Memorial Day: Selections and New Arrivals from Our Military Collections

Boyington, Col. Gregory “Pappy”, Baa Baa Black Sheep (Fresno: Wilson Press, 1958, 17th printing). LOC 58-12060. Memoir by the Marine aviator (1912-88) whose Black Sheep Squadron made headlines in the South Pacific during World War II and became the basis for a 1976-78 NBC series. Inscribed on the half-title page in 1984. Fair condition; some warping to the back pages of the book. HBB price: $20.

Bradley, Gen. Omar N., A Soldier’s Story (Henry Holt, 1st ed. 1951). Rare copy of General Bradley’s account of the European campaigns of World War II. Hardcover, no dust jacket. One tear at head of spine. Good condition otherwise. Octavo, 618 pp. HBB Price: $49.95.

Broadwell, Paula (with Vernon Loeb), All In: The Education of General David Petraeus (Penguin Press, 1st ed., 1st printing, 2012). ISBN 978-1-59420-318-3. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, 343 pp. Very good condition. This is the book that blew up a career. Broadwell, General Petraeus' authorized biographer,also became his mistress (she called him "Dangerous Dave" and "Peaches"). He gave her access to classified information for her book about him. When the book came out, the scandal was not far behind. Petraeus resigned as Director of Central Intelligence, pled guilty to a misdemeanor, and was off the talk show/lecture/congressional testimony circuit for about six months. HBB price: $25.

Davis, William C., The Civil War Reenactor's Encyclopedia (The Lyons Press, stated first ed., 1st printing, 2002). ISBN 1-58574-594-4. Hardcover, 10" x11", unclipped dust jacket, very good condition, 253 pp. Copiously illustrated. The author is former director of programs for the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies at Virginia Tech, and has written over fifty works on Civil War and Southern history. HBB price: $75.

Dunkerly, Robert M., Kings Mountain Walking Tour Guide (Dorrance Publishing Co., stated first printing, 2003). ISBN 0-8059-6117-8. Paperback, 43 pp. Very good condition. Autographed on the title page by the author, a Kings Mountain National Military Park ranger. Contained two longhand emendations at p. 38, which deals with the treatment of British loyalists: "hung" has been changed to "hanged" twice. IN 2007, Dunkerly published a book of eyewitness accounts of the battle.

Draper, Lyman C., Kings Mountain and Its Heroes: History of the Battle of Kings Mountain, October 7, 1780, And The Events Which Led To It (1881; reprint by The Overmountain Press, 1st printing, 1996). ISBN 1-57072-060-6. Hardcover, no dust jacket. Octavo, 612 pp. with index. Facsimile of the original. Green boards with gilt titling and reproduction of cover art. Kings Mountain historian Robert Dunkerly notes that the battle has been understudied, given its significance, and that Draper remains the standard work on the subject. Very good condition. HBB price: $50.

Draper, Lyman C., Kings Mountain and Its Heroes: History of the Battle of Kings Mountain, October 7, 1780, And The Events Which Led To It (1881; reprint by Genealogical Publishing Co., 1971). ISBN 0-8063-0097-3. Hardcover, no dust jacket. Octavo, 612 pp. with index. Facsimile of the original. Foxing along the text block edges. HBB price: $35.

Driver, Robert J., Jr. 52nd Virginia Infantry (E.H. Howard, Inc., 2nd ed. 1986). ISBN 0-930919-22-X. Part of the Virginia Regimental History Series, this well-researched book tells the story of regiment raised from Augusta, Bath and Rockbridge Counties, over 1500 men who fought well and went largely unremembered by history. Driver covers the 52nd from its commissioning in August, 1861 to its surrender in April, 1865. Also contains muster rolls and copious research materials. Hardcover, cloth boards, 200 pp. no dust jacket. Embossed gilt titling and seal on cover and spine. Very good condition. Rare. HBB price: $75.

Edgar, Walter, Partisans & Redcoats: The Southern Conflict That Turned The Tide of The American Revolution (William Morrow, 1st ed, 1st printing, 2001). ISBN 0-380-97760-5. The prominent South Carolina historian’s account of the British invasion of the Carolinas, and how it led to their defeat. Edgar is a fine writer. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, mylar cover, octavo, 198 pp. very good condition. HBB price: $30.

Eisenhower, Dwight D., At Ease: Stories I Tell To Friends (Doubleday, 1st ed., 1967). LOC 67-13781. The former president’s reminiscences of his life up to his becoming President. Entertaining, less formal than his official memoirs. Hardcover, octavo, 400 pp. Unclipped dust jacket, some wear and tear at the edges. Good condition: HBB price: $15.

Freeman, Douglas Southall, R.E. Lee: A Biography (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1934-35; reissued, 1962). ISBN 684-10180-7. Pulitzer Prize Winner; still an

outstanding work in an age when nobody writes on this scale anymore. Four volumes, hardcover, price clipped dust jackets, very good condition. Octavo, 646 pp (I); 621 pp (II); 569 pp (III); 619 pp (IV). HBB price $100.

Grant, Ulysses S., Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, Volume 2 (Charles L. Webster Co., 1st ed., 1886). Hardcover, no dust jacket, green boards with gilt titling and Grant medallion on cover. Tissue guard with frontispiece illustration; 32 engraved illustrations and maps. Good condition; one signature (pp. 275-86) separated from topstitching. HBB price: $150.

Holland, Rear Adm. W.J., Jr. (ret), ed., The Navy (Naval Historical Foundation/ Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, 1st ed., 2000). ISBN 0-88363-100-8. Dazzling, oversized, encyclopedic history of the United States’ sea force. 10.5” x 14.5”, hardcover, bound in white padded vinyl with navy titling and a raised gilt and navy medallion on the cover. HBB price $40.

