FI2: Catalog Reviews by Lazarus Long
Freedom Issue 2, February 28, 1993
File 6/7
Catalog Reviews
by Lazarus Long
If you are interested in "unique and unusual books" you will want to read this. In the last month I've been looking around for catalogs from "underground" publishers and sent away a dozen or so catalog requests. Unfortunately the responses have been slimmer than I hoped. The following is a review of those publishers who have sent me catalogs.
Paladin Press is one of the better known publishers of "taboo titles". In the note I received with my catalog they claim to have been in operation for 22 years, so they aren't likely to be closing up shop anytime soon. The catalog is free to anyone that requests it, and is sent every two months to customers who have made orders in the past year. The most recent issue is 52 pages long.
Being a student of espionage, intelligence, and terrorism, this is my personal favorite of the catalogs I've received. The variety of books they offer in the 52 pages is quite extensive and survival oriented. Ordering is very easy via a 24 hour, 7 days a week, 1-800 number, or through the mail.
Paladin Press sub headings include: Revenge & Humor, Locksmithing, Weapons, New ID & Personal Freedom, Knives & Knife Fighting, Survival, Sniping, Special Forces, Espionage & Investigation, Self-Defense, Explosives & Demolitions, Military Science, Action Careers, Police Science, Terrorism, Martial Arts, and Silencers.
Service is pretty decent. It took less than three weeks from the day I mailed my request to the day I received the catalog. Ordering by phone is however a pain. It is so low tech that the operator has to write down your order by hand (while looking the books up in a stock catalog). Shipping is only supposed to take 7 to 10 days and they charge %6.00 or 5% of your order (whichever is greater) for S&H. If you want, other shipping arrangements can be made. They also accept Visa and Mastercard.
The address is: Paladin Press, PO Box 1307,
Boulder, Colorado, 80306
Their two 24 hour, 7 days/week 1-800#s are:
1-800-392-2400 (USA only)
1-800-872-4993 (USA and Canada)
The Loompanics Unlimited catalog is clearly the largest and most diverse catalog I've received to date. The drawback is that it costs $5.00 US before you even get to see it. They do, however, claim to be "the best book catalog in the World". It is indeed for anyone interested in "the strange, the useful, the arcane, the oddball, the unusual, the unique, and the diabolical".
The 1993 main catalog is over 280 pages long and its sub headings are: The Underground Economy, Tax Evasion, Money Making Opportunities, Privacy & Hiding things, Fake ID, Big Brother is Watching You, Conducting Investigations, Crime and Police Science, Locks and Locksmithing, Self Defense, Revenge, Guns, Weapons, Torture, Survival, Self-Sufficiency, Head for the Hills, Gimme Shelter, Health and Life Extension, Paralegal Skills, Sex, Drugs, Rock 'N Roll, Intelligence Increase, Science and Technology, Heresy/Weird Ideas, Anarchism and Egoism, Work, Mass Media, Censorship, Reality Creation, and Self Publishing.
I've only had this for a short time and haven't been able to get through it all, but it seems quite cool. It also contains six articles which consist of essays, short fiction, and a three page comic. Some of the books offered are the same as those in the Paladin Press catalog, but I have noticed no price differences.
Service is not as good as Paladin Press from what I can see. The catalog took about a week longer to arrive and the orders can only be made by mail. Outside US orders have a whopping 12% of order PLUS $6.00 charged for shipping and handling. US orders are $7.50 plus regular shipping prices.
The address is: Loompanics Unlimited, PO Box 1197,
Port Townsend, WA, 98368
Their orders are shipped within 24 hours of receipt of payment.
Books-by-phone is another cool publisher of controversial and underground books. It says it costs two bucks but they'll send it free if you give their 1-800# a call. They basically bring together books from many different publishers and make them conveniently available. Prices seem to be the same but I noticed one book that was actually $2.00 cheaper than that of the original publisher.
