History Buffs and Bookworms Unite

[msbrown]

Hello, can anyone help me? I'm looking for an out of print book entitled "Scapegoat of the Empire" by George Whiton. I'm not sure if I spelled the author's name correctly. The book is a historical account of the Boar War. It was also published in Austalia around 1902. I appreciate any help because I've exhausted all of my search resources.

[Lance Turbo]

The exact title and author's name might help you...

Scapegoats of the empire : the true story of Breaker Morant's Bushveldt Carbineers
by George Witton

[tomndebb]

And I am really not picky about typos, but just to avoid further confusion:

Boer: Dutch word meaning Farmer
Boar: Large, wild pig

[Sofa King]

Have you tried to get http://www.amazon.com to check their rare book sources? They'll e-mail you if the find a copy.

For a fairly good read on the war in general, I liked Thomas Packenham's The Boer War (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380720019/qid=975944805/sr=1-1/107-1021839-0230169). So, apparently, have several of my friends, as I must now either purchase a fourth copy or hire someone to be my Book Goon.

[Celyn]

I don't know whether you have already tried abebooks. They don't appear to have heard of it at present, but they can keep a search request and let you know if it shows up anywhere.

Actually, I have had no luck yet with a book I'm looking for, but it might be worth a try. Besides, I think it's fun that their internal search engine is named Dogbert.:)

http://www.abebooks.com/

[lesa]

Ooh, you may not like this...

I found copies of this book for sale, but they're fairly expensive.

I used "quick search" at http://www.abebooks.com and found two copies. One is $250. The other is about $140 and would have to be ordered from Australia.

The search at http://www.bibliofind.com gave the exact same results.

http://www.alibris.com/search had a copy for $314.

[lesa]

Oops, that should be http://www.alibris.com - it doesn't work the way it is now.

[Zumba The Cat]

Looks like you aren't the only one having this problem. I found some sort of message board with people looking for a copy.

I would try to send an email to there people. There web site came up in every serch I did for the book, but I couldn't find it on their site. They might be able to find it for you.
http://www.bspgallery.com.au/index.html

Also try an Amazon "out of print" inquiry. I have used it before and it has worked for me.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0207146667/qid%3D975945486/103-8649171-6063807

Good Luck!

[Chas.E]

Umm.. have thought of checking a library? If I had a book that I wanted to read, but cost $250, I'd sure head to my local university library.

[CalMeacham]

You might be able to get the book through interlibrary loan if your own doesn't have it.


You might also be interested in "The Breaker". I forget the author, but it's the OTHER book that "Braker Morant" is based on. Likely you've read it already. I heard a couple of years ago that the author learned more about the life of "Harry" Harcourt Morant and decided that he WAS a dyed-in-the-wool bastard.

[msbrown]

Thank you everyone for your assistance, suggestions, and patience with my spelling errors.