It came!
A copy of Philip Hoare's "Leviathan, or The Whale" was in my mailbox today. Hoorah! This event warrants a mini-celebration because I have been looking high and low for a copy of this book. You see, US bookstores don't seem to be aware that this book exists, or at least US bookstores in my neck of the woods. I tried. I tried my favorite used books store, I tried Barnes & Noble, I tried Borders; for the latter two I tried both brick and mortar and online stores. Zip. The salesmen who helped me at B&N and at the used books store were stumped (and from my experience with them, these guys were usually knowledgeable about books). When they finally resorted to checking their respective book databases, even their computers denied the book's existence, gasp! So finally, I tried a regional independent bookstore and saw to my relief that it had Hoare's book listed, so I promptly ordered it. Heh, but guess what? The book was being shipped from the UK! Gah! But it finally made it, I now have among my feet-high pile of books to read, all the way from Ashford, Middlesex, Hoare's "Leviathan".
