Names and Places have withheld to protect the guilty.

OK on this find cold morning, I went to a bookshop to place an order, I had the title and author and subject, as I walk up to the desk and go though the usual banter, I was asked do you have the ISBN. sorry no I don’t. Reply sorry sir I can not help you I need the ISBN, it was at this point I asked a question, how did you order books before the ISBN. Answer title of the book, author and subject matter. Pardon I just gave you that information, I know sir but I still need the ISBN, at this point I said you can not help me or you are not helping me. A second sales person came in on the scene and yes you guest it they helped me. And the morrow of the story don’t go into book shops without a pair of boxing gloves.

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Regards, Richard

Waterstones, Borders...?

To be honest, I hardly ever buy from these places. If it's a new book ( rare for me.. ) I tend to use Amazon or the specialists ( Motor Books, Midland, Aviation Bookshop etc ).

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

I get most of my Military books from those places as well Martin and this place

http://www.militaryhistorybooks.com/

Good service [img]smile.gif[/img] but some of the books are costly

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Regards, Richard

think: costly for good contents...

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"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." -Winston Churchill

I've bought from Military History Bookshop, Richard, and you're right - little in the way of bargains, but top-notch service and a good website.

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

The last book I bought from them a second hand one last year The Struggle For Europe.
By Chester Wilmot

It’s in my too read pile up to number three so I could get to read it this year.
A bargain from them I think I got it for about £12 in good condition Published in 1952 [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 25. February 2006, 07:49 AM: Message edited by: Richard42 ]

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Regards, Richard

Actually, my worst-ever was a secondhand bookshop in Liverpool. Was up there on business over 20 years ago - shop had some interesting stuff in the window ; it was late afternoon, I went in and the man in the shop glared at me. 'Looking for anything in particular ?' he muttered...'Military history' said I. 'That's all in the basement'says he.

'Great' I thought.... [img]smile.gif[/img]

'Where's the basement ?' sez I. 'Down there...' he said nodding toward a staircase '.. but we're just closing' he went on, switching the shop lights off...

It remains to this day one of my most bizarre bookshop experiences. [img]graemlins/no.gif[/img]

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

wow, that was some BS shop owner...wouldnt you think that he would want to make some money? (clearly tells you he didnt like his job...)

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"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." -Winston Churchill

i had a bad shop experiance when i walked into this pretty formidable book shop... i walked in, and said do you have anything on the lines of ww2? and the (soon to be called jerk) started lecturing me on the subject of war, and how war was inhumane, and just a bunch of BS i didnt need to hear...he kept lecturing me as i walked out the door...

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"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." -Winston Churchill

Martin, I hope he did not have an Axe behind the desk? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Fortune, All the way home? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

A funny one I had years ago I went in to this bookshop in London ask for this book I wanted, he told me the book I wanted was sold out, I then pointed out one on the shelf, He said sorry sir I can't sell you that one, it's a display copy only

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Regards, Richard

I am a book shop fan so I like to check the book stores wherever I go.

Anyway, it seems that being a customer means close to nothing these days. I´d think they´d be after my money and they´d do even something to get it but these days the sales persons usually just say that if it´s not in the shelf they don´t have it. I even once had the nerve to ask if I could order a book. No, that´s not possible, all the available books are in the shelves and that´s it. I am thankful that I can buy my books in the net auction sites these days and at least in Finland won´t be entering book shops unless I want something that´s bound to be there in numbers so that I won´t trouble the sales persons too much.

I´d like to make some old-fashioned visits to the book stores but it definitely seems to be impossible nowadays.

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Too bad so many liberal people like that forget that books serve to preserve history as well as providing a way to have lovely coffee table books. Pansy-a55es like that usually think it is a God given right for them to be able to do all the things they take for granted. They forget that someone had to stand up to other people who would never have given them that ability. They neither remember that sacrifice, nor honor it. They are also unwilling to stand up and protect it today, or in the future.

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PEOPLE SLEEP PEACEABLY IN THEIR BEDS AT NIGHT ONLY BECAUSE ROUGH MEN STAND READY TO DO VIOLENCE ON THEIR BEHALF. GEORGE ORWELL

I'm looking at "Armoured Warfare", Harris & Toase, Batsford, 1990 which I bought in the University Bokshop in Helsinki, a bookshop designed by Alvar Aalto, I believe.

Damned expensive at the time, at 36.5 Markka, but a very satisfying book!

I would be sorry to hear this bookshop had gone down the drain too...

I saw quite a few other bookshops, but they didn't cater very much for an international clientele...

Anyway, at the time I was living in Helsinki in Tehtaankatu, and was working in an engineering firm in Espoo

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its always good to walk into those "mom and pops" owned and operated book shops...the people are pretty darned nice, and they will give you there own opinions of the books, and tell you if its worth getting. i went to some shop in ireland, and i had a long talk with this older gentleman, and he saw i was quite interested in the book, and then we both shared our WW2 interests, and he gave me the book at half price probrably happy to find that somebody had actually gone out of his way to talk to him, and just be friendly

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"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." -Winston Churchill

Damn, it was 365 Markka, 15 years ago!

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The Great One at work? I suppose the USSR severely cut the wages after WW2??



Anyway, interesting to see how many actually have visited or stayed in Finland of the Forums´ members!I would have thought that not so many but world is small it seems.

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Here’s a good one short story got home after buying a couple of books found out I was over charged went back, and they were great got my balance back and a £20 token free to use in their shop. That one also years ago I bet today it would be a different matter?

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Regards, Richard

I went to Bergen last year to have an operation on my eyes. I went to a book store and asked for old WW2 books. The sales person pointed at the new Beevor books... As I was leaving the shop owner came rushing over and gave me an adress for an auction house. She told me that there was plenty of old books on the WW2 to be found. I walked out of the auction house with 12 new titles to my collection. They were the cheapest WW2 books I have ever bought.

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'We march. The enemy is retreating in transport. We follow on foot.' Lt.Neil McCallum 5/7 Gordons 19th November 1942

Nice story, Jaeger - it's like the old saying : 'Every cloud has a silver lining' ! [img]smile.gif[/img]

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

Martin

The nasty thing is that these books were bought by lads who were in the war. I am shocked to say the least, that their offspring would sell them!!

It is impossible to get the books reprinted. They were published by small companies. The big boys doesn't think it is worthwhile because they are for people with a'special interest'.

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'We march. The enemy is retreating in transport. We follow on foot.' Lt.Neil McCallum 5/7 Gordons 19th November 1942

What a short sighted view by them its money at the end of the day mass production of rubbish wins out shame. [img]graemlins/no.gif[/img]

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Regards, Richard