Kafka, Roger and Pepperburg, Roy L. Warships of the World/Victory Edition (Cornell Maritime Press, 1946). A remarkable attempt to chronicle the history and fate of every  naval vessel , from every nation, involved in World War II. Hardcover, no dust jacket, blue boards, some inside separation at the joints. Illustration or diagrams on virtually every page. A true researcher’s companion. Quarto. 1167 pp. HBB price: $20.

Lossing, Benton J., A History of the Civil War, Illustrated With Reproductions of the Brady War Photographs (The War Memorial Association, New York, 1912). 50th Anniversary Edition. Hardcover, no dust jacket, elaborate printed cover. Some wear at the front joint and head and tail of the spine; a few marginal notes early on in the text. Last signature separated slightly from interior rear joint. Copiously illustrated, with color plates as well. Quarto, 511 pp. HBB price: $50.

Mills, George Henry, History of the 16th North Carolina Regiment (Edmonston Publishing, 1sr ed, 1st printing, 1992). ISBN 0-9622393-3-X. Reproduction of Mills’ memoirs of his service in the Civil War, including his twelve-day walk from Appomattox to his home in Rutherfordton, NC. Softcover, duodecimo, 82 pp with index.Very good condition. Rare. HBB price: $75.

Norman, Geoffrey, The Institute: Virginia Military Institute (Edgeworth Editions, 1st ed. 1997). ISBN 0-9658904-0-6. With photographer Anthony Edgeworth, Norman spent a year on The Post. This large, elegant book is the result. Hardcover, not price clipped, fine condition.  9” x 12”, 224 pp. HBB Price: $35.

Pearce, T.H., ed., Diary of Captain Henry A. Chambers: Fredericksburg to Appomattox (Wendell, NC: Broadfoot’s Bookmark, 1983). Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket with two yard sale dots on the cover; some dirt stains on dust jacket as well.  Introduction and biographical sketch of Chambers by Selby A. Daniels, who autographed the front end paper. Chambers (1841-1925), an Iredell County, North Carolina native, kept a diary of his Civil War experiences between January 1, 1862 and April 24 1865. Painstakingly restored and annotated, it makes gripping reading of the soldier’s-eye experience of that war. HBB price: $20.

Reynolds, George A. , The 458th Bombardment Group (Heavy) III (Privately printed, 3rd ed. 1988). Exceptional history of a B-24 Liberator bombing unit in World War II, from activation in 1943 to the war’s end in 1945. Remarkably detailed records of daily life in the unit, members of the detachment, and fascinating photos of targets in Germany, as well as life in and around the base in Norfolk, England. Includes shots of all the airplane logos painted on their noses. 9” x 11”, hardcover, no dust jacket as issued. 88 pp. HBB price: $50.

Reuterdahl, Ransom, Adamson & Yeto, Japan: Her Strength and Her Beauty (P.F. Collier, 1st. ed, 1904). Hardcover, no dust jacket. Folio size: 12” x 16”. Copiously illustrated by photographs- many full page- this volume was issued at the start of the Russo-Japanese War, and attempted to explain how little Japan, “in the comparatively few years since Commodore Perry pried open a Japanese port, Japan in Asia has become more Europeanized than Russia in Europe;” “the truth about the undersized, nervous, wiry and gritty Japanese man in the forefront as soldier and man-of-war’s man;” and how they were fighting, “not alone for Korean room for their country’s expansion, but also for the cause, as they understand it, of democracy and progressiveness against despotism and duplicity.”

Against a chronicle of the Japanese military forces and their movements in the war is set illustrations of the ancient land from whose temples and trade centers, tea houses, gardens and sacred bridges sprang this new, westernized nation. The odd mix of grudging admiration and racial condescension makes this book a period piece, but the photos are remarkable throughout.

Unpaginated, with burgundy cloth-backed printed brown boards. Cover edges worn; from gutter and separated from the text block. Remarkable and rare. HBB price: $95.

Roberts, Kenneth, The Battle of Cowpens: The Great Morale-Builder (Doubleday, stated 1st ed., 1958). This essay was the last work of the noted New England journalist, novelist and Revolutionary War-era historian (1885-1957). Awarded a special Pulitzer Prize in history for his contributions to the discipline, Roberts was a longtime correspondent for The Saturday Evening Post who was the first American to cover Hitler’s abortive 1923 coup attempt in Germany. In this book Roberts considers how the one-hour battle, just three months after Kings Mountain, turned the corner in the American Revolution and made inevitable Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown. His publisher, Herbert Faulkner West, wrote in the preface, “I am proud to be the publisher of a small limited edition of his last piece of historical writing, characterized as usual by a slight air of belligerency hovering over it.” Octavo, 111 pp, with a nine-page appendix of Robert's’ collected works. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, very good condition. Rare. HBB price: $75.

Ward, Christopher L., The War of the Revolution (John Richard Alden ed., Macmillan, 1st ed, 1952). 2 vols, slipcased, 989 pp. Octavo, hardcover, no dust jackets; blue buckram boards, with some darkening of the spines. Tight, square binding, very good clean text blocks. Slipcase in good condition. Ward (1868-1943) was a Delaware lawyer who wrote much of the state's landmark 1899 corporations law, then- after it became a haven for businesses to form there- cofounded Corporation Service Company. CSC remains a giant in the of managing Delaware corporate registration and reporting services.

Wealthy, Ward devoted himself to writing producing over two dozen books in the 1920s and '30s. His work ranged from poetry to literary parody to Delaware history to his great work, the fifth edition of Delaware Corporations and Receiverships (1932).

The War of the Revolution was Ward's last and most significant work and remains a frequently-consulted set. At the Mises Institute website in 2007, Murray Rothbard called it "the best-detailed history of the military conflict." HBB price: $50.