Sunday, October 24, 2010

Links & Reviews

- KSPR reported that there seems to be some movement in the Rolland Comstock murder case: detectives have recently examined media coverage of the case "to see if a person of interest knew details about the killing that were not previously released to the public," and a grand jury called to deliberate on unsolved cases may be considering the Comstock case. The civil case brought against Comstock's ex-wife by his adopted daughter is also proceedings; a hearing is set for 3 November.

- From CNBC this week, John Moore writes on books as financial investments.

- The Caxton Club will host a symposium on association copies in March 2011, to coincide with the opening of their new exhibit "Other People's Books: Association Copies and the Stories They Tell."

- Here's a blast from the past: in a story first noted here way back in 2006, book thieves Peter Mason King and Nora Ann Thompson are now accused of stealing more than $500,000 of goods in Canada by pilfering items from homes they entered by posing as potential buyers. The duo are still wanted by Westport, CT police for stealing some $60,000 worth of art and rare books from a store there.

- From the Book Bench this week, a look at a steampunkish early typewriter.

- The Dr. Seuss manuscript at auction this week ended up selling for $40,800 (including premiums).

- A James Madison University professor has donated a 7,000-book collection, including some rarities, to the university's library.

- Israel will be cooperating with Google to mount a digital exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls, with the first images set to go up within months.

- In the November Smithsonian, E.J. Wagner has a fascinating essay on an 1830 Salem murder that may have influenced the writings of Hawthorne and Poe.

Review

- Joseph Ellis' First Family; review by Jay Strafford in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

- Ron Chernow's Washington; review by T.J. Stiles in the WaPo.

- Simon Winchester's Atlantic; review by Ben Wilson in the Telegraph.

- Pauline Maier's Ratification; review by Michael McConnell in the WSJ.