a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment by kleinbl00

Mine doesn't really count, because it was Amazon.

For reasons related to writing, I needed a copy of this book, which is esoteric to say the least, but hey - if you need to know about all the designs that didn't get made into the SR-71, it's the book to have (especially as two are still classified 60 years later). It's basically a paean to Kelly Johnson and his merry band of Skunkworkers with a lot of cool drawings in it that you don't see anywhere else.

It is not a cheap book, nor one that exists in many copies, but I lucked out - across town, in Burbank, Amazon had a "used, some markings" edition for $7. I had it shipped because Prime even though I coulda picked it up with a one-hour drive. It showed up two days later.

With the author's signature.

In a dedication.

To Kelly Johnson's widow.

Thanks, Amazon, for the generous offer of $8.42 to buy it back... but cold dead hands.