Memoir
McCourt, Malachy

A Monk Swimming: A Memoir
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.: Hyperion Books, 1998. Eighth Printing. Soft Cover. Near Fine/No Jacket. Malachy McCourt, brother of Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes, 'Tis) has written this memoir telling his own story of leaving his childhood of poverty in Limerick, Ireland, and heading for the promise of America. Armed with a wild humor and gift for storytelling, he ran from memories of a drunken, vanished father and the humiliations of Angela, his mother. He carved a place for himself in New York as the first celebrity bartender; on stage, performing works of James Joyce, and on television, where the tales he spun made him a Tonight Show regular. Darkly funny, shockingly raw, and everywhere making the English language do tricks the British never intended, Malachy McCourt, a true original, tells his story with passion, wit, irreverence, and charm. 290 pages; the very bottom right corner is turned up a bit. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $7.00
19) Before Scarlett : Girlhood Writings of Margaret Mitchell
Mitchell, Margaret; Eskridge, Jane (editor)

Athens, GA, U.S.A.: Hill Street Press, LLC, 2002. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. Photographs. By her own order, all of Mitchell's personal papers were to have been destroyed after her death. The world applauded when, in the mid 1990's, a lone Mitchell short story was found and published. Now, discovered in an attic of a house left to Wailes Thomas are many papers, amongst them are two boxes of jounals, yellow copybooks, short stories, fairy tales, all from age eight through seventeen penned by Margaret Mitchell. These revealing writings, along with rare archival pieces and photographs - are published here for the first time and give Mitchell's worldwide legions of admirers a rare glimpse into the sould of the brilliant young talent who would go on to write the best-selling novel of all time, Gone With the Wind. 214 pages including index. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $9.03
20) Saying Goodbye: A Memoir for Two Fathers
Montgomery, M. R

Alfred A. Knopf, 1989. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. This is Montgomery's evocative and touching account of his efforts to recapture the history of two men - his father, a civil engineer, and Dr. Lee M. Watanabe, his father-in-law. They were different on the surface but similar at heart, each devoted in his own way to his profession, his family, and the American dream. It is about many things: racism, soldiers and sailors, teaching Japanes to American officers. But most of all this is a book about fathers and sons, and the quest for understanding; of memories, of dreams, dusty archives, and of love. Maps are on the inside of front and back covers. 256 pages, no tears or marks. The price is not clipped. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $8.02
21) May's Boy: An Incredible Story of Love
Monty, Shirlee

May's Boy: An Incredible Story of Love
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A.: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1981. Second Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Good. Leslie Lemke is blind, severely retarded, and has cerebral palsy. His sense of balance impaired, he needs to be led to the piano. When he starts playing an amazing transformation takes place and moving, forceful, technically exact music fills the air. How? Psychologists call his special ability savant syndrome. Persons who otherwise demonstrate subnormal intelligence possess an island of brilliance far exceeding even the capabilities of the "gifted." Leslie's case goes beyond the extraordinary. It is a story of an amazing woman and her unshakeable belief in her foster son. 186 pages, 8 pages of photographs. The bottom back corner is worn on the cloth-covered book. The jacket has a 1/4" tear at the top, wear at the corners, 1/2" and 1" tears on the back, and light wear at the spine ends. Signed by the author, May and Joe Lemke, and Leslie. Small note written on the following page. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $18.00
22) Pleasures of a Tangled Life
Morris, Jan

New York: Random House, 1989. First American Edition. Fine/Fine. The author of this book had, several years ago, a sex change operation to become a woman. 211 pages, no tears or marks. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $8.02
23) The Book Of Telling: A Memoir
MUIR, SHARONA

