Biography and Autobiography
Rare Biography & Autobiography Books for Sale Online
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“It is a curious fate to be objectified alive. Think with humor while reading": First Edition of Anton Reiser's Albert Einstein: A Biographical Portrait; Inscribed by Albert Einstein with an original poem
REISER, Anton. [Albert Einstein].
Albert Einstein: A Biographical Portrait.
New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1930.
First edition of this Einstein biography written by Rudolf Kayser, a German literary historian and husband to Albert Einstein's stepdaughter Ilse under the pseudonym Anton Reiser. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece of Einstein. Inscribed by Albert Einstein with an original poem on the front free endpaper in German, which translates as, "It is a curious fate to be objectified alive. Think with humor while reading. A. Einstein." From the library of Alexandre and Catherine Barjansky with her ownership signature to the verso of the front panel and notation below Einstein's inscription, "S.S. 'Belgenland,' New-York, 14/XII/30." Russian sculptress Catherine Barjansky, her celebrated cellist husband, and Einstein…
Price: $17,500.00 Item Number: 90431
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"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning": First Edition of Anton Reiser's Albert Einstein: A Biographical Portrait; Signed and dated by Albert Einstein
REISER, Anton. [Albert Einstein].
Albert Einstein: A Biographical Portrait.
New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1930.
First edition of this Einstein biography written by Rudolf Kayser, a German literary historian and husband to Albert Einstein's stepdaughter Ilse under the pseudonym Anton Reiser. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece of Einstein. Signed and dated by Einstein in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, "Albert Einstein 1930." Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Rare signed and in the original dust jacket.
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 138499
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First Edition of Anton Reiser's Albert Einstein: A Biographical Portrait; Signed and dated by Albert Einstein
REISER, Anton. [Albert Einstein].
Albert Einstein: A Biographical Portrait.
New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1930.
First edition of this Einstein biography written by Rudolf Kayser, a German literary historian and husband to Albert Einstein's stepdaughter Ilse under the pseudonym Anton Reiser. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece of Einstein. Signed and dated by Einstein on the front free endpaper in the year of publication, "Albert Einstein New York 1930." In near fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 110352
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"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new": First edition of Out of My Later Years; Signed by Albert Einstein
EINSTEIN, Albert.
Out of My Later Years.
New York: Philosophical Library, 1950.
First edition of Einstein's collection of social science-related articles, addresses and speeches. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece of Einstein. Signed by Albert Einstein on the title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $12,000.00 Item Number: 138884
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"Let Us Hope That The Best Important Achievement Of Atomic Energy Will Lie In Planetary Exploration, And Not In Human Destruction": First Edition of George Gamow's Atomic Energy In Cosmic And Human Life: Fifty Years Of Radioactivity; Inscribed by Him to Chester Nimitz
GAMOW, George [Chester Nimitz].
Atomic Energy In Cosmic And Human Life: Fifty Years Of Radioactivity.
New York: 1946.
First edition of this work by the legendary physicist and cosmologist. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To The Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz Cordially From The Author G. Gamow." The recipient, Chester Nimitz was made Fleet Admiral in 1944 (a lifetime appointment) and was in charge of the United States Forces in the Pacific, and Commander of Operations including the first military use of atomic energy in warfare, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Near fine in very good dust jacket. An exceptional association.
Price: $4,000.00 Item Number: 139841
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First Edition of DNA Pioneer: James Watson and the Double Helix; Signed by Nobel Prize-winning Scientist's James Watson and Francis Crick
BALDWIN, Joyce [James D. Watson and Francis Crick].
DNA Pioneer: James Watson and the Double Helix.
New York: Walker and Company, 1994.
First edition of this riveting work on the legendary scientist James D. Watson. Octavo, original boards. Boldly signed by James Watson and Francis Crick on the half-title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Ron Monteleone. Rare and desirable signed by Watson and Crick.
