Iowa

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  • METHLAND: The Death and Life of an American Small Town. by Reding, Nick,
    Reding, Nick,
    METHLAND: The Death and Life of an American Small Town.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Bloomsbury, (2009) dj. Hardcover first edition - A persuasive - and still relevant book - by this journalist, one which "reveals the fallacies of this myth by showing how, over the past three decades, small-town America has been blighted by methamphetamine. Over four years, Reding studied meth production and addiction in Oelwein, Iowa, a rural community about 300 miles from Chicago. With a population of just over 6,000, Oelwein serves as a case study of the problems many small towns face today. Once a vibrant farming community where union work and small businesses were plentiful, Oelwein is now struggling through a transition to agribusiness and low-wage employment or, alternatively, unemployment. These conditions, Reding shows, have made the…

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    New York: Bloomsbury, (2009) dj. Hardcover first edition - A persuasive - and still relevant book - by this journalist, one which "reveals the fallacies of this myth by showing how, over the past three decades, small-town America has been blighted by methamphetamine. Over four years, Reding studied meth production and addiction in Oelwein, Iowa, a rural community about 300 miles from Chicago. With a population of just over 6,000, Oelwein serves as a case study of the problems many small towns face today. Once a vibrant farming community where union work and small businesses were plentiful, Oelwein is now struggling through a transition to agribusiness and low-wage employment or, alternatively, unemployment. These conditions, Reding shows, have made the town susceptible to methamphetamine. . . it also argues that big-city ignorance - fueled by the media - toward small-town decay is both dangerous and appalling." (Washington Post) Note on sources. 255 pp. ISBN: 978-1596916500.

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    Condition: Near fine in a fine dust jacket (toning to edges of textblock)

    Book ID: 90687
    View cart More details Price: $20.00
  • RIVER ETERNAL. by Kinseth, Lan.
    Kinseth, Lan.
    RIVER ETERNAL.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Viking, (1989) dj. Hardcover first edition - Iowa-based author's first book - in it he "sets out here to bridge the everyday and the eternal, using his experience of a familiar prairie river as a starting point for observations about the universe. 'Rivering,' as he calls it, becomes a metaphor for the cosmos and eternal change." (Publishers Weekly) Barry Lopez called this a "wondrous, invigorating, and humane work." vii, 115 pp. ISBN: 0-670824410.

    Condition: Very near fine in a fine dustjacket. (remainder line)

    Book ID: 86826
    View cart More details Price: $18.50
  • SWEET EYES. by Agee, Jonis.
    Agee, Jonis.
    SWEET EYES.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Crown, (1991) dj. Hardcover first edition - The author's first novel (preceded by poetry and two highly acclaimed collections of short stories) set in a small midwestern town celebrating its centennial. "Honey Parrish of Divinity, Iowa, drinks too much, sleeps around and talks to her dead lover. . . .she is a woman drifting toward madness while searching for something that will anchor her to safety.. . Honey is also plagued by the voice of Clinton, her dead lover, until Jasper Johnson comes along. Johnson, the ``sweet eyes'' of the title, is the town's only black man. His tempestuous affair with Honey is the spark that fires a smoldering racism in the community, spearheaded by Sonny Boy…

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    New York: Crown, (1991) dj. Hardcover first edition - The author's first novel (preceded by poetry and two highly acclaimed collections of short stories) set in a small midwestern town celebrating its centennial. "Honey Parrish of Divinity, Iowa, drinks too much, sleeps around and talks to her dead lover. . . .she is a woman drifting toward madness while searching for something that will anchor her to safety.. . Honey is also plagued by the voice of Clinton, her dead lover, until Jasper Johnson comes along. Johnson, the ``sweet eyes'' of the title, is the town's only black man. His tempestuous affair with Honey is the spark that fires a smoldering racism in the community, spearheaded by Sonny Boy [Honey's pyschotic brother]. Fearing that her brother's bigotry caused the death of a young black woman 15 years earlier, Honey launches a painful search for the truth." (Kirkus) A New York Times Notable Book of the Year. 404 pp.,. ISBN: 0-517575159.

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    Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.