The Book Of Telling: A Memoir
New York, New York, U.S.A.: Schocken Books, 2005. Stated First Edition. Hard Cover. New/New. Photographs. After her father died, Sharona Muir learned by chance that he had invented Israel's first rocket. Amazed by this discovery, Muir traveled to Israel to meet her father's colleagues, a group of idealists - many of them refugees from Europe - who had been summoned by David Ben-Gurion to create weapons for a new nation. With the equivalent of $3,000, these young scientists set up shop in a rooftop shed in Tel Aviv, working day and night, falling asleep at their desks while still holding pencils. Through the memories they share, Muir comes to know the brilliant, impassioned, and creative young Itzhak Bentov, her father. She weaves her own memories of him into their stories. As the truths she seeks emerge, Muir elegantly evokes the hubbub of Jerusalem streets, the uncommon lives of her hosts, and the land and skyskapes of the Negev. The result - a story of invention and self-invention, of Israel's founding generation, and of a deep, abiding love between father and daughter - is an incandescent memoir. 275 pages including notes and 8 pages of photographs. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $11.50
24) The Book Of Telling: A Memoir
MUIR, SHARONA

The Book Of Telling: A Memoir
New York, New York, U.S.A.: Schocken Books, 2005. First Edition. Hard Cover. New/New. Photographs. After her father died, Sharona Muir learned by chance that he had invented Israels first rocket.This book tells the amazing story of how Muir unravels the truth about her father's many lives. Muir travels to Israel to interview her father's former colleagues - a practically unknown group of foreign refugees who had been summoned by David Ben-Gurion to create weapons for a new nation. Sharing memories of her father, they heldped her to understand him in the context of their astonishing past. She weaves together the secret scientists' stories with the story of Muir's father's life and her quest to rediscover him. She had known him as an inventor of medical instruments - his cardiac catheter is still saving lives today - and as a writer of consciousness and the cosmos, but uncovered much more. This is the story of human creativity in the face of war and hearbreak, of extremes both historical and personal. And it stresses how we invent not only ideas and machines, but also our very selves. 275 pages including an afterword and notes. The binding is textured natural paper with gold lettering. 8 drawings and photographs are included. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $12.54
25) The Metcalfe Family Album: Six Generations of Traditions and Memories
Murphey, Sallyann J

The Metcalfe Family Album: Six Generations of Traditions and Memories
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.: Chronicle Books LLC, 1999. First Edition. Hard Cover. As New/No Jacket. Tarrish, Laura. NEW - An inspiration for keeping our own family traditions alive is this book. It is 1835. Marianne Metcalfe, a daughter of the French nobility, has just wed Joshua, an American pioneer. Together they set off on their new life, headed for the wilds of Indiana. When they arrive, Marianne establishes not only a homestead, but also a legacy even more priceless. Every Christmastime, she sits down to record in a beautiful journal her memories of the year. Into her scrapbook she pours beloved family recipes, crafts, and mementos, as well as the cherished moments of her life. The tradition is embraced across the generations, by Constance, Anna, Kathleen and Jessie - until the Album is passed down to the present day, when Jan, a modern mother of two, picks up her pen. In writing about her life, her own strength and dreams, each woman also draws a fascinating portrait of her times. Yet, however much things change, however different these woman are, they are bound by one thing: The love of home and family. A beautiful volume, unpaginated but filled with delightful collages, letters and other personal momentos. The binding is quarter-cloth, the cover illustrated front and back. The black remainder mark on the bottom is small, the width of the book. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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26) Slave
Nazer, Mende; Lewis, Damien

New York, New York, U.S.A.: Public Affairs, 2003. First Edition. Hard Cover. New/New. Mende Nazer lost her childhood. It all began one horrific night in 1993, when Arab raiders swept through her Nuba village on horseback. They set fire to the village huts, murdered the adults by slitting their throats, and rounded up 31 young children. Mende was twelve. A slave trader brought Mende to Khartoum and sold her to a wealthy Arab family. So began Mende's dark years of enslavement. In September 2000 she made a dramatic break for freedom. It is a story almost beyond belief. It depicts the strength and dignity of the Nuba tribe, and recounts the savage way in which the Nuba and their ancient culture are being destroyed by a secret modern-day trade in slaves. 350 pages. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $15.00
27) Black and White Sat Down Together: The Reminiscences of an Naacp Founder
Ovington, Mary White