Price: $3,800.00 Item Number: 145786
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First Edition of R. Buckminster Fuller's Nine Chains To The Moon; Inscribed by him
FULLER, R. Buckminster .
Nine Chains to the Moon.
Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1938.
First edition of Fuller's first book. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author to his sister on the front pastedown, "To Rog and K With dearest love Bucky." Near fine in a very good dust jacket. An exceptional association.
Price: $3,000.00 Item Number: 124952
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“No woman can call herself free who does not control her own body": First edition of Margaret Sanger's My Fight For Birth Control; signed by her and in the scarce original dust jacket
SANGER, Margaret.
My Fight For Birth Control.
New York: Farrar & Rinehart Incorporated, 1931.
First edition of Sanger's remarkable first autobiography with the publisher's device to the copyright page. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated with twenty black and white photographs. Boldly signed by Margaret Sanger on the front free endpaper. Very good in the scarce first issue dust jacket which is in very good condition.
Price: $3,000.00 Item Number: 129460
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“this is the story of a great inventor, the most conspicuous figure of the age of electricity”: First edition of the Boy's Life of Edison; Signed by Thomas A. Edison
MEADOWCROFT, William H. [Thomas A. Edison].
The Boy’s Life of Edison.
New York and London: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1911.
First edition of Meadowcroft's biography of Thomas Edison, written for children. Octavo, original cloth with paper label portrait of Edison to the front panel, illustrated with eight photographic portraits of Edison including tissue-guarded frontispiece. With Edison's autobiographical notes. Boldly signed on the second free endpaper, "Thomas A. Edison." In very good condition. First printings are uncommon signed.
Price: $2,750.00 Item Number: 110225
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"The ultimate aim of the modern movement in biology is in fact to explain all biology in terms of physics and chemistry": First Edition of The Path to the Double Helix; Signed by Francis Crick and Robert Olby
OBLY, Robert; Foreword by Francis Crick.
The Path to the Double Helix.
Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1974.
First edition of this work on the history of the double helix. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. Signed by both the author and Francis Crick on the title page, who contributed the foreword. The author has transcribed the following from this work, "The ultimate aim of the modern movement in biology is in fact to explain all biology in terms of physics and chemistry Robert Olby." Fine in a fine dust jacket.
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 3394
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THE FIRST EXPLORER TO REACH THE NORTH POLE: Deluxe signed limited edition of Robert Peary’s The North Pole; one of only 500 copies
PEARY, Robert E. Introduction by Theodore Roosevelt.
The North Pole.
London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1910.
Deluxe signed limited edition of Peary’s illustrated account of his journey to the North Pole, number 4 of only 500 copies signed by Peary and Captain R. A. Bartlett. Thick quarto, publisher's original full vellum decorated in gilt, top edge gilt, illustrated with a large folding map printed in color, four black-and-white mounted photogravures and 112 tipped-in photographic plates. Introduction by Theodore Roosevelt. In very good condition.
Price: $2,450.00 Item Number: 125090
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First Edition of John Muir's The Story of My Boyhood and Youth; in the rare original dust jacket
MUIR, John.
The Story of My Boyhood and Youth.
Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913.
First edition, first issue of Muir's autobiography of his youth with the biting criticism of his neighbor's treatment of his son on p. 217: "...none was bold enough or kind enough to break the blacksmith's jaw" (Kimes 315) . Octavo, original illustrated green cloth with gilt titles and tooling to the spine and front panel, tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait of Muir, illustrated. Near fine in the rare original dust jacket which is in very good condition.
Price: $2,250.00 Item Number: 126377
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First Edition of B.F. Skinner's Notebooks; Inscribed to Harvard colleague Arthur K. Solomon and his wife
SKINNER, B.F.
Notebooks.
Englewood, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1980.
First edition of this work by the famed psychologist. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Marnie and Arthur Fondly Fred." The recipients were Harvard University colleague Arthur K. Solomon and his wife Marnie, who were close friends of Skinner. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Hal Siegel. Edited and with an introduction by Robert Epstein.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 131399
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“The world, we are told, was made especially for man — a presumption not supported by all the facts": First Edition of John Muir's A Thousand-Mile Walk To the Gulf; In the Rare Original Dust Jacket
MUIR, John.
