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.
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
And I am really not picky about typos, but just to avoid further confusion:
Boer: Dutch word meaning Farmer
Boar: Large, wild pig
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. So, apparently, have several of my friends, as I must now either purchase a fourth copy or hire someone to be my Book Goon.
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.
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.
Oops, that should be http://www.alibris.com - it doesn’t work the way it is now.
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!
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.
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.
Thank you everyone for your assistance, suggestions, and patience with my spelling errors.