Black and White Sat Down Together: The Reminiscences of an Naacp Founder
New York, New York, U.S.A.: Feminist Press, 1996. First Soft Cover Edition. Soft Cover. New/No Jacket. Photographs. From Booklist (starred review): "Historians. . . reasessing the role of the NAACP in the U.S. civil rights struggle. . .and lovers of history and biography will be glad these Depression-era reminiscences of the Euramerican woman most deeply involved with the NAACP with its 1909 formation until her death in 1951 have been rescued from the archives of the Baltimore Afro-American, where they appeared in 1932-33." 166 pages. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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28) A House in Sicily
Phelps, Daphne

New York, New York, U.S.A.: Carroll & Graf Pub, 1999. 3rd Printing. Hard Cover. New/New. Photographs. Foreword by Denis Mack Smith, this is the delightful memoir of a woman who started life anew in the "most beautiful house in Sicily." For fifty years Casa Cuseni has been home to Daphne Phelps, and a rest stop for Tennessee Williams, Bertrand Russell, Roald Dahl, and Henry Faulkner and others. They didn't come merely to Sicily; they came to Casa Cuseni - a perfect house commanding a breathtaking view of Mt. Etna and the sparkling coastal waters of the Ionian Sea. In this charming memoir Ms. Phelps tells its story: One that began in 1947 when, with next to no knowledge of Italian and precious little money, a war-weary, thirty-four year old Daphne arrived in the small Sicilian town of Taormina to sell the house she had unexpectedly inherited. Instead, she fell in love, not just with airy quarters and lovely gardens but also with a community and its way of life. To raise the money that would enable to keep her splendid inheritance, and to save it from certain demolition, Daphne opened its doors to the artists, writers, students, friends, and professional escapists who found their way to the wondrous, inviting Casa Cuseni. Daphne Phelps' Sicilian home and garden have been featured in The World of Interiors and numerous other publications. A House in Sicily is her first book. 270 pages, including photographs, and a small red remainder mark on the text bottom. A beautiful story! 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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29) My Turn : The Memoirs of Nancy Reagan
Reagan, Nancy; Novak, William

New York, NY, U.S.A.: Random House, Incorporated, 1989. 2nd Printing. Hard Cover. Very Good/Fine. During our White House years I said almost nothing about how I really felt regarding the controversies that swirled around me. . . .But now those years are over, and it's my turn to describe what happened. . . ." This is the memoir of one of the most fascinating, controversial, and enigmatic first ladies in American history. As soon as Reagan took office in 1981, his wife found herself in the spotlight of criticism, particularly over her plans for renovating the White House and for ordering new china. Stories continued, about her role in her husband's policy decisions, her relationships with Donald Regan and with the Reagan children. She talks openly about her influence in the Reagan administration, reflects warmly on her lifelong love affair with her husband, and shares the darker times as well. The binding is a bit bent up from the middle. There are light spots on the page edges.The DJ has some rubbing on it. 384 pages, including index and 32 pages of photographs. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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Price: $5.50
30) Nothing Is Impossible: Reflections on a New Life
Reeve, Christopher

Westminster, Maryland, U.S.A.: Random House Inc, 2002. First Edition. Hard Cover. New/New. Reeve, Matthew. Second Printing. Christopher Reeve mastered the art of turning the impossible into the inevitable. He shows that we are all capable of overcoming seemingly insurmountable hardships. He interweaves anecdotes from hiw own life with excerpts from speeches and interviews he's given and with evocative photos taken by his son Matthew. Published on the eve of both his fiftieth birthday and the seventh anniversary of his spinal cord injury, this volume reminds us that life is not to be taken for granted, but to be lived fully with zeal, curiousity, and gratitude. That is a powerful message in itself, but it is the messenger who gives it its full resonance. 177 pages. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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31) My Asakusa: Coming of Age in Pre-War Tokyo
Sawamura, Sadako; Stafford, Norman E.; Kawamura, Yasuhiro (translated by)

