New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, Edited by Felix
Guirand, with an Introduction by Robert Graves.
“A comprehensive reference guide to ancient and prehistoric
legend, exploring the folklore and mythology of every nation and civilization.”
- Amazon. Besides which, this is where for years I kept that picture of me and
Mike as dog-trainers. Illustrated with photos of artifacts and art.
Ranking: Gotta Keep It.
File Code: Encyclopedia. Mythology. Hardback.
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Consultant Editor Robert
Holdstock. Foreword by Isaac Asimov.
One of the early purchases from the Science Fiction Book
Club. I remember it was in John’s books for a long time. I always enjoyed
explanations and histories and analyses, and Sci-Fi was allied with other
branches of Imaginative Literature. I think the picture of Darth Vader on the
cover was part of it that helped lure us in; we wanted anything about Star Wars,
and it was not just yet the Juggernaut that the franchise became. Science
Fiction was always trying to be the grown-up at the table, and this book has pictures
of four bare boobs and a penis to prove it. Profusely illustrated, but no other
porno. About 40 years out of date, but pretty good up to that period.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Science Fiction. Encyclopedia. Hardback.
The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future
Updated and Expanded, by Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda, with Debbie Mirek.
Accurate up to 1997. Illustrated with photos from the TV
shows and films, and graphics by Doug Drexler. There was a time when I was very
involved with Star Trek but starting with the Next Generation movies my
enthusiasm began to trail off, and after Star Trek: Enterprise it completely
died. I still have this Encyclopedia as a melancholy remembrance.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Encyclopedia. Science Fiction. Hardback.
Horror: A Connoisseur’s Guide to Literature and Film, by
Leonard Wolf.
A 1989 work by Wolf (of ‘The Annotated Dracula’), it is what
it says on the label. Short synopses and a look at the significance of works of
horror. Full of black-and-white drawings and stills. A nice browser.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Guidebook. Horror. Hardback.
The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy: The Definitive
Illustrated Guide. General Editor: David Pringle. Foreword by Terry Pratchett.
A brilliant full color guide to Fantasy, produced at the end
of the 20th Century (1999). Looks at the types of Fantasy, Fantasy
in movies, magazines and television, the authors, the major characters, the
imaginary worlds, and Fantasy terminology. The sparkling illustrations are like
the sudden burst of color when Dorothy steps into Oz, compared to the
black-and-white monotone that had prevailed in books like this before.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Fantasy. Guide. Hardback.
The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Science Fiction: The Definitive
Illustrated Guide. General Editor: David Pringle.
A brilliant full color guide to Science Fiction up to 1996,
from the classics to the pulps to the movies to TV to the magazines. Covers the
authors, the fictional characters, and the terminology, colorfully presented
with famous book covers, movie stills and posters, and photos of the people who
produce Science Fiction. A good browser as well as a guide.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Science Fiction. Guide. Hardback.
Kids’ TV: The First 25 Years, by Stuart Fischer.
1946 – 1973, which nearly enough coincides with my
childhood’s end. A season by season look at children’s programming, noting
trends and changes of standards. Includes who wrote the shows, who produced the
shows, what channel they were on, who voiced the shows, and what seasons they
were rerun. Illustrated with black-and-white Still and production art. “Back in
my day, the Internet was called books.”
Ranking: Essential Reference.
File Code: Television Kids’ Shows.
Reference. Hardback.
Children’s Television, 1947-1990, by Jeffery Davis.
“Over 200 Series, Game and Variety Shows, Cartoons,
Educational Programs and Specials”. In some ways a more complete if less visual
guide than “Kids’ TV: The First 25 Years”. A memory jogger and a browser.
Ranking: Essential Reference.
File Code: Television Kids’ Shows. Reference. Hardback.
Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First
Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987, by George W. Woolery.
An exhaustive reference book on one of my favorite subjects. Who
produced them, who wrote and animated them, who voiced them, and when and where
they appeared. Some black and white illustrations, but not as many as you would
hope.
