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U.S. Western History
1) SPF "Dreams of El Dorado: A History of the American West" by H.W. Brands. Very readable popular history that is also professionally researched and documented by Brands, a celebrated University of Texas historian. Hits all of the big events and trends of the Westward Movement, but doesn't forget the essential parts played by unsung "ordinary" citizens. PB 553 pp. exc. cond illus w/maps, b/w photos, index. $6
2) SPF "1776" By David McCullough. Pulitzer Prize winning history of the very rocky first year of the Revolution. We had Washington, a battle-hardened vet but an unproven commander, Greene, a Quaker general at 33 with no combat experience, and Henry Knox, a young bookseller with the daft idea of hauling captured British heavy artillery overland from Fort Ticonderoga in Northern NY to Boston. How the heck did they survive against the disciplined troops of the greatest empire on earth plus lots of German mercenaries? McCullough tells how and it isn't a dry telling! PB 386 pp. exc reading cond illus w/colored and b/w maps ad repros of contemporary portraits and documents. $6
3) "Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West" by Stephen E. Ambrose. Probably the most readable and yet comprehensive account of the "Corps of Discovery" by one of America's best popular historians. (I read this to my sons MANY years ago and they never forgot it!). PB 530 pp. exc/new cond illus w/six maps and many repros of contemporary portraits and scenes the expedition passed or encountered, including some of Lewis' own sketches. $6
4) "Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates" by Brian Kilmede. The war that started with a bunch of diplomatic stutter-steps and military stumbles ended with some big bangs and dead pirates. America became a world power and the world got to know the USMC! PB 205 pp. exc/new cond illus w/color repros of old painted illustrations, maps. $7
5) SPF "Sam Houston and the Alamo Avengers: the Texas Victory that Changed American History" by Brian Kilmede. The Mexican massacres that ended the sieges of the Alamo and Goliad killed many frontier heroes but ultimately showed the world that it had better NOT "mess with Texas"! They galvanized a relatively obscure "General" Sam Houston into leading a number of battles--initially defeats--that led to the Battle of San Jacinto. There, while triumphant Mexican General Santa Ana was enjoying a siesta, a commando-style raid led by mountain man Deaf Smith cut the Mexicans' supply line and line of escape and the Mexican army was routed. American Texas was born. HB 275 pp exc/new cond illus w/30 b/w and color repros of contemporary paintings and portraits, many maps, bibliography, extensive notes, and index. $8
6) "Mapping the Civil War: Featuring Maps From the Library of Congress" The maps and other illustrations chart the progress of the Civil War's main battles and campaigns. Text by two prominent Civil War historians TELLS of the actions and the maps, paintings, and contemporary cartoons chosen by the Library of Congress' chief cartographic specialist SHOW them. HB 176 pp. 8 1/2x11"format near new condition, very fully illustrated w/lots of color; a beautiful book. $10
7) "Diary of a Confederate Soldier--John S. Jackman of the 'Orphan Brigade'"ed. by William C. Davis. Real-time first-person narrative of an infantryman on the Western Front in the Army of the Tennessee. His Kentucky unit was nicknamed the "Orphan Brigade" because while they were pledged to the Confederacy, Kentucky never formally joined it! Well-written with lots of details and the author's hand drawn illustrations of battle sites. HB 174 pp. exc.reading cond w/hand drawn maps. Intro and commentary by a famous Civil War historian. $6
"Manhunt: The 12-Day hunt for Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson. A blow-by-blow narrative of the long hunt thru the swamps of Maryland and the woods of Virginia leading to Booth's death at the hand of a most peculiar "hero". Explains the aftermath of Lincoln's death and the conspiracy that led to it. PB 487 pp. exc reading cond illus w/many b/w photos and illustration repros, map, and interviews. A great "airplane book"! $69) "The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt , William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism" by Dolores Kearns Goodwin. Pulitzer Prize-winning study of TR's late political life by his best biographer. This really gets into his world: personal, political, and ideological A very detailed biography, especially from the political points of view. We say that "all politics is local", but this study makes it clear that then, as now, all politics can also be VERY personal, and that those who control the media control the course of the nation. HB 924 pp, illus w/many b/w photos, political cartoons of the period, and notes and index. $9
