Lost & Found

Ever hear of the Stratemeyer Syndicate? We hadn’t either…so off to Wikipedia we traipsed. It’s hard not to associate the word “syndicate” with gamblers or organized crime. It’s nice to know that this particular syndicate refers not to nefarious or harmful activity but, rather, to “the first book packager to have its books aimed at children, rather than adults.” And, come to find out, without them, we wouldn’t have Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, The Bobbsey Twins or The Motor Girls, the latter of which were given as a series of four from “Mother and Daddy” to their daughter, “Miss Rowena Callendar.” This is the first inscribed collection we’ve seen. While, on the one hand, it’s kind of sad to see these books discarded, it was a really fun find.
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A heavy book in more ways than one! This was the first of a few finds at one of our new inscription haunts. Wish we could have spent a little more time perusing the contents.
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Desert Solitaire depicts Abbey’s preoccupation with the deserts of the American Southwest. He describes how the desert affects society and more specifically the individual on a multifaceted, sensory level.

One of Abbey’s finest non-fiction books, according to David, who is a huge fan. We hope Bobby appreciated this book.
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Written by Senator Albert Gore and published in 1970, this book is a campaign biography where he recounts his refusal to sign the “Southern Manifesto.”

“I was placed in the anguishing position of either violating my legislative conscience by signing a thoroughly unsound document or of appearing to go ‘against the South,’ ” he wrote. But, he said, “I took a stand on principle and the people of my state approved.” Mr. Gore, Senior was a remarkable figure, willing to act of conscience and to pay the political consequences.
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