MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Do you re-read books?

sirbruce · 06-23-2009, 01:31 PM

I don't often re-read books, but my childhood special book I reread from time to time is Ben Bova's The Star Conquerors.

Growing up in a small rural town in the Bible Belt, finding science fiction and fantasy to read was no easy take in school. Other than my brother, no one else I knew read it, and in the 70s pickings were still slim even in a bookstore. But to go to a bookstore meant a trip to St. Louis which was a rare event. So confined to the school and public library, one was left primarily with beat up, tattered copies of old books from sf's golden age.

Oh, there were a couple of Henlein and Bradbury books, and quite a few Winston Science Fiction classics. But none of them really grabbed me at the time, and I was mostly reading more contemporary juvenile fiction like Danny Dunn and Encyclopedia Brown. Meanwhile, movies and tv had seen a SF revival, with Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Star Trek, BSG, Buck Rogers, etc. But nothing I read seemed to match that level of space fantasy which captures young minds.

Then one day in my grade school library I found a recovered copy of Ben Bova's The Star Conquerors.

I loved that book! Pure space opera at its best. I loved it. I read it a many times. I even had someone else check it out once I moved on to high school just to read it again. By then I had moved on to Heinlein, Ellison, etc. but it was still one of my favorites.

So flash forward a few years, and now I'm in college, and despite searching several bookstores in the intervening years I could never find a copy of The Star Conquerors for my own. I even consider breaking back into my old grade school just to steal their copy. Why can't I find this book? Remember that this was back before the days of widespread Internet so you can't just look up the answer on Wikipedia. I was on the Internet then, but wisdom, even fandom wisdom, still passed down primarily from individual to individual.

Finally I went to WorldCon in Chicago in 1991. I figure if anyone has the book, it'll be at the world's largest science fiction convention. I hit the Dealer's Room as soon as I get registered and find the biggest used bookseller there. I browse through all his books. Hundreds of copies of Ben Bova's various works in hardcover and paperback.

But still no copy of The Star Conquerors.

I grumble at my luck. The dealer sees my distress and asks, "Can I help you find something?"

"I'm looking for a Ben Bova book. But you don't have it."

"Oh? I've got almost everything... what are you looking for?"

"The Star Conquerors. Have you heard of it?"

The dealer gets a knowing look on his face and proceeds to tell me how hopeless my quest is. It's a rare book indeed, one of Ben Bova's first works, published as a Winston juvenile and never reprinted. For whatever reason, he wasn't happy with the work and was going to ensure it was never published again.

I was heartbroken. My dreams of ever owning this book were shattered. I might as well have asked for an original copy of the Mona Lisa.

Flash forward again many years later, and the Internet has exploded. Rare booksellers everywhere are now offering their stock online. And a book which once had to be located by word of mouth, by "I know a guy who knows a guy who might know where there's a copy", can now be searched for and retrieved in seconds. And I, flush with newfound Dot.Com wealth, can easily afford a rare book or too.

I paid $350 for a very, very fine copy with just a minor crease. I was ecstatic. I read it as soon as I got it, and I've read it many times since.

It's years later again. Now I read my books on an ereader. If this book is never to be reprinted, how will I ever get a copy on my Kindle?

One day out of the blue, a PDF copy of The Star Conquerors was offered on Ben Bova's website. Not long afterwards, it was removed mysteriously. Did the webmaster who put the book up there not realize that Bova never wanted anyone to see it? Or had Bova relented, changed his mind, then changed it back? No one seems to know, but the PDF file is now a rare book itself.

But this story has a happy ending. With a little Internet know-how, the PDF book can still be had. And with Mobipocket Creator and a little massaging of the HTML, I now have a beautiful MOBI version of The Star Conquerors that I can read on the Kindle any time I want.

And so can my friends. And they don't have to pay $350 to enjoy it.

06-23-2009, 01:31 PM	#83
sirbruce Provocateur Posts: 1,859 Karma: 505847 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Columbus, OH Device: Kindle Touch, Kindle 2, Kindle DX, iPhone 3GS	I don't often re-read books, but my childhood special book I reread from time to time is Ben Bova's The Star Conquerors. Growing up in a small rural town in the Bible Belt, finding science fiction and fantasy to read was no easy take in school. Other than my brother, no one else I knew read it, and in the 70s pickings were still slim even in a bookstore. But to go to a bookstore meant a trip to St. Louis which was a rare event. So confined to the school and public library, one was left primarily with beat up, tattered copies of old books from sf's golden age. Oh, there were a couple of Henlein and Bradbury books, and quite a few Winston Science Fiction classics. But none of them really grabbed me at the time, and I was mostly reading more contemporary juvenile fiction like Danny Dunn and Encyclopedia Brown. Meanwhile, movies and tv had seen a SF revival, with Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Star Trek, BSG, Buck Rogers, etc. But nothing I read seemed to match that level of space fantasy which captures young minds. Then one day in my grade school library I found a recovered copy of Ben Bova's The Star Conquerors. I loved that book! Pure space opera at its best. I loved it. I read it a many times. I even had someone else check it out once I moved on to high school just to read it again. By then I had moved on to Heinlein, Ellison, etc. but it was still one of my favorites. So flash forward a few years, and now I'm in college, and despite searching several bookstores in the intervening years I could never find a copy of The Star Conquerors for my own. I even consider breaking back into my old grade school just to steal their copy. Why can't I find this book? Remember that this was back before the days of widespread Internet so you can't just look up the answer on Wikipedia. I was on the Internet then, but wisdom, even fandom wisdom, still passed down primarily from individual to individual. Finally I went to WorldCon in Chicago in 1991. I figure if anyone has the book, it'll be at the world's largest science fiction convention. I hit the Dealer's Room as soon as I get registered and find the biggest used bookseller there. I browse through all his books. Hundreds of copies of Ben Bova's various works in hardcover and paperback. But still no copy of The Star Conquerors. I grumble at my luck. The dealer sees my distress and asks, "Can I help you find something?" "I'm looking for a Ben Bova book. But you don't have it." "Oh? I've got almost everything... what are you looking for?" "The Star Conquerors. Have you heard of it?" The dealer gets a knowing look on his face and proceeds to tell me how hopeless my quest is. It's a rare book indeed, one of Ben Bova's first works, published as a Winston juvenile and never reprinted. For whatever reason, he wasn't happy with the work and was going to ensure it was never published again. I was heartbroken. My dreams of ever owning this book were shattered. I might as well have asked for an original copy of the Mona Lisa. Flash forward again many years later, and the Internet has exploded. Rare booksellers everywhere are now offering their stock online. And a book which once had to be located by word of mouth, by "I know a guy who knows a guy who might know where there's a copy", can now be searched for and retrieved in seconds. And I, flush with newfound Dot.Com wealth, can easily afford a rare book or too. I paid $350 for a very, very fine copy with just a minor crease. I was ecstatic. I read it as soon as I got it, and I've read it many times since. It's years later again. Now I read my books on an ereader. If this book is never to be reprinted, how will I ever get a copy on my Kindle? One day out of the blue, a PDF copy of The Star Conquerors was offered on Ben Bova's website. Not long afterwards, it was removed mysteriously. Did the webmaster who put the book up there not realize that Bova never wanted anyone to see it? Or had Bova relented, changed his mind, then changed it back? No one seems to know, but the PDF file is now a rare book itself. But this story has a happy ending. With a little Internet know-how, the PDF book can still be had. And with Mobipocket Creator and a little massaging of the HTML, I now have a beautiful MOBI version of The Star Conquerors that I can read on the Kindle any time I want. And so can my friends. And they don't have to pay $350 to enjoy it.