Contact information: Alan's Used Books
PO Box 775, Farmington, Michigan, 48332-0775, United States
Phone: 248-473-4566    
Email: bookdoctorgwen@yahoo.com
Website URL: http://www.gwenfoss.com/

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Welcome to Alan's Used Books, a left handed bookseller owned and operated by Gwen Foss. We specialize in unusual and interesting quality used books. We are a proud charter member of TomFolio.com, the world's first and largest cooperative website of independent professional used bookdealers.

Alan's Used Books started in 1990 as an independent small press. Our bestseller continues to be The Church Where People Laugh, a treasury of Unitarian Universalist jokes. Our other popular title is A Who's Who of UUs, a compendium of brief biographies of over thirteen hundred notable Unitarian Universalists.

In 1997, the business expanded into used books on the acquisition of the library of Alan M. Foss, a close relative who passed in 1985. In 2002, we changed our name to Alan's Used Books.

Alan's Used Books is located in the northwest suburbs of Detroit, Michigan but we are internet only, NO open shop. We buy and sell unusual books, particularly history, science, engineering, folklore, music, ethnology, and various other intellectual topics. Our inventory includes a wide range of nonfiction plus a few odds and ends.

Click on These Links to quick-browse some of our specialties and unusual topics:

• Garage Sale (Items Priced $2.00 or Less)

• Clearance Items (Items Priced $6.00 or Less)

• Left Handedness

• Controversial Issues

• High School and College Year Books

• Higher Mathematics, Engineering, Computer Science

• Crime and Politics

• Shape Note Hymnals

• Symbology, Heraldry, Flags, Insignia

• Rare Books

• Books by and about Universalists, Unitarians, and Unitarian Universalists

• Items from Collection of Peter Foss, founder and vice president, Toy Car Collectors Club (toy cars, automotive history)

• All Current Items with Images

Alan's Used Books is a GREEN Business. We strive to be as environmentally friendly as possible. We recycle all empty cans, old newspapers, plastic bags and bottles and every other bit of recyclable waste we generate. We re-use most of our corrugated scrap and recycle the rest. Our shipping envelopes are made from recycled fibers. All of our bulbs are smart fluorescents and we have instituted other energy-saving and water-saving procedures. Our vehicle is old but it gets 30 miles per gallon. And, last but not least, we find loving new homes for old used books.

The small print: Except for a few of our own titles, we sell used books. This means that in most cases we have only one copy of an item available. Because millions of people all over the world can be viewing our catalog, it happens occasionally that an item we have listed as available will have been sold at the time you place your order. We remove sold items as quickly as possible, but there is always a delay in processing this data before the items are in fact removed. If you have any questions, please feel free to phone us during business hours 10:00am to 8:00 pm US Eastern time, 248-473-4566, or Skype2Skype gwenfoss, or email to the address above. We will be happy to hold items on your request for a reasonable period of time.

A note about condition: We sell used books. Some show wear-marks from previous ownership. But we never sell books with missing or unreadable text pages. All flaws are noted in the description. We use a simplified version of the standard grading scale, which from best to worst is: As New, Near Fine, Very Good, Good, Poor. Please read our descriptions carefully.