Ranking: Essential Reference.
File Code: Animation. Reference. Hardback.
The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family
(Seasons 1 - 8), Edited by Ray Richmond; The Simpsons Forever!: A Complete
Guide to Our Favorite Family … Continued (Seasons 9 – 10), Edited by Scott M.
Gimple; The Simpsons Beyond Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family …
Still Continued (Seasons 11 - 12), Edited by Jesse L. McCann; The Simpsons One
Step Beyond Forever! A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family … Continued Yet
Again (Seasons 13 – 14), Edited by Jesse L. McCann, Created by Matt Groening.
After that last book, I just gave up. Wasn’t really worth it
then. All the best seasons were over, and degeneration was setting in. Also,
reruns were much more abundantly available everywhere.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Reference. The Simpsons. Softcovers.
Cereal Boxes & Prices: 1960’s: A Tribute & Price
Guide, by Scott Bruce.
It’s probably hard for most people to understand how integral
a part of childhood cereal was for us when we were little kids. This was partly
because the cereal mascots often had their own cartoon shows that amounted to
half-hour long commercials (a practice banned in the early 70’s; now people in
some countries are trying to banish the cartoon mascots even from the boxes).
Our breakfast cereal was the one thing we were really allowed to choose when
Mom went shopping, and we often picked it according to what prize we saw
offered. And they were real prizes too, most often, right there in the box,
little toys you could play with the minute you found them. Some of it was
brittle gimcrackery that looked great but didn’t last long, like the pale
purple buzzard noddy head, but others were “little animals” like the
Winnie-the-Pooh cereal bowl hangers or the Freakies, some of which survive to
this day. This book is a colorful tribute and reminder of childhood; I wouldn’t
mind sharing a bowl of Crispy Critters with Linus the Lion right now.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Nostalgia. Reference. Softcover.
Squeaky Toys: A Collector’s Handbook & Price Guide, by L.
H. MacKenzie.
“A Schiffer Book for Collectors”. Squeaky toys go back in my
life before even conscious memories. Who knows how much of my aesthetic outlook
was formed by the somewhat random choices of toys our parents made? The
spectacles, walking stick, and valise (we called it a ‘purse’ because it was
the most familiar term at the time; the same way we called our underwear
‘panties’ because that’s what Mom called them) of the ‘Omi’ lion, the glasses
and umbrella of Professor Worm, the yellow sleepy-eyed Owl, made a strange
trinity of wise friends that I could take on adventures. After a time, of
course, we played with them less and less, but while stuffed animals wasted
away and toys with movable parts broke and were lost or thrown away, the
squeakies lived on almost untouched (though their squeakers were long gone).
‘Omi’ still has some crayons inside that got pushed into the squeaker hole
through idle childhood fiddling – there’s no way I can write that sentence
without it sounding dirty. This book is a handy helper that identifies the
companies, time periods, types, and prices of squeaky toys. It helps me
identify Mike’s old Lambie as a Rempel product. But I’ve never found even a
picture of another ‘Omi’ anywhere, ever; not even on eBay. A guide not so
exhaustive as suggestive and a glance at an alternative childhood’s
‘could-have-beens’.
Ranking: Nostalgic Keeper.
File Code: Toys. Guide. Softcover.
Tomart’s Encyclopedia & Price Guide to Action Figure
Collectibles (Volume One: A-Team to G. I. Joe; Volume Two: G. I. Joe to Star
Trek; Volume Three: Star Wars to Zybots), by Bill Sikora and T. N. Tumbusch.
Includes Playsets and Vehicles, up to 1996. I’ve gone through
a rather intense relationship with action figures most of my life, from MEGOs
Planet of the Apes, to Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation, to Toybiz “The
Lord of the Rings” and beyond, as quite a few 25-gallon plastic bins can attest.
