Three books

[vaneramos]

Just now through Amazon I ordered slightly used copies of what I consider the three most valuable books destroyed by last week's deluge.

Nature's Healing Arts: From Folk Medicine to Modern Drugs, by Lonnelle Aikman. This 1977 National Geographic book was one in a series Dad's parents gave me for Christmas over the years. I've blogged about this book before. It influenced my mind more than any non-fiction book I read in my teens, awakening a fascination with the lore of plants.

Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management and Economics, edited by Joseph A. Chapman and George A. Feldhamer. This huge textbook contains exhaustive details of the natural history of mammals as supported by scientific research. I refer to it frequently. I must have paid more than $200 for the original, but the used one with shipping and taxes cost about $60.

Glorious Gardens: A Portfolio of Ideas for Planting and Design, commentary by Francesca Greenoak. Eye candy I simply don't want to live without.

These are a fair cross-section of what was lost. A few cookbooks were destroyed, but mostly they were higher on the gourmet spectrum than I have been interested in cooking lately. I've recorded the titles, in case I change my mind later. I considered buying a bread machine cookbook, because I had purchased a new machine just before the disaster, but enough recipes can be found online to keep me busy for months.

I have just enough money left over from the February rent (which I didn't have to pay) to cover these.