No comments about Quotations of Theodore Roosevelt.

1 comments about The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys.

1. This book spends more time on loan to antique dealers and decoy collectors then it does in my library. It is an excellent reference work for collector and waterfowler alike. Everyone who sees it and collects, deals or dreams wants a copy. But we simply can't find them. Superb pictures and detailed text. We rate it excellent all around.

5 comments about Winchester: An American Legend: The Official History of Winchester Firearms and Ammunition from 1849 to the Present.

1. This book is an eye opener for sure! Okay it is a coffee table book rather than a serious reference work, but hey, you cannot deny the shear luminous beauty of the photography and the well thought out layout and design. There is good info to be had as well, this book is a 'faster' reference than Madis' work and leaves you hungry for more. Well done Mr Wilson, I will be buying more of your work!



2. the next best thing to owning a winchester rifle itself.
   
   excellent in every respect and well recommended.



3. Just the pictures in this huge volume are enough to make it worth thumbing through, but the written information is tremendous and the author manages to cover all connections to Winchesters' Fathers, including John M Browning, my personal hero (other than my Father, Uncle, Grandfather and all other veterans of WWII and Korea). Probably not all the information on Winchester firearms and ammo history but all that I can absorb and still have a social life.



4. Beautiful to look at. Not heavy in the way of company or technical history, but what a great coffee table book. Costly - if you can find it - but wow!




5. R.L. Wilson, who wrote this book, also wrote one called 'Colt, an American Legend.' Both books are exquisite, coffee table size--eight and a half inches by eleven inches (landscape)--and each are over 400 pages, almost every page filled with extremely high quality color photographs.

   R.L. Wilson, in addition to being a collector and well-known author in the firearms field, is a historical consultant to Colt's Firearms Division.

   The subtitle on the first page says, "The official history of Winchester firearms and ammunition from 1849 to the present," which pretty much covers the entire history of the Winchester Firearms Company (now known as U.S. Repeating Arms, since a bankruptcy and change of ownership.)

   If you are a Winchester aficionado, or just a Western history buff, with an interest in "The Gun That Won the West," this is a book you will want in your library.

   It is one of my favorite books. It will probably be one of yours, also.

   Joseph Pierre,
   Author of THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS: Our Journey Through Eternity

No comments about Ten Nights in a Bar-room and What I Saw There.

No comments about A Guide to American Trade Catalogs 1744-1900 (Guide to American Trade Catalogs, 1744-1900).

3 comments about Coca Cola Commemorative Bottles: Identification & Value Guide (Coca-Cola Commemorative Bottles).

1. Has a limited number of bottles - there is not as many commemorative bottles as I was expecting. I could not use it for my collection.



2. Quality paperback book helps you identify and value over 800 bottles which are beautifully pictured in full life-like color. Covers 8 oz and 10 oz bottles. A brief description of the bottle accompanies each entry. Well indexed for easy locating. A useful reference book.



3. This book is great to have if you are a collector of Coca-Cola bottles.Being able to see what the bottles look like is nice.

3 comments about American Amusement Park.

1. Loved this book! Great info on amusement park history and behind the scenes secrets. I'm ready to go ride!



2. In the thrill seekers genre of books and videos, this fits right in. Although most of it is indeed a rehash, the layout is fabulous. No one can have enough photos of carousel horses or stories about old parks. The nostalgia factor in this book raises the bar. Unlike a few of the other books, this one is more rounded in that it covers the whole park instead of just the coasters. Be advised that these kinds of books are historical in nature and don't necessarily point to what's coming next at the World's of thrills.



3. This book is packed full of beautiful photographs and nostaligic postcards. Various chapters showcase the origin of amusement parks, and the different styles and hybrids from the "traditional" and "theme" to the Storybook Lands and Santa Villages. There's even a chapter on flat rides. The graphics and layout are great. The author also knows his material. This is a great companion to that other great BMI book, "The American Roller Coaster".

5 comments about We Owe You Nothing, Punk Planet : The Collected Interviews.

1. there are a few good interviews in here (jello biafra, ian mackaye, etc.). other than that it's pretty boring, unless you really dig corporate indie rock. there really isn't much on pre-90's punk and there's a section dedicated to chumbawamba. get this and read the good interviews then pass it along to someone else.



