# What books are you shocked to see are out of print? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2008, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-are-you-shocked-to-see-are-out-of-print/436470 "2008-02-06T02:19:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-are-you-shocked-to-see-are-out-of-print/436470/21 "2008-02-07T00:02:35Z")
As popular as Sandra Boynton is, I’m really surprised that _Hester in the Wild_ hasn’t been reprinted. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-are-you-shocked-to-see-are-out-of-print/436470/22 "2008-02-07T01:17:02Z")
Jean-Michel Angebert’s THE OCCULT AND THE THIRD REICH- I believe it was the first of such books & has a reputation of being the best, also has a reputation of being one of the most-stolen-from-libraries books out there. I considering how 25 years ago, any decent bookstore would contain a BIG Taylor Caldwell display, I think now only CAPTAINS AND THE KINGS is still in print from a conventional publishing house. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-are-you-shocked-to-see-are-out-of-print/436470/23 "2008-02-07T01:43:33Z")
I can’t find anything by this author at my local library. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-are-you-shocked-to-see-are-out-of-print/436470/24 "2008-02-07T02:39:57Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] I can’t find anything by this author at my local library. [/QUOTE] First, it’s Dashiell Hammett. Since 2000, _Red Harvest_, _The Dain Curse_, _The Maltese Falcon_, _The Glass Key_, and _The Thin Man_ (in other words, all five of his novels) have been reprinted, and collections of his short stories, his nonfiction, and his letters have also been released in that time. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-are-you-shocked-to-see-are-out-of-print/436470/25 "2008-02-07T14:48:09Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] You’re kidding! I love that guy! I was going to pick up a copy of _The Iron Dragon’s Daughter_ for my boyfriend. He definitely can’t have my copy now. [/QUOTE] That’s the one he’s got a sequel out to - _The Dragons of Babel_. Hardback from Tor. And there is a UK ‘Fantasy Masterworks’ edition of _The Iron Dragon’s Daughter_ still available… ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-are-you-shocked-to-see-are-out-of-print/436470/26 "2008-02-07T18:38:15Z")
Heinlein’s Star Beast is o/p ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-are-you-shocked-to-see-are-out-of-print/436470/27 "2008-02-07T20:44:41Z")
Many Pulitzer Prize winning books are out of print, particularly those written before about 1960. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-are-you-shocked-to-see-are-out-of-print/436470/28 "2008-02-07T20:58:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Heinlein’s Star Beast is o/p Surprising that the paperback isn’t in print, apparently – it seems his others are. I note that the audiobook version is still “in print”, though: > **[The Star Beast: Library Edition: Heinlein, Robert A.: 9781933322742: Amazon.com:...](https://www.amazon.com/Star-Beast-Library-Robert-Heinlein/dp/1933322748)** > > The Star Beast: Library Edition \[Heinlein, Robert A.\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. The Star Beast: Library Edition ---
**Author:** ![The\_Them](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Them](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Them)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-are-you-shocked-to-see-are-out-of-print/436470/29 "2008-02-17T04:05:34Z")
There’s a delightful collection of short stories by Barry Longyear called “It Came From Schenectady” that the B&N in-print database said was long gone. How could such a small, cheerful book not have devotees? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-are-you-shocked-to-see-are-out-of-print/436470/30 "2008-02-18T03:05:45Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] I can’t find anything by this author at my local library. [/QUOTE] Perhaps they’ve all been checked out. He really is a remarkably good novelist…especially in _Harvest, Falcon_ and _Key_. Try again. Better yet, buy copies…that’s the way things _stay_ in print. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-are-you-shocked-to-see-are-out-of-print/436470/31 "2008-02-18T03:49:59Z")
Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series is, once again, out of print. The first book is, apparently, back in print. I have some hope that the Minnesota Historical Society will take them on and keep them in print. ---
**Author:** ![Olive\_The\_Other\_Reindeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Olive\_The\_Other\_Reindeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olive_The_Other_Reindeer)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-are-you-shocked-to-see-are-out-of-print/436470/32 "2008-02-18T03:55:20Z")
[QUOTE=Ethan Complex] I tried to read a Tom Swift book, because I’d heard my father make jokes about them. But they were not in any of three local city libraries. [/QUOTE] My husband checks the magazine racks for Tom Swift books, periodically. ---
**Author:** ![dkree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dkree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dkree)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-are-you-shocked-to-see-are-out-of-print/436470/33 "2008-02-18T07:23:18Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk] I’m surprised that Bobby Fishers, "My 60 Memorable Games " is out of print (as far as I know). It’s a good book, and it’s by the most famous chess player in America. I wouldn’t be surprised if he somehow kept it out of print, but I’m just speculating. [/QUOTE] I want to say the same words ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-are-you-shocked-to-see-are-out-of-print/436470/34 "2008-02-18T07:29:05Z")
Try amazon.ca–sometimes Canadian publishers still have something Amazon doesn’t. A number of Robert Charles Wilson’s books have gone out of print. The thing I really like ablout making a descent living is that when I see a book I want, I just buy it, even if I think I won’t read it for a while. Then when it goes out of print in the interval, I have my copy. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-are-you-shocked-to-see-are-out-of-print/436470/35 "2008-02-18T09:45:09Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] That’s why SF and Fantasy fans are such avid book collectors. Mystery fans, too. Most of Arthur C. Clarke’s books are, I think, out of print. The same for Isaac Asimov. (Although I think all of Heinlein’s output is still in print). And most of Jules Verne’s, for that matter. There are plenty of Classic science fiction authors out of print, although, on searching, I’m surprised at how much has recently been put back into print. [/QUOTE] Having collected a lot of classic science fiction recently I know exactly what you mean. On the other hand I couldn’t be more thankful for the Science Fiction Book Club which printed up gigantic piles of great stuff which can be found cheaply used. I’ve taken advantage of that so often I’ve considered joining just to thank them for those efforts… I’ve read that thanks to the status of modern publishing that it is necessary for book publishers to do smaller print runs of everything except the evergreen sellers, then let it go out of print, and then wait a little while (sometimes just a year or two for midrange titles) before printing a new edition. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-are-you-shocked-to-see-are-out-of-print/436470/36 "2008-02-18T11:58:18Z")
_The Oxford Companion to Food_ just went out of print. _Rifleman Dodd_ just came back. Sunrise, sunset [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-are-you-shocked-to-see-are-out-of-print/436470.md?page=1)