    Book ID: 83383
    View cart More details Price: $20.00
  • SMITHEREENS by Chehak, Susan Taylor.
    Chehak, Susan Taylor.
    SMITHEREENS

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Doubleday, (1995) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - The author's fourth novel (her first was nominated for an Edgar award), the story of two girls whose alliance leaves a trail of murder and mystery during one hot Iowa summer. SIGNED on the title page and dated 7/18/95, in the year of publication. Small format. 313 pp. ISBN: 0-385477880.

    Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.

    Book ID: 80621
    View cart More details Price: $30.00
  • SMITHEREENS by Chehak, Susan Taylor.
    Chehak, Susan Taylor.
    SMITHEREENS

    Edition: Advance Reading Copy (trade paperback format. )

    New York: Doubleday, (1995). First edition - The author's fourth novel (her first was nominated for an Edgar award), the story of two girls whose alliance leaves a trail of murder and mystery during one hot Iowa summer. Small format. 313 pp.

    Condition: Fine in illustrated wrappers.

    Book ID: 80620
    View cart More details Price: $18.00
  • SOME LUCK. by Smiley, Jane.
    Smiley, Jane.
    SOME LUCK.

    Edition: Advance Reading Copy (trade paperback format. )

    New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014. SIGNED first edition - A novel by this Pulitzer prize winning author which focuses on the five children, originally from an Iowa farming family, over three decades. "Each chapter covers a single year, beginning in 1920, as American soldiers like Walter return home from World War I, and going up through the early 1950s, with the country on the cusp of enormous social and economic change." Longlisted for the National Book Award. The first book in a planned trilogy. SIGNED on the title page. 395 pp.

    Condition: Fine in illustrated wrappers (the outer covers are a letter from Smiley to her readers, and underneath that is the cover which will appear on the trade edition.)

    Book ID: 79812
    View cart More details Price: $30.00
  • Peters, William.
    A CLASS DIVIDED.

    Edition: First printing.

    Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971. dj. Hardcover first edition - Rather uncommon first edition of this now classic experiment in discrimination, basis for a television show "The Eye of the Storm." After the assassination of Martin Luther King, an elementary school teacher in all white school in Iowa struggled to make her students understand what it might be like to be black, and she came up with the idea of dividing the class on the basis of eye color. One day those with blue eyes were on top, the next those with brown eyes. The experiment succeeded all too well. 126 pp.

    Condition: Ex-library with the usual markings, but overall tight and clean in a near fine unmarked dust jacket.

    Book ID: 79274
    View cart More details Price: $18.50
  • THE HEARTLAND CHRONICLES. by Foley, Douglas.
    Foley, Douglas.
    THE HEARTLAND CHRONICLES.

    Edition: First edition.

    Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, (1995). Hardcover first edition - From the foreword: This is a tale of Indians and whites living together in a small Iowa community. It is also about an anthropologist returning to his home town, and how he got inside Iowa's tiny but old Mesquaki Indian culture just at the moment that the tribe's civil rights struggle and its new casino changed all the old relationships, as these tribal people - with their noble traditions - came into modernity. A title in the Series in Contemporary Ethnography. References, index. ix, 228 pp. ISBN: 0-812233263.

    Condition: Fine in gray cloth (a new copy.) No dust jacket as issued.

    Book ID: 76765
    View cart More details Price: $25.00
  • OTHER MAIN-TRAVELLED ROADS. by Garland, Hamlin.
    Garland, Hamlin.
    OTHER MAIN-TRAVELLED ROADS.

    Edition: First edition.

    New York: Harper & Brothers, (1910). Hardcover first edition - A collection of short stories, written between 1887-1889, a companion to 'Main-Travelled Roads', inspired by Garland's return to the West of his youth - Iowa, Dakota, & Wisconsin. Bound in tan cloth with gilt titling a gilt Art Nouveau corn motif decoration. viii, 350 pp.

    Condition: Very near fine - a lovely copy.

    Book ID: 75103
    View cart More details Price: $35.00
  • SOME LUCK. by Smiley, Jane.
    Smiley, Jane.
    SOME LUCK.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014. dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - A novel by this Pulitzer prize winning author which focuses on the five children, originally from an Iowa farming family, over three decades. "Each chapter covers a single year, beginning in 1920, as American soldiers like Walter return home from World War I, and going up through the early 1950s, with the country on the cusp of enormous social and economic change." SIGNED on the title page. Longlisted for the National Book Award. 395 pp. ISBN: 978-0307700315.

