United States History Books

THE AMERICAN FLAG BOOKPLATES (Sample available)
art from a photo. Condition: NEW package of 10 bookplates made by pacaritambo books. The peel-off label stock is heavier than most bookplate materials and is matte and not glossy. We can also personalize the bookplates if you like - email us the name you want on the bookplate. They are as perfect as possible, and we feel the subject matter is much different than you can get anywhere else. 3.75" H x 3.75" W. Content: This bookplate is a version of the American Flag - with plenty of room for a name of even an inscription. Any questions or for a sample, click here to email us.
$ 3.59 + $ 2.75 first class shipping.

THE BUFFALO CREEK DISASTER: How the survivors of one of the worst disasters in coal-mining history brought suit against the coal company--and won
by Gerald M. Stern. Condition: Pre-read 1977 Vintage paperbck first printing in Good+ condition. Pale spine crease with pale diagonal crease front and back lower cover corners. Interior clean & tight but tanning. Content: "The Buffalo Creek disaster was a horrible tragedy in poverty-stricken coal mining region and the people who had lost relatives, their homes and their livlihoods had no where to turn until a law firm was willing to take their case and fight the large mine operators. The book is written by the lead attorney on the case, which certainly makes it slightly self-serving, but this just proves that justice can truly can served through the law and lawyers can make the world a better place. The writing is very clear and easy, the action is fast paced and it is very educational (it somehow makes torts and civil procedure come alive). I would highly recommend this book for all aspiring lawyers or people who are already practicing." This is a law school favorite book for assigned reading. [1 copy available]
$ 3.79 + $ 2.94 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

COLUMBUS WAS LAST: From 200,000 to 1492, A Heritical History of Who Was First
by Patrick Huyghe. Condition: NEW 1992 MJF hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), new edition, first printing. Content: Author Patrick Huygens cites authentic archeological discoveries that prove numerous cultures inhabited America-ranging from the Chinese and Polynesians to Phoenicians, Romans and Celts-centuries before Columbus landed. The intrepid explorers covered are: Leif Ericson, Saint Brendan, Buddhist missionary Shui-Hen, Abubakari II the King of Malian Empire, Madoc, Chinese durveyor Shui-Hai, Norwegian king, Woden-lithi, the Earl of Orkney, Antonio Zeno, and Joao Vas Corte Real. [1 copy available]
$ 5.00 + $ 3.09 media shipping. International shipping available - please use the drop-down menu.

HUNTING ERIC RUDOLPH
by Henry Schuster with Charles Stone. B&W photo section - 16 pages. Condition: NEW 2005 Buckley hardcover (384 pages) and DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. Back DJ flap shows wrinkling. [1 copy available] Content: This is a suspenseful account of the five-year hunt for the man behind the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Park bombing. Eric Rudolph is now also facing federal charges for bombings of a gay nightclub and two abortion clinics in Atlanta and Birmingham, Ala. Descriptive anecdotes of Rudolph and his family help Schuster, a CNN senior producer, and Stone, former head of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Anti-Terrorist Force, illustrate how a man on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List with a million-dollar reward on his head managed to elude the FBI for years by hiding out in the mountains of North Carolina. Exposed by his mother to the radical racist and anti-Semitic Christian Identity movement, Rudolph became a white supremacist opposed to the government, gays and abortion, who may have been helped by sympathetic neighbors during his years as a fugitive. The authors avoid turning their subject into a romantic outlaw by fully describing those who were killed and maimed by the explosions he allegedly set. Schuster and Stone also point to errors committed by the FBI, such as their initial pursuit of an innocent man (Richard Jewell) and their preventing a local sheriff from picking up Rudolph early. [1 copy available]
$ 4.49 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

