The BookFinder.com ReportAugust 2004

• In the News
• Featured Titles
• Top 10 Lists

Out of Print Books in the News

Now, more than ever, out of print books are helping shape the public debate. Two of the top five most searched for out of print books are ripped straight out of the headlines.

In 1971, a young vet named John Kerry joined Vietnam Veterans Against the War. He volunteered to edit a book called The New Soldier, about the group's case against what they perceived as an unjust and badly mismanaged war. Three decades later, Senator Kerry is the Democratic Presidential candidate, and The New Soldier is the #1 most sought after out of print Society and Culture title in America. Fans and critics are hunting down copies of the book, hoping it can shed more light on the candidate's views on war and other foreign policy issues.

In 1981, first-time author Lynne Cheney wrote a novel called Sisters, a bodice-ripper about nineteenth century feminist pioneers in Wyoming, dealing in part with lesbian relationships. Two decades later, the historian and wife of Vice President Dick Cheney is very much in the public eye, and the hard-to-find Sisters is the #1 most sought after Fiction title in America. With Cheney's opposition to the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment in the news, readers are looking toward her novel to learn more about her views on gay/lesbian issues.

Featured Titles

Dry Guillotine by René Belbenoit

In 1922, French World War I vet and convicted burglar René Belbenoit was shipped off to Devil's Island, a harsh penal colony (think Alcatraz or Guantanamo) off the coast of French Guiana, north of Brazil. He made four daring escape attempts over the next thirteen years, finally making a several thousand mile journey culminating in the United States. He told his story in his book Dry Guillotine, a muckraking adventure story that helped convince the French public to close Devil's Island for good.

Where Troy Once Stood by Iman Wilkens

Retired economist Iman Jacob Wilkens spent years trying to uncover the story behind the Trojan War. His hypothesis: that the real Trojan War took place in England, and that The Iliad and The Odysey are based on oral histories of a major war between Celtic peoples circa 1160 BC.Where Troy Once Stood details his surprising conclusions.

Phantom by Susan Kay

British novelist Susan Kay was intrigued after she watched the musical The Phantom of the Opera. She read the original 1911 novel by Gaston Leroux, but it didn't answer all her questions, so she wrote her own retelling of the story. Kay's Phantom is darker and more detailed than Leroux's, delving deep into the characters' back stories. Her novel has been a favorite with Phantom junkies since its release.

Top 10 Lists