    Condition: Near fine in a very good dust jacket (some rubbing to the dj, especially at the ends of the spine)

    Book ID: 73218
    View cart More details Price: $30.00
  • SPILLVILLE. by Hampl, Patricia; Engravings by Steven Sorman.
    Hampl, Patricia; Engravings by Steven Sorman.
    SPILLVILLE.

    Edition: 3rd printing.

    Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, 1987. dj. SIGNED hardcover - A "vivid and lyrical exploration" of Spillville, Iowa, both now and a century ago, a collaboration between Hampl and Sorman as they journeyed to the small Iowa town, settled by Czech immigrants, where the composer Antonin Dvorak spent the summer of 1893. Illustrated with 41 engravings by Steven Sorman. INSCRIBED by Hampl on the half title page. 107 pp. ISBN: 0-915943182.

    Condition: Fine in near fine dust jacket.

    Book ID: 70901
    View cart More details Price: $25.00
  • BUTTON DOWN. by Ylvisaker, Anne.
    Ylvisaker, Anne.
    BUTTON DOWN.

    Edition: First printing.

    Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, (2012) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - The second book featuring the often hapless Button family, set in small town Iowa in 1929. INSCRIBED on the title page. 177 pp. ISBN: 9780763653965.

    Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket (a new copy.)

    Book ID: 67299
    View cart More details Price: $23.50
  • CHILDREN AND OTHER PEOPLE. by Suckow, Ruth (1892-1960)
    Suckow, Ruth (1892-1960)
    CHILDREN AND OTHER PEOPLE.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1931. SIGNED hardcover first edition - A collection of short stories by this often overlooked writer. Although referred to as a regionalist, she said she wrote about "people, situations, and their meaning." Her fiction was often set in Iowa, but she had traveled widely herself and she was not parochial in outlook. INSCRIBED on the front endpaper and dated in 1933. 277 pp.

    Condition: Very good in salmon cloth with dark blue panels, no dust jacket. Uncommon signed.

    Book ID: 64724
    View cart More details Price: $40.00
  • SCUTTLEBUTT: The Adventures of Robert K. Reed. by Reed, Robert K.
    Reed, Robert K.
    SCUTTLEBUTT: The Adventures of Robert K. Reed.

    Edition: First printing, a trade paperback.

    Oakland, OR: Elderberry Press, (2003). SIGNED first edition - "Just what is a scuttlebutt? Located amidships, second deck down, the watering hole, or "scuttlebutt," is strategically placed near the ice making plant. With ice cold water being dispensed through copper tubing to a spigot, this watering hole is where sailors congregated on the battleship USS Texas to quench their thirst with cold water, smoke cigarettes and shoot the bull. Yarns, sea stories, lies and jokes were shared among sailors at the "scuttlebutt." Even those who've never been near the ocean will be sure to enjoy the many tales herein." The stories include memories of growing up on the farm in Iowa during the Depression, his years in the Navy…

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    Oakland, OR: Elderberry Press, (2003). SIGNED first edition - "Just what is a scuttlebutt? Located amidships, second deck down, the watering hole, or "scuttlebutt," is strategically placed near the ice making plant. With ice cold water being dispensed through copper tubing to a spigot, this watering hole is where sailors congregated on the battleship USS Texas to quench their thirst with cold water, smoke cigarettes and shoot the bull. Yarns, sea stories, lies and jokes were shared among sailors at the "scuttlebutt." Even those who've never been near the ocean will be sure to enjoy the many tales herein." The stories include memories of growing up on the farm in Iowa during the Depression, his years in the Navy from 1939-1959, and finally his life in California. INSCRIBED on the half title page. Photographs. 253 pp. ISBN: 1-930859708.

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    Condition: Very good in glossy illustrated wrappers (a few corners creased).

    Book ID: 62392
    View cart More details Price: $16.50
  • DEWEY. by Myron, Vicki with Bret Witter.
    Myron, Vicki with Bret Witter.
    DEWEY.

    Edition: 3rd printing.

    New York: Grand Central Publishing, (2008) dj. Hardcover - The story of a small-town librarian cat who touched the world. In addition to the story of this cat, this is a picture of changes in agriculture in the US as it affects small town rural Iowa. 277 pp. Illustrated endpapers. ISBN: 9780446407410.

    Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.

    Book ID: 59427
    View cart More details Price: $12.50
  • DEWEY. by Myron, Vicki with Bret Witter.
    Myron, Vicki with Bret Witter.
    DEWEY.