KILLING PABLO: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw
by Mark Bowden (Black Hawk Down). B&W photo section. Condition: Gently pre-read, IF at all, 2001 Penguin Trade Paperback, first pritning. The cover shows some shelf wear. Interior clean & tight with pale tanning to page edges. Not crisp. Content: This book describes the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, a notorious Colombian drug lord who became one of the narcotic trade's first billionaires. Pablo--Bowden refers to him by his first name throughout the book--started out as a petty thief and wound up running a massive smuggling empire. At his height in the 1980s, he owned fleets of boats and planes, plus 19 separate residences in Medellin, each with its own helipad. Violence marked everything he did: "He wasn't an entrepreneur, and he wasn't even an especially talented businessman. He was just ruthless." He bought off police, politicians, and judges throughout his country, and killed many others who wouldn't cooperate. The Colombian government tried to capture him, but without much luck; he evaded them time after time. "Now and then the police achieved enough surprise to catch him, literally, with his pants down. In [1988], about one thousand national police raided one of his mansions," writes Bowden. "Pablo fled in his underwear, avoiding the police cordon on foot." He got away, again, but his days were numbered. He was making powerful enemies in both Colombia and the United States. The final straw probably came when Pablo's men murdered a popular politician and, three months later, planted a bomb on a plane, killing 110 people, including two Americans. The bulk of the book describes what happened when the U.S. government put its resources behind the hunt for Pablo. Bowden describes the search in gripping detail, from the massive electronic-surveillance effort to bureaucratic infighting between rival U.S. agencies. This is an outstanding work of reportorial journalism, too: in the epilogue, Bowden drops tantalizing hints that it was an American--not a Colombian--who delivered the killing shot to Pablo in 1993. Readers looking for a real-life thriller--or any kind of thriller, for that matter--won't do much better than Killing Pablo. There is a proposed 2009 movie of the book starring the ever "pleasant" Christian Bale and Chris Pine. There is already a great History Channel special on the book. [1 copy available]
$ 5.49 + $ 3.09 shipping.

THE MAN WHO KEPT THE SECRETS: Richard Helms and the CIA
by Thomas Powers (Pulitzer Prize Winner). Condition: UNREAD 1981 Pocket paperback, first printing. Light tanning to white cover and interior page edges. Short diagonal crease bottom front cover corner. Interior clean & tight. Content: Thomas Powers penetrated the inner sanctum of the CIA. In a book that reads like spine-tingling spy fiction, he takes a close-up look at America's foremost spymaster and cold warrior, Richard Helms - a part of the CIA since its shadowy beginnings. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 4.49 + $ 2.94 media shipping.

OUR SMALLEST TOWNS: Big Falls, Blue Eye, Bonanza & Beyond
by Dennis Kitchen. Intro by Garrison Keillor. B&W photos. Condition: NEW 1995 Chronicle Books over-sized softcover, second printing. Content: This is a wonderful book! Reviewer: "Here's a simple idea that worked great! Dennis Kitchen thought it would be fun to visit each of the 50 states and take a picture of the entire population of the smallest community in each. And that's basically what this book is - 50 panoramic photos of groups of beaming citizens posing in the midst of their tiny towns. Part of the genius of the thing is that the wide-angle lens shows not only the people, but also captures the buildings, streets, trees, mountains, and local dogs - i.e., what makes each community unique. The other part is that all but one of the communities fell right in with the author's idea (in that instance he shot the town but not the people). The text accompanying the photos recounts the ingenious ways some of the mayors devised to encourage their townsfolk to all be at the same place at the same time (not always 100-percent successful, but always close). Also recounted are various citizens' wry observations about life in a very small town. And when you ponder the photos, you realize that the folks looking out at you know a lot more about each other than a bookful of photos could reveal. But that's how it gets in small towns. All in all, this book leaves me feeling that just about anyone would be welcome in these 50 spots, even without a camera. Covered are Mustang, Texas; Bonanza, Colorado; and Greenville, New Mexico. [1 copy available]
$ 6.50 + $ 3.29 shipping.

