Another spending spree

on crappy old books.

I paid $9 for the books, and involuntarily contributed $0.63 to the coffers of the Sovereign State of Mississippi.  This is almost twice as much as I spent on my last spending spree at the Palmer House Thrift Store!

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The book with the blue book cover is a real find! It illustrates perfectly how easy it is to re-write history. The Beards' NEW Basic History of the United States by Charles A. and Mary R. Beard, is "brought up to the present by William Beard." Do not confuse this book, copyright 1960, with one of the (nearly) same title, copyright 1944 (which I own). 

Practically all of the material on activities, ideas, and interests my parents deemed fundamental for the period up to 1944 has been left unchanged in the 1960 edition.

"Minor adjustments," my _ _ _ . As the spirit moves me, I'll probably have more to say about this book.

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The two with the orange tape holding them together were discarded: 

one by Ethel School Library, the other by Ethel Att. Center Library. The latter-- Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm in its 23rd printing (1931)-- is an interesting book. Under "Ethel [which I take to be Ethel, MS] Att. Center Library" is  stamped: "ESEA, Title II." According to that infallible source, Wikipedia, 

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (Pub.L. 89-10, 79 Stat. 27, 20 U.S.C. ch.70), is a United States federal statute enacted April 11, 1965. It was passed as a part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's "War on Poverty" and has been the most far-reaching federal legislation affecting education ever passed by Congress. The act is an extensive statute that funds primary and secondary education, while explicitly forbidding the establishment of a national curriculum.[1] It also emphasizes equal access to education and establishes high standards and accountability.[2] In addition, the bill aims to shorten the achievement gaps between students by providing each child with fair and equal opportunities to achieve an exceptional education. As mandated in the act, the funds are authorized for professional development, instructional materials, for resources to support educational programs, and for parental involvement promotion. The act was originally authorized through 1970; however, the government has reauthorized the act every five years since its enactment. The current reauthorization of ESEA is the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, named and proposed by President George W. Bush. The ESEA also allows military recruiters access to 11th and 12th grade students' names, addresses, and telephone listings when requested.

Title II concerns "School Library Resources, Textbooks, and other Instructional Materials."

The other-- a volume of Jayne Eyre published in 1941-- has no such ESEA stamp. Should we assume is wasn't bought with taxpayer money? 
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I have lots of questions about Ethel and its libraries (plural?), students, and residents over time. None are so pressing that I'll actually attempt to answer right now. But The Art of Conversation tells me that to make myself an interesting person, I should read and ask questions. And so I try. 
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Another remarkable book (not that they aren't all special in their own unique ways) is one that was DISCARDED by the Los Angeles Public Library, and the High School Library, Ethel, Mississippi. 

Mississippi --> California --> Mississippi? OR California --> Mississippi? Occam's Razor.

The book is Side Lights in American History (1920), and it has some thought-provoking  side lights about Carpet-Baggers, Scalawags, and in Chapter VII, "The Race Problem." Quite objective.
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Another discarded book in the left-hand stack is about John Sherman. From The Table of Contests, I gather that Sherman was a life-long public servant during some difficult times in Our Nation's History. 

A career politician.

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Finally, there is the non-distinct book, Patriotic Plays and Pageants for Young People by Constance Darcy Mackay (copyright '12, and later, '39). Skimming through this book was what got me thinking of D'Vorak.