Friday, September 23, 2011

A Country Between - Ethnohistory of the Upper Ohio Valley




Our current Featured book is a very nicely bound hard cover first edition of "A Country Between: The Upper Ohio Valley and its Peoples, 1724-1774", by Michael N. McConnell.  It is in pristine, like-new condition, with no visible flaws.  The book's black and cream dust jacket features an engraving by Benjamin West.  It was published by the University of Nebraska Press in 1992.  Dr. McConnell is an Associate Professor Emeritus at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

From the book jacket...  "As a comprehensive history of Indians in the upper Ohio Valley, this book constitutes a major contribution to the study of American Indians and of the colonial and revolutionary periods.  The Ohio Valley was the crucible of the Seven Years' War in North America, as well as a major factor in both the causes and course of the Revolutionary War. . . . McConnell skillfully applies ethnohistorical methods and insights to produce a first-rate narrative of developments in this region during the half-century prior to the Revolution."

From the publisher's website...  "McConnell shows admirable sensitivity to the plight of the Ohio refugees but not only as they were victims of circumstance. He portrays their changing but constant struggles to preserve a boundary between themselves and advancing Europeans. . . . McConnell eschews romanticism. This is history as it happened."—Journal of American History

"An excellent account of Indian diplomacy in the late Colonial period."—Choice

"McConnell makes a significant contribution to ethnohistory by chronicling with unprecedented precision the history of frontier interactions in the Upper Ohio Valley."—Ethnohistory

"A well-written, judicious and thoughtful study supplying an essential perspective to our understanding of the colonial period . . . obligatory reading for all interested in the early history of Ohio and Pennsylvania."—Ohio History

"Solid history, recommended to all who wish to learn more about Ohio’s Indian heritage."—Northwest Ohio Quarterly


Bibliographic Information

A Country Between: The Upper Ohio Valley and Its Peoples, 1724-1774, by McConnell, Michael N.. Published by University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 1992, First Edition, 1st printing. Smith, William (jacket art). ISBN: 0803231423. Hard Cover, Fine with Fine dust jacket. Black illustrated jacket with no signs of use, NO creases, NOT price-clipped. Light grey boards with no signs of use. Text clean, binding solid and square. 354 pages, with index. Sewn binding, cloth over boards, 24 cm, 28 oz.  $75.00



Keep Reading,
Diana

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Doc Savage - The Man of Bronze


Our recent new listings include five of Lester Dent's stories about Doc Savage, a fictional larger-than-life character created by Henry W. Ralston and John L. Nanovic for Street and Smith Publications.  The stories were originally published in the 1930s and 1940s in the pulp magazine Doc Savage Magazine, and comprised 181 issues, mostly written by Mr. Dent under the by-line of "Kenneth Robeson".

The character of Doc Savage is one of near-superhuman abilities, having been trained from birth for great strength and endurance, a photographic memory, mastery of the martial arts, and an encyclopedic knowledge of the sciences.  He is a physician, surgeon, scientist, adventurer, inventor, explorer, researcher, and musician - a twentieth-century renaissance man times ten squared.  Because of his skin, hair, and eye coloring, he is known as "The Man of Bronze".

sabreblade writes in a 2010 Hubpage post
"Doc was a man for a simpler time.  He was a hero with no real faults.  You couldn't corrupt him, he didn't kill, he didn't lie, he didn't mope about past failures (he didn't fail), and he wasn't driven by tragedy and revenge."

The Doc Savage oath sums up the character's mindset:
"Let me strive every moment of my life to make myself better and better, to the best of my ability, that all may profit by it. Let me think of the right and lend all my assistance to those who need it, with no regard for anything but justice. Let me take what comes with a smile, without loss of courage. Let me be considerate of my country, of my fellow citizens and my associates in everything I say and do. Let me do right to all, and wrong no man."

The world would most certainly be a better place if those ideals were universally embraced.  Perhaps it is a good time to (re)discover The Man of Bronze.






Keep Reading,
Diana