A Thousand-Mile Walk To the Gulf.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1916.
First edition of this work by Muir. Octavo, original green cloth, color pictorial cover label, lettered in white, top edge gilt. Edited with an introduction by William Frederic Badè. Illustrated with several plates from photographs, including a frontispiece portrait with tissue guard; map. Fine in the rare original dust jacket, which is in near fine condition. Uncommon in this condition.
Price: $1,850.00 Item Number: 114781
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First edition of James Herriot's The Lord God Made Them All; inscribed by him
HERRIOT, James.
The Lord God Made Them All.
London: Michael Joseph, 1981.
First edition of this installment in Herriot's true-life-saga as a veterinarian in the Yorkshire countryside. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "To Bill... James Herriot." Near fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket photograph by Fay Godwin. Uncommon signed.
Price: $1,600.00 Item Number: 129084
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"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new": First edition of Out of My Later Years; Finely Bound by the Harcourt Bindery
EINSTEIN, Albert.
Out of My Later Years.
New York: Philosophical Library, 1950.
First edition of Einstein's collection of social science-related articles, addresses and speeches. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece of Einstein. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and ruling to the spine, raised bands, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition. An exceptional presentation.
Price: $1,500.00 Item Number: 142361
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"The prophet of the wilderness": Rare John Muir ephemera collection including numerous rare articles, periodicals and facsimile printings
MUIR, John.
John Muir Ephemera Collection.
Rare collection of ephemera related to American naturalist John Muir. The collection includes a variety of periodicals articles, exhibition guides, and proof sheets including: John Muir 1838-1914: Keepsake for the Roxburghe-Zamorano Biennial Joint Meeting of 1996; The Presence of Mr. Muir. Keepsake for the John Muir Observance at Yosemite National Park, April 21-30, 1972, signed by publishers Bill Lane and Lew Osborne; John Muir: His World Exhibition pamphlet [Vacaville, California: Vacaville Museum, 1987]; Yosemite Earthquake Storms [Muir, John. Wawona Press, 1993. First state No. 1 of 3]; Reference List to the Published Writings of John Muir [Bradley, Cornelius B. Sierra…
Price: $1,500.00 Item Number: 126971
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First Edition of John Muir's A Thousand-Mile Walk To the Gulf; In the Rare Original Dust Jacket
MUIR, John.
A Thousand-Mile Walk To the Gulf.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1916.
First edition of this work by Muir. Octavo, original green cloth, color pictorial cover label, lettered in white, top edge gilt. Edited with an introduction by William Frederic Badè. Illustrated with several plates from photographs, including a frontispiece portrait with tissue guard; map. Fine in the rare original dust jacket, which is in very good condition. Uncommon in this condition.
Price: $1,400.00 Item Number: 124411
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First Edition of The Black Hole War; Signed by Leonard Susskind
SUSSKIND, Leonard.
The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics.
New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2008.
First edition of this compelling inside account from the professor of theoretical physics at Stanford University, one of the fathers of string theory. Octavo, original boards, illustrated with mathematic equations and diagrams. Signed by the author on the title page, "Best wishes Leonard Susskind." Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Karen Horton. Jacket photograph by Corbis. Author photograph by Anne Elizabeth Warren.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 145181
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First Edition of Buckminster Fuller's Ideas and Integrities, a Spontaneous Autobiographical Disclosure; Inscribed by Him to his Niece
FULLER, Buckminster.
Ideas and Integrities: A Spontaneous Autobiographical Disclosure.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1963.
First edition of this work by Fuller. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed "To Brooke, with great love, Bucky 3/30/80." The recipient, Brooke Maxwell, along with one of Fuller's other nieces Sarah Abbot, was one of Fuller's key assistants on his Synergetics Project. Edited by Robert W. Marks. Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. A fine association.
