~I got a mint 1939 one-volume encyclopedia entitled 'FACTS!' It's bound with gorgeous burgundy faux-leather, and although the binding is quite frail and starting to crumble, the pages are in great shape. I love the way that words and phrases fall in and out of use over the years and how the meanings of common words constantly evolve through use and cultural application. (I know...I'm a nerd!)
The introduction to FACTS! described different uses for the definitions it contains; it declared that doctors would be interested only in certain words related to their field, that historians would be inclined to refer to the brief summaries of battles and world events, and that scientists could spend hours studying the proper taxonomies of the modern world. Then, in my favorite part, FACTS! proposed that the 'regular man on the street would be interested in knowing such things as...what a mugwump is...' etc etc How cute!
~My second prize is part of the series The Story of Civilization by Will Durant: When I walked into the book sale, something immediately called to me amid the tangle of sweaty legs and jumbled boxes filled with old, marked, unloved library cast-offs. Beneath a crowded and sagging folding table, a simple and unassuming surprise somehow caught my attention. It was a small, neat box containing the first four books in what I later found out is an eleven book series (!!). I was initially attracted to the clean, crisp burgundy bindings (that conveniently match the cover of FACTS!), but as I started to page through Volume One Our Oriental Heritage, I was delighted to discover the elegant writing style and the wealth of information it contained. I also grabbed The Life of Greece (The Story of Civilization, Vol. 2), Caesar and Christ (The Story of Civilization Vol. 3), and The Renaissance (The Story of Civilization Vol. 4).These books are all huge, in depth colorful histories, and if I had known then that I was missing out on seven more jam-packed classics, I probably would have searched petulantly for the rest of the set instead of thanking my lucky nerd stars that I could get my paws on as many volumes as I did. Here's an excerpt from The Renaissance in which the author discusses Botticelli:
"Doubtless like all of us he was many men, turned on one or another of his selves as occasion required, and kept his real self a frightened secret from the world."
Ahh! Can you stand it?! Who expects that kind of introspective poetry in an historical compendium? How about this discussion of trade and religion, also from The Renaissance:
"Venetian merchants invaded every market from Jerusalem to Antwerp; they traded impartially with Christians and Mohammedans, and papal excommunications fell upon them with all the force of dew upon the earth."
Wow. And those quotes are only two random selections from my very quick perusal of a single volume. What an admirable talent, and quite a prolific one as well!
I did some brief research on the author, and found that Will Durant and his wife Ariel were profoundly connected, working together on most of The Story of Civilization as well as sharing a great romance. Apparently, in 1981 Will became sick at age ninety-six. When he was hospitalized (and thus separated from his wife), she stopped eating and died shortly afterward. Although their family tried to conceal this fact from Will because of his poor health, he heard about it on television (how horrible!) and died two weeks later. Truth is stranger than fiction, as usual!
I am so glad I found these books and I can't wait to delve into them more. Once again, my local library has set me up with countless hours of enjoyment, and I highly encourage you to make time to visit your closest public library, ASAP!
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