Our Staff Picks, SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR

While we collect rare and antiquarian books too, most of the shelves in our house are full of signed copies of our favorite books, like these ones! Each book on this list is a personal recommendation, from our shelf to yours. We hope you enjoy browsing our home library cart! 

P. S. Just want a regular copy to read? Browse all our staff picks at Bookshop.org/shop/UndergroundBooks

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

In Death of the Author, Nnedi Okorafor introduces Zelu, a Nigerian American writer who lost the use of her legs...

In ecology, scientists often look to indicator species—plants or animals whose presence reveals the health of an entire ecosystem. Think of frogs, whose survival depends on clean water and stable environments—their presence or absence can be a major clue to the health or toxicity of an ecosystem. I’ve been thinking lately that public libraries and independent bookstores are a kind of social equivalent. Their presence points to something just as vital: the health of our mental and civic environments.

In a functioning democracy, people need access to high-quality information. They need stories that broaden their empathy and challenge their assumptions. They...

In 1901, a series of attempted lynchings and the courageous stands by a Georgia sheriff prompted Mark Twain to denounce the rise of mob violence.

By Warren Pritchard

This article is shared here with permission from the Winter 2017 issue of Georgia Backroads Magazine.

In the decades between the end of Reconstruction and the beginning of the Great Depression, thousands of southern blacks were lynched. The terror engendered by lynching prolonged the economic, political, and social control established by the institution of slavery and perpetuated it into the 20th century. Old photographs showing white faces staring up at the...

About the author of this article: 

Gilbert Huey is a dear friend of Underground Books and a very accomplished collector of science-fiction and fantasy. You can read more about Gilbert's out of this world collection here. 

View Gilbert's collection of rare Frankenstein editions in the case at Underground in October!

Gilbert is the author of The Free State of Carroll, available now at Underground Books! 

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and the 200th Anniversary of Frankenstein

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was born August 30, 1797, in London. Her mother died shortly after giving birth. Mary was raised by a stepmother in a household of five...

 See Gilbert Huey's incredible collection of rare materials related to 2001: A Space Odyssey in our glass case at Underground Books!

2001: A Space Odyssey (MGM, released 1968)

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick & Arthur C. Clarke

Starring Kier Dullea & Gary Lockwood

Novel by Arthur C. Clarke

I consider 2001: A Space Odyssey to be one of the twentieth century’s crowning artistic achievements, both the film and the novel. In the years since its release friends have asked me to “explain” the movie to them. I don’t think it is possible for one person to explain an existential movie to another. Interpretations of 2001 are a personal...