12th Annual BookFinder.com Report

Out-of-print and in demand

Welcome to the 12th annual BookFinder.com Report, in which we publish a list of the top 100 most searched for out-of-print book titles from the previous year. The out-of-print books people wanted in 2014 had some similarities to the previous year but the biggest surprise might be that people are less interested in Sex… by Madonna. After a lengthy run at the top of the charts the Queen of Pop's explicit photographic romp was superseded by not one but two books.

American readers now seem to have a keen interest in the ineptitude of British military leaders with 'On the Psychology of Military Incompetence' by Norman F Dixon leading the list. The book dives into combat futility by using a fascinating series of examples of utter ineptitude throughout the 100 years prior to the book’s writing from the Crimean War to the Boer War and the disastrous ‘Market Garden’ operation of WWII. Dixon analyzes poor decision-making (or sometimes the lack of decision-making at all) from a psychological point of view.

Dixon cites examples where military leaders failed to adapt to technological change, rejected useful information which conflicted with their pre-conceptions, wanted to consistently find scapegoats (who were usually dead), regularly suppressed news about setbacks, charged into conflict without reconnaissance and generally perpetuated the class system by refusing to show any empathy towards the plight of the ‘lower’ ranks. He also works to explain how officers of dubious skill made their way up the ranks by virtue of class and social connections. It’s a fascinating read, and if it didn’t involve so many tragic events for common soldiers it might almost be comical in parts. Clearly, the book has great relevance for today’s military leaders in helping to prevent the repeat of past mistakes.

This year’s runner up shows once and for all that the best way to keep one’s mind clean and pure is to stand waist deep in a cold river. The Lovely Reed: An Enthusiast's Guide to Building Bamboo Fly Rods by Jack Howell was last seen on the BookFinder.com Report in 2012. The book is very highly regarded among fly fishers, not only for the quantity of information available but moreover for the way in which it is presented. I am admittedly not a fly fishing expert but every review I read of this book suggests that if you were to only have one book on the subject, this is the one. A good how-to manual never ages; and by all accounts this is a classic.

As always there are many other interesting volumes within the ranks of the list but self-exploration is always more rewarding so without further ado we reveal the 100 most sought after out-of-print books of 2014.

