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  Finding signed secondhand space books (Page 3)

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Author Topic:   Finding signed secondhand space books
p51
Member

Posts: 1642
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011

posted 01-22-2015 12:22 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for p51   Click Here to Email p51     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Last week I ordered a copy of Bill Nelson's book, "Mission" off Amazon and got it yesterday. I was surprised to see it was signed and not inscribed. Not bad for less than five bucks, including postage! It was a little beat up but not badly, and had a pretty decent dust jacket on it.

I was never a fan of his politics (I was officially a voting Florida resident until 2001 and never voted for him) but I recently heard that his book was pretty good, and now that I have a signed copy, I'm sure I'll be keeping it.

bunnkwio
Member

Posts: 113
From: Naperville, IL USA
Registered: Jul 2008

posted 02-08-2015 10:17 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for bunnkwio   Click Here to Email bunnkwio     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I travel quite a bit for work, and when the free time presents itself, I always try to find used bookstores.

Last week in Texas, I went to a Half Price Books and found "Last Man on the Moon" signed by Gene Cernan and "Failure Is Not An Option" by Gene Kranz, both inscribed and with their normal inscriptions (i.e., 'Aim high' for Kranz). Both were $7.99 each! I wish I were always this lucky!!

bunnkwio
Member

Posts: 113
From: Naperville, IL USA
Registered: Jul 2008

posted 02-19-2015 07:28 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for bunnkwio   Click Here to Email bunnkwio     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Another lucky work trip! I had a couple of hours to kill, so I went to two used bookstores. Luckily, my suitcase was only half full, because I bought 5 books with the most expensive being 7.99!

I found softcover, signed editions of Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell and Failure Is Not An Option by Gene Kranz, both uninscribed (I now have two copies of each). I also picked up Off The Planet signed by Jerry Linenger, and Riding Rockets by Mike Mullane, signed to Suzanne with his mission numbers and dated 6/13/12. And finally, a mint condition copy of Relics of the Space Race (3rd edition). Unsigned, but I finally have a copy!

I did pass on Flight, signed by Chris Kraft, because that was in a glass case for $100.

Aztecdoug
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Posts: 1405
From: Huntington Beach
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 03-02-2015 01:24 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Aztecdoug   Click Here to Email Aztecdoug     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I just picked up a 1st printing copy of "Pilot" by Tony LeVier for about $34. Not a rock bottom price but still a sweet book and a good price. This is my second copy of the book now. The inscriptions are dated about 2 years apart but they are both lengthy and about 90% indentical.

This book was published in 1954 making it 61 years old!

fredtrav
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Posts: 1673
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010

posted 05-29-2015 04:06 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for fredtrav   Click Here to Email fredtrav     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I finally, after years of looking, found a copy of Milt Thompson's "At The Edge Of Space" signed by him, no. 15 on Boggs' Holy Grails of signed books. It is also a first edition/first printing. I found it on a Amazon for the princely sum of $15. including shipping. Made my weekend when it got here today and was what the description said it was.

Jurg Bolli
Member

Posts: 977
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 07-17-2015 12:11 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jurg Bolli   Click Here to Email Jurg Bolli     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
On my most recent trip to Switzerland I went into a used bookstore that was going out of business. I found a copy of "Wir waren die Ersten", the German version of "First on the Moon." To my absolute astonishment it was inscribed by Collins to a Swiss test pilot and signed by Armstrong who added Apollo 11. It also has a photo laid in of the Kincheloe Award ceremony for the Apollo 11 crew. The Swiss test pilot was also a member of SETP, so I assume that the book was signed when the award was given to the crew.

Needless to say I took it, the price was Fr. 80, which is about $90, and when I went to pay I got a 50% discount.

I still cannot believe my good luck!

jtheoret
Member

Posts: 344
From: Albuquerque, NM USA
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 07-17-2015 09:05 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for jtheoret   Click Here to Email jtheoret     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Great find Jurg!

gareth89
Member

Posts: 298
From: Ireland
Registered: May 2014

posted 07-18-2015 02:10 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for gareth89   Click Here to Email gareth89     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Wow Jurg, excellent find! That's the holy grail of secondhand shop finds!

bunnkwio
Member

Posts: 113
From: Naperville, IL USA
Registered: Jul 2008

posted 10-14-2015 08:14 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for bunnkwio   Click Here to Email bunnkwio     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I love when I get an hour traveling for work to hit a used bookstore. Scored yet another copy of Apollo 13 signed by James Lovell on a Salvation Army bookplate from D.J.'s Hero Award Luncheon, and finally found a copy of "Way of the Explorer" signed and inscribed by Dr. Edgar Mitchell. Both for less than $10 each.