Rutland, VT: Tuttle Pub, 2000. First Edition. Soft Cover. New/No Jacket. NEW - Written near the end of Sadako Sawamura's remarkable life, My Asakusa is a charming collection of autobiographical essays by a truly self-made woman. Recalling Japan at a time of great political turmoil and rapid culture change, Sawamura shares with us her vignette of growing up in Asakusa - one of the last of the old downtown Shitamachi neighborhoods of incessantly modernizing Tokyo - and her keen insight into the characters of those who populated her world. 269 pages including a glossary. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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32) Of Landscape and Longing: Finding a Home at the Water's Edge
Servid, Carolyn

Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.: Milkweed Editions, 2000. First Softcover Edition. Soft Cover. New/No Jacket. Genz, Julie (cover illustration). Born in India to medical missionaries, Carolyn Servid grew up along the Arabian Sea yet knew that this homeland was not her own. Years later, back in America, a trip to Alaska reawakened "a sensibility I did not fully understand" - the sense of connection between the human heart and the land. This shoreline would become her home. Describing the landscape around Sitka, Alaska and her joy in rowing Thimbleberry Bay in her red Banks dory, Servid conveys the elusive, soul-sustaining qualities of knowing a place well. Her story asks larger questions about how people relate to the land around them: Whether as a place for recreation, as a site of occasional retreat, or, in Servid's case, as an ongoing intimate relationship of growing pleasure and knowledge - the land as lover found. 192 pages with acknowledgments and works cited. On the bottom of the pages is a small remainder mark. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

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33) Frank and Maisie : A Memoir with Parents
Sheed, Wilfred

New York, NY, U.S.A.: Simon & Schuster, 1985. First Edition. Hard Bound, Cloth. Very Good/Near Fine. Photographs. By the brilliant novelist and essayist, a moving and hilarious memoir of his undauntable parents, Maisie Ward and Frank Sheed. Maisie, of a country gentry family, Catholic converts and scholars, and Frank, an Australian from a Catholic working-class family, joined forces in what must have been one of the most interesting and exuberant marriages in the history of that institution. Filled with wonderful stories and good humor, love and loss, Frank and Masie is about growing up, becoming a man, becoming friends with ones parents and offering them, finally, the nicest compliment - loving them for themselves. One corner of the binding is worn, and the jacket has wrinkles at the spine top. 296 pages, 6 pages of photographs. No marks or tears; price has been clipped. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

Offered by Nan's Book Shop (United States)
Price: $10.03
34) To Set the Record Straight: The Break-in, the Tapes, the Conspirators, the Pardon
Sirica, John J

New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1979. Stated First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Very Good. It was the most important trial ever to be tried in the courts of the United States. Conspiracy, burglary, the recordings of illegal activity, and finally a presidential pardon. John Sirica presided over the trials involving the Watergate conspiracy for five years. This book reveals the behind the scenes details that led to Richard Nixon's resignation. A fascinating look at how the court system works and what happens when the defendant happens to be the President! The blue cloth binding is fine, the page edges on top are foxed. 391 pages, all clean with no tears. The jacket has shelf wear on the top with 2 tiny chips, and wear at the spine top and bottom. In a small spot on the bottom the glossy cover is missing, showing the white underneath, and there are two tiny tears. The jacket, being black, shows light rubbing. The spine is tight, price is not clipped. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

Offered by Nan's Book Shop (United States)
Price: $5.50
35) Messages from My Father
Trillin, Calvin

