Jonnie's Book Appreciation

Yay - National Library Week!
I've spent SOOO much time in libraries over the years (& all over the country) and I'm worried about their future in the internet age. While the internet is a good information resource of first resort, everything is not available online and libraries are probably our most under-appreciated institution these days (except archives).

For my book appreciation photo, I chose about half of my "Big Book of..." series from Paradox Press -


I bought my first "Big Book of..." (The Big Book of Vice) when I lived in Las Vegas (circa 2000) and have been hooked ever since - each volume collects short, informational profiles on various issues, each illustrated by a different comic book artist. Each volume is jam-packed with interesting nuggets from the fringes of history without any pompous editorial analysis.

It was from The Big Book of Thugs, for example, that I learned my home state of Indiana holds the distinction of the first train robbery (by Frank Reno's "Reno Gang").