A toy and ‘playings’ were (and are) one of the most concrete ways to partake in
a beloved franchise. The next best thing to having the entire collection, this
copiously complete guide allows an opportunity to gloat and dream about what I
have and don’t have, without having to unpack some heavy bins.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Toy Guide. Reference. Softcovers.
Wizardology: A Guide to Wizards of the World, by Dugald A.
Steer and A. J. Wood.
More of an artifact than a book almost, it feigns to have
been written by Merlin and contains fun, games and ‘lore’ for the young would-be
wizard. It is illustrated by five people (Nghiem Ta, Anne Yvonne Gilbert, John
Howe, Tomislav Tomic, and Helen Ward); I am not sure which is responsible for
the woodcut-like engravings which to me are the best feature of this book, but
my bet is on Tomic. A book combining whimsy and some authentic occult lore for
budding young pagans, it is in the ‘Ology’ series, and I am sure owes its
existence in part to Harry Potter. Had a toy tie-in of various wizard action
figures.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Art Book. Wizards. Reference. Padded Hardback.
The Flight of Dragons, by Peter Dickinson. Illustrated by
Wayne Anderson.
Appeared in the wake of the popularity of “Gnomes”; Another
book I got from The Science Fiction Book Club. “The Flight of Dragons is
a 1979 speculative evolution book … According to Dickinson's hypothesis, the chief
obstacle to admitting the (past) existence of dragons is the difficulty of powered
flight by so large an organism. To resolve this, he introduces a dirigible-like structure in which hydrochloric acid would dissolve large amounts of
rapidly growing bone, releasing massive amounts of hydrogen that, once aloft, would support
the body above the ground. The dragon's wings are traced to "modifications
of the ribcage" (an anatomical evolutionary path shared by the genus Draco), and the expulsion of fire from the
throat, as a means of removal of excess gas. The absence of fossil evidence is traced again to the
internal acids, which (in Dickinson's view) would dissolve the bones soon after
death … In 1982, Rankin/Bass
Productions released
a made-for-TV animated film The Flight of Dragons, aspects of which were based on Dickinson's novel. For
example, the character design in the film bears a resemblance to the
illustrations in the book, and its lead character takes his name from the
author, Peter Dickinson. However, the animated film derives most elements of
its story line from the novel The Dragon and the George (by Gordon R. Dickson).” – Wikipedia. The style of the
artwork never completely appealed to me (though some individual pictures were
great) but “I desired Dragons with a profound desire” and this was one of the
only books dedicated to them that I could find at the time. I have a DVD copy
of the animated special now (it is middling good) and I used to have a Del Rey
paperback of the Dickson novel (those confusing author names!) but the cover
got damaged, I sold it, and feel no need to replace it.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Dragons. Speculative Evolution. Hardback.
Kingdom of the Dwarfs, Illustrated by David Wenzel, Text by
Robb Walsh.
Another ‘speculative history’ art book in the wake of
“Gnomes”, I bought this through The Science Fiction Book Club when I was in
high school. I was already a big fan of the fantasy race since “The Hobbit”,
and this look at dwarfs in lore and legend offered a nice little ‘what-if’ they
had been real, in the guise of a supposed archeological dig in an underground
kingdom. Wenzel had already done work related to Middle-Earth, and went on to
do the graphic novel adaptation of “The Hobbit”. I think the art is more important here than
the text.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Legend. Feigned History. Art. Hardback.
Castles, by Alan Lee. Written by David Day. Designed and
edited by David Larkin.
Coming in fairly close to the end of the “Gnomes” fantasy art
book vogue (1984), this book takes a look at famous castles in legend, myth,
and fantasy. Its main feature is as a showcase for Alan Lee (who had already
done work on “Faeries” and would later go on as a major art designer for
Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings”). David Day would become well-known to me as
a bit of a corpse-grinder in his recycling and repackaging of his writings
about Middle Earth and other aspects of fantasy.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Castles. Art Book. Hardback.