Price: $850.00 Item Number: 124570
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Rare First Edition of Hermann Weyl's Raum Zeit Materie Vorlesungen uber Allgemeine
WEYL, Hermann.
Raum Zeit Materie Vorlesungen uber Allgemeine [Space, Time, Matter].
Berlin: Julius Springer, 1918.
First edition of "the standard treatise on the general theory of relativity" (Nature). Octavo, original wrappers. In very good condition.
Price: $750.00 Item Number: 142307
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First edition of James Jackson's Cases of Cholera Collected at Paris; in the original publisher's boards
JACKSON, James.
Cases of Cholera Collected at Paris, in the Month of April, 1832, in the Wards of MM. Andral and Louis at the Hospital La Pitie.
Boston: Carter, Hendee, and Co, 1832.
First edition of Jackson's work detailing six cases of Cholera collected at the Hospital de la Pitie at Paris. Octavo, original publisher's boards and paper spine label. In very good condition. Ownership inscription.
Price: $750.00 Item Number: 137121
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“THE MOUNTAINS ARE CALLING AND I MUST GO": JOHN MUIR'S THE MOUNTAINS OF CALIFORNIA
MUIR, John.
The Mountains of California.
New York: The Century Co, 1922.
New and enlarged edition of Muir's first book. Octavo, original pictorial cloth decorated in gilt, frontispiece, illustrated. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Uncommon in the original jacket.
Price: $750.00 Item Number: 126367
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First Edition of Walter Cunningham's The All-American Boys; Signed by Him
CUNNINGHAM, Walter.
The All-American Boys.
New York: Macdonald and Co, 1977.
First edition of "the best of all the astronaut books" (Los Angeles Times). Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated. Signed by Walter Cunningham on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket, owner name to the front free endpaper. Jacket design by Robert Silverman. Written with the assistance of Mickey Herskowitz.
Price: $600.00 Item Number: 142901
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First Edition of Philip Stern's The Oppenheimer Case: Security on Trial; Inscribed by Him in the Year of Publication
STERN, Philip M.
The Oppenheimer Case: Security on Trial.
New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1969.
First edition of this early biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, "For Arnoldo Luigi With abundant fondness from one who treasures their friendship Phil S. November, 1969." Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
Price: $600.00 Item Number: 143503
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First edition of John Muir's The Boyhood of a Naturalist
MUIR, John.
The Boyhood of a Naturalist: Being Selected Chapters From “The Story of My Boyhood and Youth”.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913.
First edition of this brief biography in The Riverside Literature Series collection. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece. In good condition. Ex-library. Scarce.
Price: $600.00 Item Number: 126476
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First Edition of From So Simple A Beginning; Signed by Editor Edward O. Wilson
WILSON, Edward O.; Charles Darwin.
From So Simple A Beginning: Darwin’s Four Great Books (Voyage of the Beagle, The Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals).
New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006.
First edition of this collection of the four works of Darwin. Thick octavo, original half cloth. Signed by the editor, Edward O. Wilson on the title page, who has drawn an image of an ant. Fine in a fine dust jacket. The original slipcase is in near fine condition.
Price: $600.00 Item Number: 4269
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First Edition of Buckminster Fuller's Ideas and Integrities, a Spontaneous Autobiographical Disclosure; Inscribed by Him
FULLER, Buckminster.
Ideas and Integrities: A Spontaneous Autobiographical Disclosure.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1963.
First edition of this work by Fuller. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "To Ed Westhoff in friendship Buckminster Fuller." Edited by Robert W. Marks. Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket.
Price: $500.00 Item Number: 125971
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First Edition of Philip Stern's The Oppenheimer Case: Security on Trial; Inscribed by Him in the Year of Publication
STERN, Philip M.
The Oppenheimer Case: Security on Trial.
New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1969.