    Edition: Advance Reading Copy (trade paperback format. )

    New York: Grand Central Publishing, (2008). First edition - The story of a small-town librarian cat who touched the world. In addition to the story of this cat, this is a picture of changes in agriculture in the US as it affects small town rural Iowa. Although this was immediate bestseller, this advance reading copy is surprisingly uncommon. 277 pp.

    Condition: Fine in illustrated wrappers with self flaps. A well-produced pre-publication issue.

    Book ID: 59238
    View cart More details Price: $35.00
  • DISCOVERING THE BODY. by Howard, Mary.
    Howard, Mary.
    DISCOVERING THE BODY.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Morrow (imprint of Harper Collins), (2000) dj. Hardcover first edition - The author's first novel, set in a small town in Iowa. 294 pp. ISBN: 0-688-171567.

    Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.

    Book ID: 58139
    View cart More details Price: $16.50
  • BUTTON DOWN. by Ylvisaker, Anne.
    Ylvisaker, Anne.
    BUTTON DOWN.

    Edition: First printing.

    Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, (2012) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - The second book featuring the often hapless Button family, set in small town Iowa in 1929. SIGNED on the title page and dated in the year of publication. 177 pp. ISBN: 9780763653965.

    Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket (a new copy.)

    Book ID: 58056
    View cart More details Price: $25.00
  • A SUITABLE CHURCH. by Heynen, Jim.
    Heynen, Jim.
    A SUITABLE CHURCH.

    Edition: First printing.

    Port Townsend, WA: Copper Canyon Press, (1981.) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - Iowa-born author's first major collection of poems, rooted in his farm upbringing and infused with a reverence for the land and the labor of working the land. Praised by such writers as Raymond Carver, Gary Snyder and William Stafford. SIGNED on the title page. Illustrations by Barbara Arnold. 80 pp. ISBN: 0-914742-590.

    Condition: Fine in a fine dustjacket. Uncommon in the hardcover edition, especially signed.

    Book ID: 39268
    Keywords: farming, iowa, Poetry
    View cart More details Price: $60.00
  • Wiggins, Florence Roe.
    STRAWBERRY POINT: Vignettes of an Iowa Childhood.

    Edition: Family Bookshelf edition.

    Minneapolis: T.S. Denison, (1967.) dj. Hardcover - Whimsical stories about the author's home town, set in the late 19th and very early 20th centuries, illustrated with drawings by the author. 185 pp. Original price of 4.50 present on front flap, but family bookshelf notation on rear flap.

    Condition: Near fine in near fine dust jacket.

    Book ID: 38289
    Keywords: Americana, iowa, midwest
    View cart More details Price: $12.50
  • Young Bear, Ray A.
    REMNANTS OF THE FIRST EARTH.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Grove Press, (1996.) dj. Hardcover first edition - Novel of a young Native American's journey into manhood from his childhood in the 1950's Black Eagle Child Settlement on the bluffs overlooking the Iowa and Swan Rivers, and through a world poised between the ancient ways of his Mesquakie forefathers and the "ever-encroaching blurred face of modernity". Dust jacket praise from Louise Erdrich, James Welch, James Ruppert (who stated this novel "cuts through sentiment and delusion till the muscle of bone of contemporary Native experience are exposed and extended.") and others. 301 pp. ISBN: 0-8021-15810.

    Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket (a new copy.)

    Book ID: 35835
    View cart More details Price: $20.00
  • Manfred, Frederick Feikema (1912-1994.)
    ARROW OF LOVE.

    Edition: First printing.

    Denver: Allan Swallow, Publisher, (1961.) dj. Hardcover first edition - Three novellas, all set in Manfred's "Siouxland" (the area where the borders of Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska meet). In addition to the title story (described as 'a romance'), this contains "Lew and Luanne" (a comedy) and "Country Love" (a pastoral). As a "maverick" writer Manfred was always an outsider in terms of the literary establishment, although some of his books were best-sellers and his novel 'Lord Grizzly' was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1954. Reportedly only 500 copies of this book were printed. 220 pp.

    Condition: Good in very good dust jacket (the rather inexpensively produced binding has cracked before the title page and is "over-opened" at the end of the book, Dustjacket has a little toning to the spine, minor wear - still a quite presentable copy.

    Book ID: 32978
    View cart More details Price: $45.00