Went to four ARC thrifts this weekend for their half-off Saturday sale, and also hit an estate sale where I picked up four really old yearbooks for next to nothing. One of them was from 1902, and the other three were before World War II! I haven’t purchased this many books in a really long time! I’m finding that estate sales can have a kind of depressing air about them, as usually someone has passed away and all of their things are for sale… right where that person lived, and maybe died. In this case, it was a dirty, dusty house full of stuff that had to have been a rough job for the people running the sale. The book selection was one of those odd situations where all of the books didn’t interest me at all, save for the yearbooks. But at least at sales like this, things can be both cheap, and still flexible in price. Also, many of the books I saw at one of the ARC stores gave off the possibility that some World War II vet had just passed away, or someone older with that kind of interest based on the volume of books and the date they were published. Another one of those sad realities.

Thirteen books added to my library this week! That is the neat thing about having your own library, it is tailored to my interests, and every book I have is one that I could just pick up and read without having to wonder if it is remotely interesting. That has already been determined. Every book I buy is reviewed on the spot as to whether would be worth my time to read, so the library is 100% up my alley, so to speak. Not so much at the public libraries, that is another conversation/lecture! I’m not going to comment on each book here, most of them are self-explanatory.

Hillbilly Elegy • I’ve heard a lot about this book, it was written maybe ten years ago, obviously before becoming Vice President.

Makin’ Tracks • I watched the series Hell On Wheels, which was not a consistently good series, but the aspect of the story about building the railroad was always the interesting part of it, as well as the productions values in respect to recreating pieces of history.

The Survivor of the Holocaust • First-hand accounts are one of my favorite kind of book.

Klondike Fever • I read a book about the history of Alaska, so this is an continuation of that.

Men at Sea • Many good perspectives on something I am glad I’ve never had to do.

Total Recall • I do have issues with Arnold on politics, and like anybody, he’s made some big mistakes in life, but at the same time, there is a lot to admire about the guy, and his story has to be very interesting. Plus, Terminator and Predator are two of the best movies ever made.

Duel of Eagles • This was in the Fiction section, and is a reprint of his 1970 volume. The author actually commanded a fighter squadron in the Battle of Britain!

Modern Fighting Helicopters • I have several books in this series, and I remember seeing this one and for some reason, didn’t get it. It was probably not on half-off, and when I went to get it the next week it was probably gone. That is how that works. But, now it is part of the Grand Library! It has some really neat diagrams and illustrations, and even goes so far as to show through illustrations common helicopter flight and fight tactics.

Battles and Battlecruisers • I’ve been reading a different book on Battleships, after reading the Time/Life book on Dreadnoughts, so this was an easy choice. There are a few other books published in this style that this goes with.

The New York Times: Complete World War II 1939-1945 • It is fun to read these as they were so wrong about so much back in the day. Something that hasn’t chanced at all. It even has a DVD with almost 100,000 articles!

Smithsonian: History • I really like these Smithsonian books. I was passing this one up because it was full price, but if you see in the recent post about how I bought the same book again on accident, this is the one I used the return credit on. I decided to drive back and use the credit on the full price of this book as opposed to hoping it would be there next Saturday for half-off. And, I didn’t want to have a doubled book purchase on my mind all week long.

The Dressmakers of Auschwitz • These books are fascinating reads, the first-hand accounts of people who went through so much.

U.S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth • I went from having zero books on Grant not so long ago, to having several good ones now. All due to that History Channel miniseries about him. A nice break from reading about dictators, there are actually interesting leaders that aren’t evil to read about! Winston Churchill is one I need to read more about and already have numerous books on.

Eyewitness Pacific Theater • I have the companion book “Eyewitness D-Day”, so this was a nice find, and will compliment my other volume.

Victory at Sea • Wow, the cover of this one reminds me of another book I have. I hope I didn’t already have it!

Stalingrad to Berlin • Same with this one. When you have a lot of books on the same topic, sometimes they start looking alike.

Hitler: Downfall 1939-1945 • This is the second of two books, but published four years ago so the info inside is going to be different from the 1967 book I read on the same subject. I have others like this but the more views I read on this, the better.

It is so interesting to read old books. This one is from 1902, which is more than a decade before World War I, and a decade before the loss of the Titanic. Yet, there is still a lot that is correct in it which can still be learned from. I have to wonder exactly when all of these notes were taken, I think it would have to be soon after the book was originally purchased, so more than a hundred years ago.

A FEW DAYS LATER: I found the American History version of this book at a yard sale for two bucks! It was published ten years after the Western Europe one! What are the odds? I think these history books were for students and many were made. But still, a neat, and timely find!