Featured Item
Buy Now US$115.00	Item number: 3400. Miner, T. B.   American Bee Keeper's Manual, The, 1e : (1st Edition, 1849) Being a Practical Treatise on the History and Domestic Economy of the Honey-Bee . . . Embellished by Thirty-Five Beautiful Engravings  Publisher: C. M. Saxton; N. Y. : 1849. Good+ with no jacket First Edition Hardcover 349 pages; 8vo (8") 21 cm; Published by C. M. Saxton, New York, 1849, 1st edition of many. 349 pages. Original full brown cloth, gilt lettering and bee on spine, blindstamped boards, rag pages, 35 b/w engravings in text, appendix, 11-pg catalog of books, magazines, plows and farm equipment in rear, with several illustrations. ; Same date. ; Cloth worn at all corners and along spine edges, light foxing throughout, small piece missing from margin pg 55-56 not affecting text, closed tear through text pg 143-44 all readable, juvenile pencil scribbles pg 348, several leaves have closed tears to lower margin not affecting text. No missing pages. Hinges intact, binding tight. Quite rare and overall attractive.
	Appr.:  |  AUD 132.95  |  CAD 123.66  |  EUR 84.25  |  GBP 73.72  |  JPY 10,454.55  |  MXN 1,493.51  |  ZAR 884.62  |
Featured Item
Buy Now US$8.00	Item number: 444. Foss, Gwen   Who's Who of UUs, a : A Concise Biographical Compendium of Prominent and Famous Universalists and Unitarians (UU Who's Who)  Publisher: Gwen Foss; Farmington, Mich: 2003. New Fourth Edition Softcover 120 pages; 8vo (9") 23 cm; MULTIPLE copies avail. Pr ice just reduc ed. Get your copy SIGNED by author with inscription at your request. Appendixes, brief biographies of 1350 important persons who happened to be Unitarians, Universalists, or both. ; Uutopics. ; Fold-and-staple binding. No defects. New book. ; Universalist Unitarian History & Lore Series; Vol. 2
	Appr.:  |  AUD 9.25  |  CAD 8.60  |  EUR 5.86  |  GBP 5.13  |  JPY 727.27  |  MXN 103.90  |  ZAR 61.54  |
Featured Item
Buy Now US$12.00	Item number: 5556. Wysocki, Don   Detroit UFO Research Group : The Visitor, Official Bulletin of the Study Group on Interplanetary Relations, Volume 1, Number 10, May-June 1957  Publisher: UFO Research Group; Detroit: 1957. Very Good Softcover 19 pages; 4to (11") 28cm; Standard size (21.5 x 27.5 cm) 8 1/2 x 11 inches. 19 pages printed one side only. Typeset by typewriter, printed by mimeograph. A few line illustrations. ; Volume 1, Number 10, May-June 1957. Associate editors Rose Phillips, Ted Walling, Alan P. Rowe. Detroit UFO Research Group was also called Detroit Flying Saucer Club, later Study Group on Interplanetary Relations, later simply Interplanetary Relations; was member of Michigan Flying Saucer Federation. ; No cover page. Two small staple holes at each upper corner. Faint horizontal crease across each page. Pages are slightly yellowed from age. Two or three pages show light dampstaining. From estate of Rose Phillips, author of one article. Multiple copies avail.
	Appr.:  |  AUD 13.87  |  CAD 12.90  |  EUR 8.79  |  GBP 7.69  |  JPY 1,090.91  |  MXN 155.84  |  ZAR 92.31  |
Featured Item
Buy Now US$60.00	Item number: 2300. Forney, Matthias N. (Nace)   Catechism of the Locomotive, 2e : (2nd Edition, Revised and Enlarged, 1903)  Publisher: Railroad Gazette; N. Y. : 1903. Good+ with no jacket Second Edition Hardcover 709 pages; 8vo (9") 23 cm; Red cloth over beveled boards, gilt lettering on spine, gilt locomotive and black decor on front, footnotes, several tables, extensive index, 2 appendixes, 488 b/w illustrations in text including 2 fold-outs, 6 additional fold-out plates at rear, one in color. ; Authored by inventor of Forney Locomotive. Reprint of 1890 edition, revised from 1873 original. Everything an engineer, mechanic, fireman or other railroad employee needs to know, written in plain English in question-and-answer style. 926 questions. ; Both hinges cracked. Front free endpaper loose and laid in. Pages slightly yellowed from age. No marks. All plates present and intact, no tears. Textblock solid. Rare.
	Appr.:  |  AUD 69.36  |  CAD 64.52  |  EUR 43.96  |  GBP 38.46  |  JPY 5,454.55  |  MXN 779.22  |  ZAR 461.54  |
Featured Item
Buy Now US$30.00	Item number: 4027. Joyce, James   Ulysses, Complete and Unexpurgated : (Modern Library Giant Edition, 1934)  Publisher: Modern Library Books; N. Y. : 1934. Very Good+ in Good jacket Hardcover ISBN: 0394450051 768 pages; 8vo (9") 23 cm; Unabridged. ; Definitive edition. Modern Library edition, 1934. ISBN here from much later edition. Foreword by Morris L. Ernst. Includes complete text of Supreme Court decision (declared not smut) rendered by Judge John M. Woolsey. ; Light wear to book. Jacket worn but unclipped, edges chipped, spine faded but quite readable. ; Modern Library Giant Series
	Appr.:  |  AUD 34.68  |  CAD 32.26  |  EUR 21.98  |  GBP 19.23  |  JPY 2,727.27  |  MXN 389.61  |  ZAR 230.77  |
Featured Item
Buy Now US$25.00	Item number: 4300. McGuffey, William H.   McGuffey's New Fifth Eclectic Reader : (Book 5, 5th) Selected and Original Exercises for Schools, 1866  Publisher: Wilson, Hinkle & Company; Cincinnati, Ohio: 1866. Good+ Hardcover 338 pages; 12mo (7.5") 19 cm; Dark brown gilt leather over spine, brown pebbled cloth boards blindstamped with title and decor, marbled edges, 101 lessons. ; Stereotyped early reprint of 1857 revised edition, published 1866. Copyright holder Sargent, Wilson & Hinkle, Cincinnati, Ohio. Classic 19th century American schoolbook with lessons in reading, grammar, articulation, as well as history, philosophy, great literature, etc. ; Spine chipped at both ends, gilt dull but just readable. Owner name (Miss Ida B. Nyes, Memphis, Mich) and Aug 29th, 1872 penned on front endpaper in purple ink. Light foxing to endpapers otherwise interior clean. Binding tight. ; McGuffey's Readers, Eclectic Educational Series; Vol. 5
	Appr.:  |  AUD 28.90  |  CAD 26.88  |  EUR 18.32  |  GBP 16.03  |  JPY 2,272.73  |  MXN 324.68  |  ZAR 192.31  |
Featured Item
Buy Now US$60.00	Item number: 4503. Goldstine, Herman H.   History of Numerical Analysis from the 16th through the 19th Century, A  Publisher: Springer-Verlag; N. Y. : 1977. Very Good with no jacket First Edition Hardcover ISBN: 0387902775 348 pages; 8vo (9.5") 25 cm; PR ICE recently reduced. ; Yellow cloth, index, bibliography, tons of b/w figures and formulas. ; Owner name (Dr. Nai Kuan Tsao, professor of mathematics) and date penned on dedication page. Part of one sentence on pg xii underlined. Top edge foxed. Spine slightly faded but quite readable. No other defects. Quite rare. ; Studies in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences Series; Vol. 2
	Appr.:  |  AUD 69.36  |  CAD 64.52  |  EUR 43.96  |  GBP 38.46  |  JPY 5,454.55  |  MXN 779.22  |  ZAR 461.54  |

