My Father's Books

The books listed here are, indeed, from my father's library, representing the depth and varied interests of a modern scholar's mind. Dr. Henry LeRoy Finch, professor emeritus of philosophy and a published author, trained in the classics (graduating top in his class at Yale), and went on to develop an appreciation for modern thinkers. It took over half-a-century to amass this collection of primarily-scholarly books with a broad range of subjects from Philosophy and Religion (with an emphasis on the interrelationships and intricacies of Eastern and Western Thinking) to scientific influences played out over the entire history of humankind, touching necessarily on Art, Anthropology, Archaeology, Literature, History of various cultures, Psychology, Physics, and Spiritual Thought, including Theosophy and Mysticism. Many are esoteric philosophical works, out-of-print and unavailable elsewhere. A great number cover the interconnections of so many subjects as to defy classification. His was a working library: each volume was read and familiar, its whereabouts on a shelf always known, even when "double-parked." Though many of the books are esoteric, others will appeal to the general reader, often making an abstruse subject more approachable. (There are two- or three-hundred books on Einstein alone!) In addition, there are numerous paperbacks--classics, scholarly, first-published editions, several versions of the same book (in different translations), handy for packing along in a back pocket. Each of the volumes from the collection has an acid-free bookplate tipped in at the front and may have pencil marginalia--sparse or profuse. I have tried to reflect this in all the listings, but feel free to call and discuss further details of a book's condition. As it will take a long time to write up all the descriptions, some of you may wish to call and ask about a particular book you have been seeking. Meanwhile, I'll try to keep an eye on the "Wants" list. Thank you for visiting this page. I hope my father's books will eventually find happy homes; it was one of his last wishes.