This first edition's first chapter starts right in with what it’s all about in the roller sport, that of spinning or rolling as it is often called. John has been enjoying his Birmingham Rollers since a young lad, since 1964 and has become very prominent in the hobby. It covers all the basics and more in a rather large paperback book covering 233 pages. The center of the book has several pages of colored photos devoted to some of his favorite birds. They are very nicely printed on a sort of slick, heavy, matt paper that does them justice. Both editions, although by different publishers use and interesting and very readable typeset.

Graham’s second edition is even larger weighing in at 257 pages. He uses the same team of contributors as in his first edition and uses the same basic layout as in the first edition, but now has an added chapter on the show pen. Most of the color photographs are still there, but they are not on such interesting paper as in the first edition.

James Lairmore and Robert Pettit are the two most influential American writers about the Modena pigeon breed.  Both were also instrumental in the breeds as well as the club’s development.  Without them the breed would not have attained the great success that it now enjoys.  Lairmore’s work predates Pettit and was the first thorough writing of its kind form many decades.  James wrote the first edition of the Modern Modena Pigeon back in 1960 and this issue is the revised edition published in 1972.  It can be said without exaggeration that this work is the definitive text covering the Modena from 1920, when W. F. Holmes of England last published a major work on the breed, up to 1972 when this revised edition was published.  It is a mint paperback of 89 informative pages.

"The show racer is a pigeon of beauty, dignity and grace. Presented in the show pen in peak condition it is a joy to see and it is little wonder that its popularity is ever growing." Thus Douglas McClary opens his introduction to a book that is a vivid account of the show racer as it is today. He tells you how to enjoy your showing; how to keep records; how to prepare for a show: he describes the ideal show loft and the fittings and accessories that are best for it — in fact, he tells you all you want to know about this fascinating sport, and passes on the knowledge he has gained since his interest was first aroused when, as a boy of twelve, he was taken to his first pigeon show. These 1976 1st editions and is as near mint as one can get. I have listed one as excellent only because a book over 30 years old can't possibly be mint, but it is darn close, and the other one as very good only because it does have a previous owner's stamp, but otherwise it too is near mint. There were also subsequent additions printed in 1976 and 1984, proving how popular this publication really is.

This National Modena club yearbook as the title indicates is clearly the authoritative history of the Modena pigeon and the National Club through the period. It has all the general material of the yearbook, but also includes information, including membership lists of each successive decade. Once is inclined to say everything you ever needed to know about the Modena and its club in the US in a nutshell, except this nutshell is over 300 pages in length.

The National Modena club puts out quit a yearbook and this one too is no exception. This particular issue is a whooping 235 pages and is chock full of just what you would expect in a Modena club book - articles, ads, show and officer lists. It is really a who's who in the Modena world of the period in addition to a good collection of articles aimed at breeding better show Modenas. The paper covers are more than a bit scruffy but the interior is quite solid and unspoiled other than some minor curling along the bottom outside edge cause by improper storage at one point. Therefore, it can only be considered a reading copy. Click on the cover image for a larger picture so you can see what I mean.

This 76 page pamphlet was published by the United States Department of the Interior in 1947 as part of its series of North American Fauna. It is in very good condition and was part of the collection of the Fairbanks Museum of Vermont. The museum's imprint is on the cover and a note that it is about bird species on the top left corner. This was undoubtedly entered to more quickly alert the user that this guide’s deals with birds not badgers as the cover picture might lead one to believe. I can only suppose that the cover picture of a badger was selected as a subtle way to alert us that unless we were careful, the band-tailed pigeon might well disappear as North America's other once native species the passenger pigeon. The status of the band-tailed pigeon has certainly waxed and waned over the years and this scientific work intended for the average enthusiast provides a wealth of information on its then current status, but also the environment that it needs to thrive.

Jeffrey Oldham's book is a wonderfully printed hard cover dedicated to the Wests Tumbler performing breed from the country of its undisputed development. Although the saying is that you should not judge a book by its cover, in this instance with the "gold" embossed cover, it is a good indication of the quality that lies inside. This book is relatively new being published in England in 1980 when Jeffrey was at the height of his game and respected by many who enjoyed the sport with him. His list of acknowledgments, including a few that had already passed, is a virtual who's who in the early development not only of the breed, but of how the sport developed as well. While the book can't be considered a full treatise by itself at only at just 90 pages, it covers the basis. There are chapters on Origin, Type, Breeding, Housing, Flying, Exhibiting, and Organizations promoting the hobby. There are several very nice photographs of the early birds, which make good study for the variation in type we find today.

The wonderful paperback book was written by the most eminent of roller fanciers in the US. Ok, he emigrated from England the birthplace of Birmingham rollers, but he was residing in America in 1958 when the first edition was penned. The second edition is nearly identical, but has even another accolade ridden introduction written by yet another prominent fancier, Howard McCully. Reading his introduction and the introduction provided for the 1st edition by Dr. Charles Rivers, one quickly understands the impact William Pensom had, and continues to have, on the hobby. A must have for anyone who want to understand the growth and development of the rolling sporting hobby in America.

Robert Pettit, along with James Lairmore was the driving forces behind the breed during the last half of the 20th Century, and both American authors published the definitive works on the Breed. James in 1960 and then again in 1972 with an expanded revised edition. So by 1994 when Pettit published this beautiful work in 1994 there was a lot to say and say it he did.