2. This is a truly amazing and inspiring collection of interviews. From Kathleen Hannah, Noam Chomsky, Jello Biafra, Thurston Moore, and many more known and unknown personalities, this book should work to revitalize your spirit to live, to dare, to create. Aside from Frank Kozik (who, while interesting, is not very inspiring) the people included in this anthology are vital, engaged artists, writers and just regular people who share some remarkable stories, fascinating insights. If your interested in real life political issues, what it means to create and sustain a culture, to be involved in communities or just interested in the human experience, I highly recommend this book.

   If you are into all of the "I'm so hip and crusty" stuff that the guy who trashed the book is into, then no, you won't like this, I suppose, because you have your own microscopic view of "punk" and will dislike anything that doesn't fit into it, but maybe you should still read this collection anyhow. It might help.




3. The majority of interviews are with performers and bands that established themselves in the 1990's. More importantly, the majority of interviews are with bands that were already circling the perimeter of corporate-sponsored "indie-rock". With the exception of Jello Biafro were never given any real insight into the workings of truly underground, hardcore political punk. Where were the interviews with MDC, Nausea, Toxic Reasons, Youth Brigade, Lydia Lunch, Foetus, Filth, Gangrene, the Squat or Rot crowd etc.? Daniel Sinker does a good job covering middle-class University-friendly phenomenona like the Riiot Grrl movement - but does little in the way of real research. Sinker missed the boat by about a decade and what we're given is his interpretation of what "punk rock" is.



4. Where the (corporate published) This Band takes a narrative approach to telling the story of punk (and thusly giving us more of an insight into the author himself instead of the bands and people he's "profiling"), We Owe You Nothing lets the bands and people speak for themselves. What emerges is an honest, filter-free look into the punk underground.

   Additionally, while This Band stops at the early 90s, creating an artificial feeling of "it ended", We Owe You Nothing looks forward into the present and future of punk (while still remaining rooted in its history) by talking with contemporary bands and non-musical figures whose continued influence make punk a growing, dynamic, changing entity. Azzerad's book doesn't even come close.




5. Beng familiar with the fanzine version this book took the interviews from since their first issue, I did not initially think this book would be that good. But coming from someone still involved in punk and hardcore and indie rock, I gotta say the interviews are quite good, and the subjects interviewed are some of the most important and best known.

   The entire book is made up of interviews from past fanzine issues but I think interviews are great historical documents and should be more appreciated.

   Punk Planet the fanzine doesn't blow me away but this book is really very good. Any indie music fan should have this on his/her bookshelf. No joke.

1 comments about Collecting African American History.

1. As amazing as it sounds, some of the most valuable memorabilia regarding black history in the United States demonstrates some of the most horrific examples of racism. In particular, any material related to the practice of slavery is valuable. To quote Montgomery from page 41, "Evidence of slavery is scarce and expensive, forcing collectors to find more creative and affordable sources for slavery era material. "
   There are fourteen chapters devoted to specific forms of memorabilia. They are:
   
   *) Slavery
   *) Local history and genealogy
   *) Politics and civil rights
   *) Military history
   *) Music and entertainment
   *) Sports
   *) Art
   *) Photography
   *) Books, magazines and documents
   *) Spirituality and religion
   *) Education
   *) Business, economics and careers
   *) Lifestyle and popular culture
   *) Racism
   
   Each chapter begins with a short list of the more valuable items in that category. For example, the list for the art chapter is:
   
   *) Books and journal articles
   *) Exhibition catalogues
   *) Prints
   *) Posters
   *) Commercial art
   *) Jewelry
   *) Combs
   *) Baskets
   *) Textiles, quilts and sewing collectibles
   *) Clothing with African motifs
   
   This book was very instructive in an area of collectibles that I knew nothing about. I of course assumed that old articles had value, but had no idea which ones. If you are someone involved in collecting, this is certainly a book you should read. I regularly go to sales and see people buying up unusual items for their collections or to sell to others for their collections. Now I also know what to look for.

No comments about Country Store Collectibles.