They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but I'm not above buying a book specifically for its cover. This is especially true when the book is an antique because I have found some beautifully done antique and vintage covers that are just too pretty to leave behind.
In today's digital world, it's challenging to find a book that looks and feels like a piece of art. One exception is my pal Eilene's book Fortune's Frenzy with a captivating cover and title. Read about it here.
This copy of Wanderer of the Wasteland took me by surprise while browsing the section Half Price Books calls rare and collectible.
Written by Zanesville, Ohio native Zane Grey, this book has a gorgeous cover but the spine is what caught my attention. It is uncommon to see a spine with hyphenated words. They easily could have made the font smaller or rotated the words so it feels like sort of a mystery.
This book once had a dust jacket but, for three bucks, I could hardly complain about the missing jacket.
This first edition was printed in 1923 when Grey was about 51 years old. In case you don't know, Zane Grey was a prolific writer in the Western and Adventure genres. He even wrote nonfiction books on fishing and baseball.
He was one of the first writers to become a millionaire and was said to be a favorite author of President Eisenhower. Here's a story about that.
Throughout his prolific career, Zane Grey wrote over one hundred books and collections of short stories, some of which were adapted by Hollywood. He even formed his own motion picture company to maintain control over his stories. Early television enthusiasts might recall Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater that ran in the mid-fifties.
But I digress.
I learned a lot about Zane Grey by visiting a museum that's dedicated to him and to the National Road here in Ohio. Oddly enough, I didn't really write about the Zane Grey part of the museum in this account.
I haven't read many Zane Grey books but it's clear that his infatuation with the old west helped to shape early 20th century views of this piece of our history - both through his books and film.
Grey himself was an interesting character. An athlete, he played baseball in college while studying dentistry. He was an outdoorsman and conservationist. The son of an abusive father, he made friends with Muddy Miser, an old man who supported Grey's love for the written word and for fishing, a popular pastime in their river town. It's good to know there was someone in his life who supported his love for the things that would shape him into the man he would become. If you find yourself in Zanesville, check out the restaurant named for Muddy Miser.
By the way, that river town is named for Grey's ancestor, Revolutionary War patriot Ebenezer Zane. Lots of cool stuff where Zane Grey is concerned.
In case you're curious, this book I bought for the cover starts out strong.
Adam Larey gazed with hard and wondering eyes down the silent current of the red river upon which he meant to drift away into the desert.
The Rio Colorado was no river to trust. It chafed at its banks as if to engulf them; muddy and thick it swirled and glided along in flood, sweeping in curves back and forth from Arizona to California shore.
They just don't write 'em like that anymore!
So, yeah, go ahead and judge a book by its cover. You might find a great one!
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