1. On the Psychology of Military Incompetence by Norman F. Dixon Basic Books; New York, NY, 1976 Hardcover; First Edition 447 pages. 21 cm This unique and penetrating book surveys 100 years of military inefficiency from the Crimean War, through the Boer conflict, to the disasterous campaigns of the First World War and the calamities of the Second. It examines the social psychology of military organizations, provides case studies of individual commanders and identifies an alarming pattern in the causes of military disaster.
2. Lovely Reed: An Enthusiast's Guide to Building Bamboo Fly Rods by Jack Howell Pruett; Boulder, CO, 1998 Hardcover; First Edition 191 pages. A lively, conversational, step-by-step book on how to build one's own bamboo fly rod. Comprehensive chapters cover the best bamboo for fly rods, treating and caring for bamboo cane prior to construction, essential tools and materials, preparation, rod design, care for the rod, and selecting a reel seat. Step-by-step photos and illustrations complement the book's accessible approach to a complex craft. This book refinds itself on our most sought after list for the first time since 2011.
3. Sex by Madonna (i.e. Louise Veronica Ciccione) Warner Books; New York, NY, 1992 Full-Metal, Spiral Bound; First Edition 132 pages. 32 cm Madonna Sex (first published in 1992) was the highly controversial erotic photography book which features the queen of pop along with other early 1990s notables including rappers Vanilla Ice & Big Daddy Kane as well as model Naomi Campbell. The book itself is spiral bound and actually quite fragile making fine copies relatively rare; copies still found in their Mylar wrapping sheet command an extra premium. The book went beyond basic erotica of the day, with several shoots pushing various social taboos, and earned Madonna the moniker “Queen of the Obscene.” After the books initial, albeit large, print run Sex has never since been reproduced as Madonna has very typically moved on from this phase of her career. As such one can assume that Sex will probably remain out of print indefinitely.
4. The Body by Stephen King Pearson; New York, NY, 2008 Paperback; First Edition 88 pages. Gordie Lanchance and his three friends are always ready for adventure When they hear about a dead body in the forest they go to look for it Then they.. discover how cruel the world can be.
5. Rage by Stephen King (as Richard Bachman) (*1947) Signet; New York, NY, 1977 Paperback, First Edition 211 pages. 18 cm Rage (originally titled Getting It On) is the first novel by Stephen King published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman in 1977. It was collected in 1985 in the hardcover omnibus The Bachman Books. When King decided to let Rage fall out of print in the United States, it was available only as part of The Bachman Books. The other novels that appeared in that compilation (The Long Walk, Roadwork, and The Running Man) are now published as separate books in the USA.
6. The Colorado Kid by Stephen King Hard Case Crime; New York, NY, 2005 Paperback; First Edition 184 pages. This mystery novel written by Stephen King for the Hard Case Crime imprint, published in 2005. The book was issued in one paperback-only edition by the specialty crime and mystery publishing house.
7. The Road We Are Traveling: 1914-1942 by Stuart Chase The Twentieth Century Fund; New York, NY, 1942 Hardcover; First Edition 106 pages Chase (1888-1985) was an Economics graduate from MIT, and this was one of his many publications on the topic of socalism and Economics. The revival in interest in the book came after it was linked, by Glenn Beck, to a Barack Obama 2012 campaign video called "The Road We've Traveled". Beck made several links between Obama's presidential goals and the thems in Chase's book: strong centralized government, Control of banking, credit and security exchanges, Underwriting of food, housing and medical care by the government, and Use of deficit spending to finance underwritings among others. Another interesting literary tie in about the author was that early in his career he took a job with the Food Administration of the FTC with his fellow MIT classmates Walter Lippman, John Reed and T.S. Eliot. One of the cases Chase investigated at this post was corruption of the meatpacking industry with none other than Upton Sinclair.
8. On the Nature and Existence of God by Richard M. Gale Cambridge University Press; Norwalk, CT, 1999 Paperback, Reprinted 422 p. ; 23 cm. First published in 1991 this is Richard Gale's critical response to the plethora of defences of theism published in the 1980s. While this book out of print, currently it is also available as a print on demand edition.
9. 365 Bedtime Stories by Nan Gilbert (1920-2011) Western Pub. Co.; Racine, WI, 1970 Hardcover, Reprint 382 pages color illustrations 27 cm First published in 1955 the book contains A story for every day of the year about the children on What-a-Jolly Street.
10. Collector’s Guide to Colt .45 Service Pistols by Charles W. Clawson Clawson Publications; Fort Wayne, IN, 2003. Hardcover; Reprint 146 p.; 24 cm Long touted as the definitive "Bible" of Colt Model 1911 handguns, this must-have book covers the years from 1911 to the end of Model 1911 production in 1945. The book features 146 pages profusely illustrated with detailed photos, drawings and descriptions that instruct you in identifying proper parts and accessories for each manufacturer and model.

 

Top 100 most sought after out-of-print books in 2014

11	Ray Bradbury	Dark Carnival
12	Charles W. Eliot	The Harvard Classics (51 volumes)
13	Vincent & Mary Price	A Treasury of Great Recipes
14	Nora Roberts	Promise Me Tomorrow
15	Salvador Dali	The Jerusalem Bible
16	Dave S. Steinberg	Vibration Analysis for Electronic Equipment
17	Cameron Crowe	Fast Times at Ridgemont High
18	Joseph Zbukvic	Mastering Atmosphere & Mood in Watercolor
19	Richard Green	The Thwarting of Laplace's Demon
20	Henry Thomas	Arithmetic Progress Papers

21	David R Wilkerson	Racing Toward Judgment
22	Stephen King	My Pretty Pony
23	Ricky Jay	Cards As Weapons
24	H.W. Janson	History of Art
25	Anne Golon	The Angelique Series
26	Carl Sagan	Murmurs of Earth
27	Madeleine L’Engle	Ilsa
28	James Virgil Howe	The Modern Gunsmith
29	Kyle Onstott	Mandingo
39	Cristina de Middel	The Afronauts