RAGTIME (Historical Fiction)
by E. L. Doctorow. Condition: UNREAD but not perfect, 1975 Random House hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), second printing. Although unread, this is still an older book with slight "dulling" (not fading) of the brown boards. The DJ has edgewear. Overall, I would still rate this as a very good copy of a great book. No price on the DJ - not clipped - just not there. Content: There is no simple or concise way to describe the storyline of "Ragtime, " E.L. Doctorow's best known work. This is a celebrated novel that combines the syncopation of ragtime and the literary sensibilities of a writer intrigued by history as literary device. Set primarily in Westchester County's New Rochelle but also in New York City and, briefly, Massachusetts, the novel follows the stories of real and fictional characters as they move from innocence to disillusionment, from peace time to the beginnings of racial conflict and World War I. [1 copy available]
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REMINGTON (America's Premier Gunmakers series)
by K. D. Kirkland. Color and B&W photos illustrate. Condition: NEW 2007 JG Press hardcover (pictorial boards) & DJ (in mylar jacket), assumed first printing. Tiny edge wear to bottom DJ edge. Content: With the aide of beautiful colorful photographs, this book tells the fascinating story of Eliphalet Remington. In this book, you will read about: * A history of Remington * Civilian Arms * Miliary Arns * Remington Ammnunition * Eliphalet Remington's First Gun * How Remington Entered the Arms Trade * A Glossary of Reminton Arms Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 5.59 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

ROE V. WADE: The Complete Text of the Official U.S. Supreme Court Decision
annotated by Bo Schambelan, J.D. Condition: UNREAD 1992 Running Press Trade Paperback, first printing. Tiny edgewear bottom back cover corner tip. Content: Reviewer: "This book is of doubtless value to those who, despite having never read a Supreme Court opinion, wish to dive immediately into the deep end of the pool. Intended primarily for a lay audience with a fervid interest in the controversial case, Schambelan's book is comprised mostly of text taken verbatim from the Court's own published opinion. On the upside, most of the book's content comes directly from the horse's mouth. On the downside, the Court's text hardly makes for an easy read for the uninitiated. Essentially a reference work, Roe V. Wade provides readers with abridged transcripts of the Court's decisions in both Roe v. Wade and its companion case, Doe v. Bolton, as well as all concurring and dissenting opinions, including original footnotes and citations. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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SALVATION: Black People and Love
by Bell Hooks. Condition: NEW 2001 William Morrow & Co. Uncorrected Proof (see what didn't make it to publication) in Trade Paperback format. Pen mark on upper back cover only flaw. Content: This is an impassioned plea to embattled African-American communities to embrace love as a force for change. This leading feminist scholar focuses on a love ethic that has the potential to undo the long-term effects of neglect, poverty and despair. Hooks refutes the myth stemming from the time of slavery that black people haven't attempted to normalize their lives, citing documentation of familial love and strong community ties. Much of the conflict in relationships between black couples can be linked to the sense of loss and abandonment arising from increasingly fractured black families; as a result, many members of the hip-hop generation mistrust love. [1 copy available]
$ 5.49 + $ 2.89 media shipping.

SEAWAY TRAIL GUIDEBOOK TO THE WAR OF 1812
prepared by Patrick Wilder. Wonderful B&W illustrations by Michael Wilder. Also, B&W art repros of the era and two-tone battle maps. Condition: NEW NEW c. 1987 Seaway Trail Inc. Trade Paperback, no printing given. Content: This is a detailed historical description of the battles of the War of 1812 which occurred in northern New York along the 454 mile Seaway Trail bordering Lake Ontario. Includes mini-bios of participants. Excellent coverage of the part of a war remembered by most Americans for the burning of the White House and Dolley Madison saving the Stuart portrait of George Washington. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 10.00 + $ 3.08 first class shipping.