They also had a copy of "Apollo EECOM" by Sy Liebergot, not signed, that I haven't seen before in person, but they wanted $40 so I passed.

mikepf
Member

Posts: 441
From: San Jose, California, USA
Registered: Mar 2002

posted 10-23-2015 04:55 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mikepf   Click Here to Email mikepf     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If we can count fiction, I just found a Douglas Adams signed copy of Mostly Harmless for $4.99 at a local used bookstore. Yeah, I'm a hoopy frood!

SpaceyInMN
Member

Posts: 355
From: Andover, MN
Registered: Dec 2013

posted 07-05-2016 07:37 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SpaceyInMN   Click Here to Email SpaceyInMN     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
After finishing reading a tattered paperback copy of Chris Kraft's "Flight," I purchased a used 1st/1st in pristine condition for $12 to (hopefully) have signed by him. I didn't get around to sending it right away, but when I did, I found a signed approximately 5x3 color photo inside the book.

The book is now in the mail, so hopefully Mr. Kraft is still signing and I'll get back a book I'll be sure to treasure forever. Fingers crossed!

Wehaveliftoff
Member

Posts: 2343
From:
Registered: Aug 2001

posted 07-07-2016 10:18 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Wehaveliftoff     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
With Half-Price Books now online with most of their stock, it will be harder to find any there for a bargain...

onesmallstep
Member

Posts: 1310
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007

posted 07-11-2016 01:34 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for onesmallstep   Click Here to Email onesmallstep     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Well, I did get lucky with an online book dealer and received a signed copy of Mae Jemison's autobiography Find Where the Wind Goes. On the brick-and-mortar bookstore hunt, I found a well-read copy of 10:56:20 PM 7/20/69 by CBS News signed by Walter Cronkite.

Daugherty54
Member

Posts: 591
From: Cabot, Arkansas, USA
Registered: Sep 2010

posted 10-12-2017 12:36 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Daugherty54   Click Here to Email Daugherty54     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I just scored a signed copy of Milt Thompson's "At The Edge of Space" for $14.95. It has a lengthy inscription to "Al" who he worked with on some shuttle projects.

Daugherty54
Member

Posts: 591
From: Cabot, Arkansas, USA
Registered: Sep 2010

posted 10-19-2017 11:34 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Daugherty54   Click Here to Email Daugherty54     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Also I just found a signed first edition "Men From Earth" by Buzz Aldrin on Amazon for $17.47.

Aztecdoug
Member

Posts: 1405
From: Huntington Beach
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 10-20-2017 10:33 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Aztecdoug   Click Here to Email Aztecdoug     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I recently located my second copy of William Bridgeman's "The Lonely Sky." It is a very rare signature of an early test pilot who flew the D-558-2.

The signature was mildly different than my first version. This one employed printed lower case in his name versus printed upper case in my first copy. But the inscription and style were spot on. I forgot what I paid but it was below Blue Book.

dss65
Member

Posts: 1156
From: Sandpoint, ID, USA
Registered: Mar 2003

posted 10-21-2018 08:03 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dss65   Click Here to Email dss65     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I thought I would never be able to contribute to this string, but I recently returned from a road trip that included a stop in West Seattle, where my wife and I visited a bookstore. I reached up and pulled down a copy of Jim Lovell's (and Jeffery Kluger's) book "Lost Moon" and mentioned to my wife that "This is the kind of place where people find surprise signed books... like this one..."

It had a bookplate with a beautiful Lovell signature. I already owned a signed copy of this book, so the new find is now being kept for my 2-year old grandson, who already has a great interest in the planets. In fact, that very night I took him outside and pointed out Mars in the sky. He now very much wants to go to Mars. How cool is that?

On edit: I forgot to mention that the price for the book was $10. That's a lot less than what I paid for my first copy.


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