31	Arthur Hailey	Airport
32	David French	British General Staff: Reform and Innovation
33	Norman Rockwell	102 Favorite Paintings
34	Anne Alexander	The Pink Dress
35	Dorothea Lange	An American Exodus: A Record of Human Erosion
36	Lynne Cheney	Sisters
37	John Ross	Unintended Consequences
38	Jack S. Levy	War in the Modern Great Power System 1495-1975
39	Ivy Wallace	Pookie
40	J.R. Hartley	Fly Fishing: Memories of Angling Days

41	Richard Barès and Charles Ernest Massonet	Analysis of Beam Grids and Orthotropic Plates by the Guyon-Massonet-Barès Method
42	Martin Caidin	Cyborg
43	Charles Flato	Golden Book of the Civil War
44	Walt Kelly	I Go Pogo
45	David Wilkerson	Set the Trumpet to Thy Mouth
46	Richard Rutt	A History of Hand Knitting
47	Elmer Keith	Hell, I Was There
48	Mary Konior	A Pattern Book of Tatting
49	Holling C. Holling	The Book of Indians
50	Linda Dawson & Terry Furchgott	Phoebe and the Hot Water Bottles

51	Garry Winogrand	Women Are Beautiful
52	Don Graf	Basic Building Data: 10,000 Timeless Construction Facts
53	Ray Garton	In A Dark Place
54	Mike Dayton	A complete guide to learning and understanding Chi mind control
55	Johnny Cash	Man in Black: His Own Story in His Own Words
56	Watty Piper	The Bumper Book, A Harvest of Stories and Verses
57	Arthur Koestler	The Act of Creation
58	Roy Burkholder	Be not conformed to this world : a narrative history of the Weaverland Mennonites, 1900-1975
59	Tom Lea	The King Ranch
60	Jacob Norwood	The Riddle of Steel : Roleplaying with an Edge

61	Barbara Brackman	Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns
62	Rev. Alfred Nevin	The Holy Bible
63	Donald Hamilton	The Big Country
64	Penny Lee Dean	Open Water Swimming
65	Joseph Zbukvic	Mastering Atmosphere and Mood in Watercolor: the Critical Ingredients That Turn Paintings into Art
66	William James Philpott	Anglo-French relations and strategy on the Western Front 1914-18
67	Mary Konior	Crochet Lace: An Illustrated Guide to Making Crochet Lace Fabrics
68	Jack Hamm	First Lessons in Drawing and Painting
69	R.P. Hunnicutt	Stuart: A History of the American Light Tank
70	Jan Wolkers	Turkish Delight

71	C T J Dodson	Categories, Bundles and Spacetime Topology
72	Paul Hoffman	To Drop A Dime
73	Betty MacDonald	Anybody Can Do Anything
74	Evan Green	Kalinda
75	Ronald Sanders	Lost Tribes and Promised Lands: The Origins of American Racism
76	Jack Handford	Professional Pattern Grading for Women's, Men's, and Children's Apparel
77	David Pelham	Sam's Sandwich
78	Kenneth Nathaniel Taylor	The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes
79	Paul Kelso	Kelso's Shrug Book
80	Victor H Green	The Negro Motorist Green Book: An International Travel Guide

81	Charles Lindbergh	We
82	Will Durant	The Story of Civilization
83	Arthur W. Upfield	The Barrakee Mystery
84	Kate Seredy	The Chestry Oak
85	Arnold Kellett	Isms and Ologies: A Guide to Unorthodox and Non-Christian Beliefs
86	Nazareth V. Asorian	Precious Souls: A Culture Unraveling
87	Jonas A. Zukas	Impact Dynamics
88	Karl P. Cohen	The Theory of Isotope Separation as Applied to the Large Scale Production of U235
89	Thomas Ferris Milne	This World and That: The Autobiography of a Diver
90	Michele	Directory of Alternative Communities in the British Isles

91	Jane Hilberry	The Erotic Art of Edgar Britton
92	Curtis Richards	Halloween
93	Virginia Williams	A Different Kind of Life
94	Homer K. Luttringer	The Innovators The New Holland Story Hardcover
95	Marion Arnold	South African Botanical Art: Peeling Back the Petals
96	Gerard Michael Cardew and G.V. Cardew	The Airgun from Trigger to Target Paperback
97	Seth A. Klarman	Margin of Safety: Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies for the Thoughtful Investor
98	John D. Green	Birds of Britain
99	Bill Mollison	Permaculture: A Designers' Manual
100	Janet Woods	Beyond the Plough