SHADOW ENEMIES: Hitler's Secret Terrorist Plot Against the United States (History Channel Nazi Spies in America
by Alex Abella & Scott Gordon. B&W photos illustrate. Condition: NEW 2003 Lyons Press Trade Paperback, no printing given. Content: In 1942, with Americans still on edge after Pearl Harbor, four German-American operatives disembarked from a U-boat and waded ashore, soon melting into the crowds of Manhattan, the first of several teams assigned to blow up manufacturing and transportation centers as well as Jewish-owned department stores in the United States. Novelist and journalist Abella and Gordon, commissioner with the Los Angeles County Superior Court and a professor of law at Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, depict a crew of would-be saboteurs with varying degrees of discipline, experience and dedication to the Nazi cause. Their leader, George Dasch, had lived in the U.S. as a boy, but had drifted from job to job without ever satisfying his grand ambitions. Returning to Germany, he joined the military and was eventually recruited for the terrorist mission in the U.S., despite his ambivalence toward Hitler's National Socialism. Realizing that the Allies would most likely win the war, Dasch eventually turned himself and his co-conspirators in to the FBI, with the thought of making himself a war hero. While the exploits of Dasch, his partners and their sympathetic contacts are fascinating, also engrossing is the U.S. government's handling of the ensuing court case. J. Edgar Hoover, closely involved, knew that his agency's reputation was at stake. President Roosevelt, concerned about the lack of control in a civilian trial, ordered a military tribunal, which eventually ordered the execution of many of the conspirators and several of their sympathizers. Dasch was returned to Germany after the war, where he was greeted as a traitor. By painting these sometimes reluctant and occasionally bumbling terrorists in such vivid detail, the authors have re-created timely and compelling series of events with an immediacy that hits close to home. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 5.59 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

SOMEONE ELSE'S HOUSE: America's Unfinished Struggle for Integration
by Tamar Jacoby. B&W photo section. Condition: New 1999 Basic Books Trade Paperback, first printing. Remainder. Content: This is a well-documented but gloomy tale of three cities - New York, Detroit and Atlanta - and their unsuccessful struggle to realize Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of an integrated society. Jacoby, a former editor at the New York Times, puts a great deal of the blame on Mayors John Lindsay, Coleman Young, Maynard Jackson and Andrew Young for what she sees as their faulty though well-intentioned leadership.[614 pages] [1 copy available]
$ 8.29 + $ 3.19 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

SOLDIERS AND UNIFORMS OF THE AMERICAN ARMY 1775 - 1954
text by Fritz Kredel. Wonderful, detailed color illustrations of the uniforms by Frederick P. Todd. Condition: NEW 2005 Dover soft cover, no printing given. Reissue of the 1954 book. Content: Splendid pictorial history of military apparel includes meticulously researched, beautifully rendered illustrations of regimental attire from the Revolutionary War, uniforms worn by the Texas Rangers (1846), Louisiana Zouaves (1861), Philippine Scouts (1904), and members of the Women's Army Corps (1954). Descriptive text accompanies each illustration. 32 full-color plates. [1 copy left]
$ 7.29 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

SPEAK OUT IN THUNDER TONES:
Letters & Other Writings By Black Northerners, 1787-1865
by Dorothy Sterling (editor). Condition: NEW 1998 Da Capo Press Trade Paperback first thus, first printing. B&W photos & illustrations. Content: "This impressive collection, drawn from a wealth of original research into previously untapped sources, including letters, diaries, memoirs, speeches, poems, songs, newspaper articles, advertisements, a ship's log, and official documents, allows African Americans to speak afresh across more than two centuries. Besides the expected voices of Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, this book makes vivid the experiences and views of a diverse range of lesser-known but equally fascinating personalities: Ira Aldridge, one of the great Shakespearean actors of his day; William Allen, the first black college professor in the country; the astronomer and mathematician Benjamin Banneker; Paul Cuffe, owner of a fleet of merchant ships: Martin R. Delaney, the father of black nationalism; James Forten, war veteran, inventor, and one of the wealthiest men in America; the militant Henry Highland Garnet, who urged slaves to revolt; the poet Phillis Wheatley, as well as ordinary free blacks, fugitive slaves, soldiers, wives, mothers, pioneers, sailors, and numerous others. The editor has forged her material into a documentary history as dramatic as it is memorable." [1 copy available]
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THEIR LIVES AND NUMBERS: The Condition of Working People in Massachusetts, 1870-1900 (Documents in American Social History) (Paperback)
edited by Henry F. Bedford. B&W era photos and charts illustrate. Condition: NEW 1995 Cornell University Press Trade Paperback, first edition. Tiny edgewear & light "turn-up" front cover fore edge. Content: This book brings together narrative and statistical documents from the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor's first thirty years, providing a detailed picture of the experience of working families in an industrial society. [1 copy available]
$ 5.79 + $ 2.89 media shipping. Priority shipping available..

