Re: OT:Books--a plug for Timber Press

Bob writes:

<<  Given the difficulties with book retailers ...(I believe purchasing
direct from publishers--as we have come do through commercial iris growers,
will be the future for the  specialty book industry. >>

As one who loves bookstores, all kinds of bookstores, including highly
specialized ones, loves browsing in them, having conversations with book
lovers there, loves holding and dipping into books before I buy, loves
discovering books I would never have found had the store not stocked them, I
sincerely hope you are wrong. 

Bookstores need your support in order to bring the fine efforts of poets and
writers and scientists and dreamers and chefs and scholars and technocrats
and specialists and cranks and anyone else who bangs out a book for pure or
impure motives to your attention. Traditionally, they have not been
considered hard retail, they have rightly been seen as integral members of
the publishing industry, and one of their chief responsibilities has been to
select those works which, from all the many presented with feverish
enthusiasm by their publishers, are most excellent and most suited to the
interests of their various customers. Since the seventeenth century
booksellers have been a vital part of the human community and this human
community is served best by there being many bookstores and many different
types of bookstores, including specialists, and especially including the few
remaining independent bookstores who epitomize the best of the profession.  

As for Timber Press, sure, much of their stuff is excellent, but some of it
is less so. They are a classy, committed little publishing house but they are
not the only classy game in town. Good professional booksellers can bring to
your attention the things published by other specialist and academic presses,
and by other notable publishing houses. I hope you will give them your
support whenever you can. 

Anner Whitehead, Richmond, VA
Henry Hall henryanner@aol.com
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