First edition of this early biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, "For Joan and Arthur Gardner With the warmest and fondest wishes of their friend Phil S. November, 1969." Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
Price: $500.00 Item Number: 143398
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First Edition of From So Simple A Beginning; Signed by Editor Edward O. Wilson
WILSON, Edward O.; Charles Darwin.
From So Simple A Beginning: Darwin’s Four Great Books (Voyage of the Beagle, The Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals).
New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006.
First edition of this collection of the four works of Darwin. Thick octavo, original half cloth. Signed by the editor, Edward O. Wilson on the title page, who has drawn an image of an ant. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by B. Middleworth.
Price: $500.00 Item Number: 140254
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First Edition of THE GOD PARTICLE; Inscribed by Nobel Prize-winning Physicist Leon Lederman to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lois Wille
LEDERMAN, Leon with Dick Teresi.
The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question?
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993.
First edition of this work by the Nobel Prize-winning scientist. Octavo, original half cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author opposite the title page, "To Wayne and Loise Wille We really miss you all. Enjoy! Leon Lederman." An excellent association, as one of the recipients, Loise Wille, was a two time Pulitzer Prize winning Chicago journalist. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
Price: $475.00 Item Number: 142078
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First Edition of R. Buckminster Fuller's Nine Chains To The Moon; Signed by him
FULLER, R. Buckminster .
Nine Chains to the Moon.
Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1938.
First edition of Fuller's first book. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Buckminster Fuller on the front pastedown. In near fine condition.
Price: $475.00 Item Number: 127867
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"Life is a circle you come back to a lot of interests that you had early in life": First Edition of In Search of Memory; Inscribed by Nobel Prize-winning Scientist Eric Kandel
KANDEL, Eric R.
In Search Of Memory.
New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006.
First edition of the scientist's autobiography which deals with the groundbreaking work on the biological process of memory, which earned him the Nobel Prize. Octavo, original half cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "For John Life is a circle you come back to a lot of interests that you had early in life. With warm regards Eric Kandel." Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
Price: $450.00 Item Number: 110821
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First Edition of Jane Goodall's Reason For Hope: A Spiritual Journey; Inscribed by Her
GOODALL, Jane with Phillip Berman.
Reason For Hope: A Spiritual Journey.
New York: Warner Books, 1999.
First edition of Goodall's moving memoir. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "For Caroline Together we make a difference Jane Goodall." Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Jackie Merri Meyer and Flag.
Price: $450.00 Item Number: 138205
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First Edition of Buckminster Fuller: An Autobiographical Monologue Scenario; Warmly inscribed by Him
FULLER, Buckminster.
Buckminster Fuller: An Autobiographical Monologue Scenario.
New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980.
First edition of this autobiographical work. Quarto, original half cloth, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by Fuller on the front free endpaper, "To: Harriet Nichols In warmest friendship Bucky Buckminster Fuller." Fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket. Jacket design by Kadi Tint. Documented and edited by Robert Snyder.
Price: $400.00 Item Number: 124719
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The brain is a complex biological organ possessing immense computational capability: it constructs our sensory experience, regulates our thoughts and emotions, and controls our actions": First Edition of In Search of Memory; Inscribed by Nobel Prize-winning Scientist Eric Kandel
KANDEL, Eric R.
In Search Of Memory.
New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006.
First edition of the scientist's autobiography which deals with the groundbreaking work on the biological process of memory, which earned him the Nobel Prize. Octavo, original half cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "For Mayshan with best wishes Eric Kandel." Fine in a fine dust jacket.
Price: $375.00 Item Number: 39334
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First edition of Beyond Innocence: An Autobiography in Letters: The Later Years; signed by Jane Goodall
GOODALL, Jane. Edited by Dale Peterson.
Beyond Innocence: An Autobiography in Letters: The Later Years.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001.
First edition of the second volume of Goodall's personal and professional correspondence; a welcome sequel to her critically acclaimed Africa in My Blood. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "For the Rhoads Family- Together we can make a difference Jane Goodall." Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Martha Kennedy.
Price: $350.00 Item Number: 142049