TOM PAINE AND REVOLUTIONARY AMERICA
by Eric Foner. B&W illustrations. Condition: UNREAD 1977 Oxford University Press Trade Paperback edition, 14th pritning (c. mid 1980s). Moderate tanning to page edges. Content: Since its publication in 1976, this book has been recognized as a classic study of the career of the foremost political pamphleteer of the Age of Revolution, and a model of how to integrate the political, intellectual, and social history of the struggle for American independence. Foner skillfully brings together an account of Paine's remarkable career with a careful examination of the social worlds within which he operated, in Great Britain, France, and especially the United States. He explores Paine's political and social ideas and the way he popularized them by pioneering a new form of political writing, using simple, direct language and addressing himself to a reading public far broader than previous writers had commanded. He shows which of Paine's views remained essentially fixed throughout his career, while directing attention to the ways his stance on social questions evolved under the pressure of events. This enduring work makes clear the tremendous impact Paine's writing exerted on the American Revolution, and suggests why he failed to have a similar impact during his career in revolutionary France. It also offers new insights into the nature and internal tensions of the republican outlook that helped to shape the Revolution. In a new preface, Foner discusses the origins of this book and the influences of the 1960s and 1970s on its writing. He also looks at how Paine has been adopted by scholars and politicians of many stripes, and has even been called the patron saint of the Internet. [1 copy available]
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TRAPPED: The 1909 Cherry Mine Disaster
by Karen Tintori. B&W photo section. Condition: UNREAD 2002 Atria hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition, first printing. Content: Reviewer: "Tintori's account of the Cherry, Ill. mining disaster quite unexpectedly turns out to be one of the best books I have read this year. Because the author's grandfather worked at that mine (he was home nursing a hangover the day of the disaster), Tintori was a woman on a mission. Her meticulously researched book takes you back nearly a century and recreates the scene so very well. We learn about the town and the imigrant miners who risked their lives each day to eke out a living. Tintori then recalls the unlikely set of tragic events that caused the fire at the mine and the heroic actions of the dozen men who time and time again went back into the inferno attempting to rescue those who were trapped. Fortunately, their efforts did not go unrewarded!!! The shocking part is that the mine continued normal operations for a couple of hours after the fire broke out, causing considerably more casualties than would have otherwise occurred. As a result of this tragedy, significant changes were made to existing Workmen's Compensation and coal mining safety laws. The town of Cherry maintains a small archive of the mine fire in the local town library." Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 4.69 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

THE WHITE HOUSE TRANSCRIPTS: The full text of the Submission of Recorded Presidential Conversations to the Committee on Judiciary of the House of Representatives by President Richard Nixon
introduction by R. W. Apple of the New York Times. Condition: UNREAD 1974 Bantam paperback, first printing. Pale tanning to page and white cover edges. Interior clean & tight. Content: Just as the title says: the recordings from the Oval Office of President Nixon which became part of the Watergate hearings. [1 copy available]
$ 4.50 + $ 2.89 shipping.