Scouts in Bondage: And Other Violations of Literary Propriety (Hardcover)

~ Michael Bell (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Step inside Michael Bell's antiquarian bookshop, stocked with rare and fine collectibles of infinite variety, from Book of Blank Maps, With Instructions, to Autobiography of the Best Abused Man in the World. By perusing these curious works from bygone times, inquiring readers will be rewarded with instruction on such rarely understood pursuits as Single-Handed Cruising and Girls' Interests. A treasure trove of the best of bookmaking, here is a library of laughs.

About the Author

During his years as the proprietor of a secondhand bookshop in the ancient coastal town of Lewes, England, Michael Bell delighted his patrons with his array of books essential to any serious collector of humor.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (October 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416549234
• ISBN-13: 978-1416549239
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #655,152 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A humorous delight for bibliophiles, February 6, 2008

By	F. Orion Pozo "Orion Pozo" (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Scouts in Bondage is a photographic collection of book covers of titles that have not withstood the test of time. Compiled by a retired British secondhand book seller, this is an amusement for the bibliophile with a taste for the double entendre. It is a very short book with minimal text, highlighting about 45 photos of book covers whose intent was serious at the time but, over time, have developed unintended secondary meanings. Facing these covers is the bibliographic details (Author, title, publisher, date, and size) and occasional excerpts or additional information to add to the amusement.

Being an engineering librarian, I was especially drawn to the technical titles gone wrong such as:

The Resistance of Piles to Penetration

and

Hardening and Tempering Engineers' Tools

as well as the illustration of the goddess Hygieia holding a water closet pull chain on the cover of The Modern Plumber and Sanitary Engineer.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Slightly amusing - for about 5 minutes, February 4, 2008

By	amazonophile "lb" (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

This is a VERY SHORT book. Each book cover shown takes up 2 pages so there are fewer than 50 examples in the 96 pages. UPS delivered the book at 2:15pm. I opened the package, began looking at the book, and was finished with it well before 2:30.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific book of double entendres, December 27, 2007

By	laurasbuffy (Chicago) - See all my reviews

A book which will especially delight males who love word-usage that has changed, making language that was reasonable in its time slightly salacious. Most pages are copies of book covers.

Do you like the Three Stooges? How about Monty Python? If you do, you'll love this book!