10) SPF "Villa and Zapata: A Biography of the Mexican Revolution" by Frank Mc Lynn. If there ever was a war where leverguns were front and center for much of the military action, the Mexican Revolution of 1910-19 was it. This book used the careers of two central figures of the Revolution to characterize the whole movement, which affected the American West profoundly and still does. PB 468 pp. exc reading cond. illus w/many historic b/w photos (and leverguns in the hands of revolutionaries), three maps, bibliography, and index. $7
11) SPF "Gunfighters: the Outlaws and Their Weapons" ed. by Chris McNab. This huge book not only covers the outlaw gunfighters, but also the forces of law and order--including some who changed sides--and various frontier vigilante groups. Covers most of the well-known shootist and feud gunfights, plus some less-publicized like the "Texas Salt War." Explains the roots of frontier violence in pre-Civil War border violence, the Civil War and its effects on Western politics and settlement, and frontier expansion and the political factions it created, mostly over land tenure and economic conflicts like homesteading and grazing rights. All the classic feuds and shootouts in detail. Heavily illustrated with many portraits and b/w pix of shootists dead and alive, many full-color, full-page plates of frontier weapons from flintlocks to the end of the 19th century. And if you need leverguns, there are pages of them in Western use or on display. HB 9x12" format 448 pp. exc/new cond but with very small front cover dents and previous owner's signature on the inside front cover. An excellent Western reference full of lore AND facts. $18 (very heavy to ship).
Adventures Otherwhere
12) "Incredible Fishing Stories" By Shawn Morey. Many "fish stories" on all fishing-related topics: "Remarkable Catches", "Grueling Battles," "The Revenge of the Fish," "Legends, Records, and Myths!" Short, sweet, and easy-to-read for all ages, plus cartoons by Jard Lee and many b/w photos that document the "fish stories"! PB 155 pp. 8 1/2x8 1/2" format in exc/new cond $5
13) "Fighting Indians of the West" by Dee Brown and Martin F. Schmitt. Classic history of the Great Plains and Arizona Indian Wars, told by the author of "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee"from his position as both a modern Western American historian and proud Native American. The causes, events, and personalities of the Plains Wars, the long Apache resistance, and the Modoc War. Paperback 253 pp. in good reading condition, w/120 b/w, sketches, painting repros, and maps. $4
14) The five most recent issues of "Gray's Sporting Journal," an upscale US fishing and hunting magazine. If you don't know Gray's, this is a cheap way to get acquainted! All issues have both hunting and fishing articles about US and worldwide locations, and fish and game. They have articles on new sporting products, new locations, recipes for game and fish, classic stories from the past, and stories that will be classics. The photography is the best and yet it is rivaled by many paintings that illustrate some of the stories--beautiful! (I remember when "starving artists" were cheaper than color photography and the wonderful illustrations they provided to "Men's" magazines. Some of them were extremely dramatic, showing scenes that it would be just too dangerous to photograph....'and now "Legal" wouldn't let you anyway!). Magazine format 8 1/2 x11" 120 pp. per issue (620 overall). $20 for all five, shipped.
15) SPF "Dangerous Beauty: Life and Death in Africa" by Mark C. Ross. A collection of true stories by an American safari guide, very well written and always aware of the truths of wild Africa--death. violence, and beauty. Ross, a guide, pilot, and firefighter whose US base was in Colorado, writes beautifully about African nature, but doesn't sugar coat the nature of African politics, so this book is "framed" in brutal wars. HB 325 pp exc. cond illus w/b/w photos. $7
Thanks for reading my long post! Hope you had a great Easter and have a great Spring1
Mike Armstrong