The Fall 1992 catalog is 32 pages long, and the subheadings are: 60s and Beats, Black Markets, Comics, Criminology, Cyberpunk, Drug - Legal & Social, Drug Literature, Ecology, Gardening and Herbs, Health, identification, Timothy Leary, John Lilly, LSD, Marijuana, Money, Mushrooms, Occult, Pharmaceuticals, Privacy, Psychoactives, Recovery, Rock & Roll, Sex & Sensuality, Shamanism, Survival, Underground Labs, Weird & Exotic, Colin Wilson, and Robert Anton Wilson.
As for service, well, call the 1-800# and you get the catalog quite quickly. You can mail in orders or phone them in but there is a $3.00 charge for a credit check on all credit card orders. American orders get a 10% discount when made with money orders. Shipping and handling is $1.00 per book in the US, and $3.00 per book in Canada.
The address is: Books by Phone, PO Box 522,
Berkeley CA, 94701
Their 1-800 is: 1-800-858-2665
The Eden Press book catalog is aimed mainly at the subjects of privacy and money. Their goal is to "present ideas which can increase opportunities for personal freedom". There are some interesting books, many of which I haven't seen in any of the other catalogs. One thing that endeared them to me was a notice on the cover, "Freedom is not dangerous to your health". So I guess you should read this magazine in large doses.
The most recent catalog has the sub headings: Jobs, Credit, Privacy, Protection, Business Ideas, Offshore Finance, and Personal Independence.
Service looks very good. It was roughly a week from the time I sent the request to when I received the catalog. You can order by mail, a 1-800 number, or by FAX. They accept both Visa and Mastercard. S & H in the US seems reasonable (you can select the type of mail service you prefer), but it is rather expensive in Canada at 20% of your order.
The address is: Eden Press, 11623 Slater "E"
PO Box 8410, Fountain Valley
CA, 92728
Their 24 hour, 7 days/week 1-800# is:
1-800-338-8484 (might be US only)
Their FAX # is: 714-556-0721
The last catalog I received was the Spring 1993 Butokukai (what a name!) book catalog. It is only 23 pages long but has some stuff not available in the other catalogs, but most of it is available elsewhere. One drawback is that they have changed their name sometime in the last two years which I consider a sign of instability (they were formerly known as Desert Publications). They are weapon oriented (and do sell some weapons, but they cannot be shipped to Canada).
The sub headings include: Under Cover Operations, Full Auto, Suppressors, Improvised Munitions, Weapons + Firearms, Guerilla Warfare, Army Technical Manuals, SWAT Magazine back issues (sole suppliers), Self-Defense, Home Study Courses (Ninja), Ninja, Firepower Magazine back issues, and Locksmithing.
Service is, all things considered, average. It took a long time for me to get the catalog (about 5 weeks) but that might have had something to do with their name/address change. You can order by mail, 1-800#, or FAX, and they accept Visa and Mastercard. An added bonus is that any order greater than $50.00 gets you a free book of your choice (from a list of 13 books). Shipping and Handling is $4.00 per order in the US and $6.00 in Canada.
Their address is: Butokukai, PO Box 430,
Cornville AZ, 86325
Their 24 hour, 7 days/week 1-800# is:
1-800-747-6280
Their FAX # is : 602-634-1203
I also just read the address for Barricade Books on a net. I can neither verify it or judge its quality but I'll include it for your convenience.
Their address is: Barricade Books, PO Box 1401-J
Secaucus NJ, 07096
Amendment: Butokukai may not have used the name Desert Publications, I may have been given some wrong information. The real address for the REAL Desert Publications is: Desert Publications, PO Box 1751, El Dorado, AR 71731 USA. You can also call: 1-501-862-2077. Their catalog is $2.00 or free with an order.
LAZ's quote for the month:
"Whether it is good or bad, smashing something is also very pleasant on occasion" Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from Underground.
Lazarus Long.
