The E-Sylum:  Volume 6, Number 9, March 2, 2003, Article 5

COIN COLLECTOR'S YEARBOOK BOOK REVIEWS

NBS Board member Col. Bill Murray has penned his annual
numismatic book review article for the 2003 Collector's
Yearbook, published by COINage magazine. The article
leads off with a review of Q. David Bowers' "A California
Gold Rush History." Bill notes that the book is "large-format,
small print, with many quotes in smaller print, which Bowers
says "... can be easily skipped by anyone desiring to do so."
You would be advised not to do so. The book is a history,
a numismatic reference, a catalog of California Gold and a
story that reads like fiction. It's a must read for historians,
numismatists and gold bugs alike."

Other reviews include Bowers' "More Adventure with Rare
Coins", Ron Guth's "Coin Collecting for Dummies", Byron
Kanzinger's "Civil War Token Collectors Guide", Robert
Vlack's "An Illustrated Catalogue of Early American
Advertising Notes."

Bill's thoughtful comments are a useful guide to the literature
of 2002, some of which were touched on here in The E-Sylum
as they were published. The breadth of subject matter illustrates
the variety of fascinating topics to be found under the umbrella
of numismatics. His notes on the year's general guidebooks
are very useful, since I've always felt that EVERY book has
something to offer, even ones which may seem at first blush to
cover topics already touched on elsewhere. Every author has
a unique perspective, and each brings a fresh eye to "old" topics.
Sometimes a single chapter, index, or appendix makes a book
indispensable. So if you think a new book has nothing new to
offer, think again. Look between the covers and you may be
pleasantly surprised.

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization 
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

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