Messages from My Father
Gordonsville, Virginia, U.S.A.: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1996. Hard Cover. Fine/Near Fine. Photographs. Abe Trillin had the western Missouri accent of someone who had grown up in St. Joseph and the dreams of America of someone who had been born in Russia. In Kansas City, he was a grocer, at least until he swore off the grocery business. He was given to swearing off things, and had presumably also sworn off swearing, although he was a collector of curses like "May you have an injury that is not covered by workman's compensation." Although he had a strong vision of the person he wanted his son to be, his explicit advice about how to behave didn't go beyond "You might as well be a mensch." Somehow, though, Abe Trillin's message got through clearly. Admirers of Trillin's unerring sens of the American character will be entertained and touched by this quietly powerful memoir. 117 pages. There are a few spots on the dust jacket front. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

Offered by Nan's Book Shop (United States)
Price: $8.52
36) Eating Children: with an unfinished memoir Frightening People
Tweedle, Jill

Penguin Books, 1994. Soft Cover. Fine/No Jacket. Photographs. Cover is fine, front cover has a picture of the author with a baby seen through maple leaves. The unfinished memoir is fragmented since it was not finished when the author died in 1993. The book includes photographs. 404 pages, 5" x 7 .75" high. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. more information

Offered by Nan's Book Shop (United States)
Price: $5.50
37) Eating Children: with an unfinished memoir Frightening People
Tweedle, Jill

Penguin Books, 1994. Soft Cover. Fine/No Jacket. Photographs. 1994; SB. Cover is fine, front cover has a picture of the author with a baby seen through maple leaves. The unfinished memoir is fragmented since it was not finished when the author died in 1993. The book includes photographs. 404 pages, 5" x 7 .75" high. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. more information

Offered by Nan's Book Shop (United States)
Price: $7.00
38) Affairs at State
Villard, Henry Serrano

New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1965. First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Very Good. This book is a career diplomat's candid appraisal of the U.S. Foreign Service in 1965. The writer tired of his Service being debased by the White House, congressional committees, and the American people. This book is written boldly and bluntly, and is an informed inside analysis of what goes on in the Foreign Service and how the Service can be improved. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

Offered by Nan's Book Shop (United States)
Price: $6.02
39) His Eye is on the Sparrow
Waters, Ethel and Samuels, Charles

Doubleday and Company, 1951. First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/No Jacket. Binding has slight bends at spine edges. 278 pages, fine. Photograhs on inside of front and back spine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

Offered by Nan's Book Shop (United States)
Price: $7.00
40) Dancing With Strangers: A Memoir
Watkins, Mel

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998. First Edition. Hard Cover. New/Near Fine. Arresting prose and a provocative conclusion - challenging the idea that our destinies are fundamentally linked to race - distinguish this remarkable memoir of growing up black in the American Midwest in the turbulent 1950s and 1960s. Set in an Ohio steel town and an exclusive, upstate New York private university, Dancing with Strangers is an evocative remembrance of an American's coming of age during the decade preceding the sixties' revolutionary transformation of American society. A dramatic, novelistically rendered account, it is the story of an individual's triumphant struggle for personal identity during an era when conformity, class, race, and political xenophobia dominated the American landscape. There is an approximate 1" narrow black remainder mark on the bottom of the book. 320 pages. The jacket has a tiny tear at the spine bottom. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

Offered by Nan's Book Shop (United States)
Price: $10.00
41) Remains: Non-Viewable
Young, John Sacret

Remains: Non-Viewable
Gordonsville, Virginia, U.S.A.: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2005. First Edition. Hard Cover. New/New. When John Sacret Young's cousin Doug was killed in Vietnam, Young learned that the remains of every Vietnam casualty fell into one of two official categories: Viewable of Non-Viewable. He also realized that such categories applied to how his New England family faced its own history. This memoir is beautifully written and profoundly moving. It is a powerful and persuasive examination of fathers and sons, of war and remembrance, and of family and self. 272 pages. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. more information

Offered by Nan's Book Shop (United States)
Price: $12.00

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