Shipping Terms: Domestic economy rate (US media mail) $4.00, $1.00 add items. Domestic air rate (US priority mail) $6.75 1st item, $1.70 addl items.

Non-US Customers: Overseas shipping is US$18.00 for First Class Mail International and US$22.00 for Priority Mail International. (Sorry, as of May 2007, the US Postal Service no longer offers international economy surface mail.) See info below on Shipping Fee Reductions for more details.

Special rates to Canada: US$12.00 for First Class Mail International and US$14.00 for Priority Mail International.

Shipping Fee Reductions: Based on the actual size, weight, and destination of your order, our standard shipping fees may be adjusted, in most cases downward. If we can, we will ship by Standard Flat Rate Global Priority Mail for US$14.00 (the book must fit in the flat rate envelope and your country must participate in this service) and pass the savings on to you. In rare cases where actual shipping cost will greatly exceed our standard fee, we will notify you in advance and let you decide before we ship your order.

Alan's Used Books apologizes sincerely for these high fees. We are at the mercy of the available services but we will always reduce your fee in any way possible.

We ship anywhere: We use the US Postal Service. If you require us to ship using a different service, an additional fee will be mutually agreed upon. Shipping times are affected by many circumstances we cannot control, and thus we cannot guarantee arrival time. Delays may be caused by many factors including airport slowdowns, security checks, and customs departments, to name a few. We will give you an estimated time of arrival and thank you for your patience.

Payment: We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover; or personal checks, business checks, or money orders provided they are drawn in US funds. Checks should be made payable to Alan's Used Books.

To pay by credit card: Click on the Add To Cart button to use TomFolio's secure server. The button will appear next to, or below, the book description on the search results page. Orders by Phone or skype2skype gwenfoss can be accepted during regular business hours Mon-Fri 10am-8pm, US Eastern (New York) time.

All prices net. Discounts may be considered on large orders. TFD20A.