Oxton House Publishers, LLC

Old Books, New and Pre-Owned

From time to time, Oxton House acquires old books with educational value that may not be easily available elsewhere. We are pleased to offer them for sale through this site. Each one is pictured and described below. The descriptions try to convey an accurate idea of the book’s condition, as well as of its contents.

Made by Serif

Tradition and Revolt in Latin America

by Arturo Torres-Rioseco

From the flyleaf: “This critical survey of the literature of South America, Central America, and Mexico is for readers interested in the memorable, and the new and striking, literary achievements outside the English-speaking world. Arturo Torres-Rioseco, Professor of Latin American Literature in the University of California, discusses all periods of literature from colonial to modern times. He presents illustrative examples in the original Spanish or Portuguese in the text, and provides English translations in the notes at the back of the book.”

This pre-owned copy of the original 1949 Univ. of California Press edition is in good condition inside a dust jacket worn from age and handling. The former owner’s name is on the inside front cover. The binding is tight and the pages are clean, except for some neat underlining here and there.

$4.95 plus shipping.

Leafy Rivers

by Jessamyn West

From the flyleaf: “[T]his moving novel offers a magnificent journey through woods of Americana that have rarely, if ever, been explored. To a gripping narrative Jessamyn West has imparted universal meaning of a high and rare order. Leafy Rivers marks a new triumph for one of America’s most distinguished authors.”

Jessamyn West (1902-1984) is probably best known for The Friendly Persuasion, her book about 19th century Quaker farm life that was made into the 1956 motion picture, Friendly Persuasion, starring Gary Cooper.

This is a pre-owned copy of the 1967 First Edition by Harcourt, Brace & World. The dust jacket has a few small tears around the edges and its back is a bit soiled from handling. Otherwise, the book is virtually new – clean, tight, and unmarked.

$4.95 plus shipping.

Plain Words

A Guide to the Use of English

by Sir Ernest Gowers

The Preface to this odd little book, published in 1949 by His Majesty’s Stationery Office in London, says, “This book was written at the invitation of the Treasury.... It is concerned particularly with the use of English by officials.... [T]here are some faults to which official writing is specially prone, and others from which it is comparatively free. That is why I have said nothing about some subjects that would naturally find a place in any treatise on the general use of English, and have elaborated others at perhaps tedious length.”

This book is hardbound, despite
its modest length of 94 pages. It measures about 5.5 x 8.5 inches. This copy is pre-owned and its tan cloth binding is faded in places with a small scuff mark or two, and is a
little loose at the Preface page. The pages are clean and unmarked. There is no dust jacket.

$3.95 plus shipping.

The Mathematics of the Elementary Grades
William P. Berlinghoff & Robert M. Washburn
Ardsley House Publishers, 1990

Written as a college text for preparing future elementary teachers, this book is a valuable reference for understanding all the major topics of elementary school math. Its approach reflects the spirit of the NCTM Standards and the Standards for Mathematical Practice of the Common Core. Many examples from actual elementary school books show how concepts are typically reflected at various grade levels.

Contents

1. Problem Solving
  2. Basic Logic
  3. Sets, Relations, and Functions
  4. The Whole Numbers
  5. Writing Whole Numbers
  6. Algorithms for the Whole Numbers
  7. Number Theory
  8. The Integers
  9. The Rational Numbers
10. Computing & Estimating with
      Rational Numbers
11. Basic Concepts of Geometry
12. Measurement, Congruence, & Parallelism
13. The Real and Complex Numbers
14. Probability and Statistics

602 pages, 7.5” x 9”, hardbound
Before going out of print in 2008, this book sold for $59.95. We have a few new copies available for
$19.95 plus shipping.

Mathematics, the Art of Reason
William P. Berlinghoff
D. C. Heath & Co., 1968

This book was one of the very first college liberal-arts math texts. Designed as a “first and last” course for non-science majors, this compact book provides an in-depth look at mathematics as a major field of human endeavor that is at least as much an art as it is a science. It balances readable overviews with careful details, illustrating both the beauty and the rigor of mathematical thought.

Contents

   I. On the Nature of Mathematics
   II. The Foundations of Mathematics
  III. Sets, Relations and Functions
  IV. Algebraic Structures
   V. Quantity
  VI. Form
VII. Quantity and Form―An Alliance
VIII. The Mathematics of Uncertainty
  IX. Kinds of Infinity
Appendix: A Very Brief History
                      of Mathematics

260 pages, 6” x 9”, cloth bound, with dust jacket and Instructor’s Guide booklet. These are new copies, available while they last for $6.95 plus shipping.

The Creative Writer

(revised edition)

edited by Aron Mathieu

From the flyleaf: “The Creative Writer offers a variety of functional, stimulating ideas for those concerned with writing, editing and issuing magazines....[It] also offers the writer, who may be in between stories and wondering to what he [or she] might turn next, an abundant array of personal experiences from gifted authors. These include Somerset Maugham, William Saroyan and Erskine Caldwell.”

This is a pre-owned copy of the Writer’s Digest edition of 1968. It is in excellent condition, with a clean dust jacket that has minor edge wear. The former owner’s name is on the inside front cover. The binding is tight and the pages are clean, with some neatly ruled underlining in a few places.

$4.95 plus shipping.