#title Ted Kaczynski ordering books from a Spanish publishing house #date April 1 1987 #source <[[http://web.archive.org/web/https://harbor.klnpa.org/california/islandora/object/cali%3A1154][harbor.klnpa.org/california/islandora/object/cali%3A1154]]> [now dead] #lang en #pubdate 2026-09-15T00:42:16 #authors Ted Kaczynski #topics Ted’s Correspondences Before His Imprisonment T. J. Kaczynski
Stemple Pass Road
Lincoln, Montana 59639
U.S.A.
April 1 1987 Espasa-Calpe, S.A.
Apartment 547
28049 Madrid Dear Gentlemen: I wish to purchase one volume of each of the following titles which appear in your catalog of June 1985:
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*** Appendix: Quotes from Ted's letters to his brother Dave I’m glad to hear you’re progressing with Spanish. I bet you'll enjoy exploring the literature. Maybe when we visit Mexico I can find a book store in Ojiuaga or someplace and get some Mexican books. I have a catalog from the publishing company Espasa-Calpe of Madrid. They publish a “Collecion Austral” which is a series of relatively inexpensive paperback editions of old and modern classics. They have some interesting titles. I’ve ordered books from them a couple of times, and enjoyed many of the books. Some time if you’re interested I can send you the catalog on loan if you want to order some books. Only trouble is, they give no information about the books except author and title, so often you don’t know exactly what kind of book you’re buying and have to trust to luck as it were. -------- Without a doubt, you will like this passage from Jose Orgega y Gasset, *La rebellion of the masses*, Espasa-Calpa, Madrid, 1984, p.122. “Philosophy needs neither protection, nor attention, nor sympathy from the masses. It maintains its character of complete inutility, and thereby frees itself from all subservience to the average man. It recognizes itself as essentially problematic, and joyously accepts its free destiny as a bird of the air, without asking anybody to take it into account, without recommending or defending itself. If it does really turn out to the advantage of anyone, it rejoices from simple human sympathy; but does not live on the profit it brings to others, neither anticipating it nor hoping for it. How can it lay claim to being taken seriously by anyone if it starts off by doubting its own existence, if it lives only in the measure in which it combats itself, deprives itself of life?” ------- You might be interested in reading Oscar Lewis, *Pedro Martinez* — an anthropologists account of the Mexican peasant. Our Parents have it, or used to have it, at home. You might also be interested in reading that book on Zapata that I mentioned above. A lot of the book is devoted to political and military events that probably wouldn’t interest you, but the book also tells one a lot about the Mexican peasants of the State of Morelos. Also, the character of Emiliano Zapata is interesting. I think some of the leftists have tried to make a kind of patron saint of Zapata, but actually he was no leftist. He and his revolutionaries were just peasants who wanted to get back the land that the rich landowners had stolen from them. Some urban-intellectual type revolutionaries who seem to have had something in common with the leftists, did attach themselves to Zapta’s revolution, but if I remember correctly the book said the peasant revolutionaries never respected these urban-intellectual types — they just made use of them. Anyhow, if you want to read the book I’ll send it to you on loan, but I’d like to have it back, cause I want to keep it in my history collection. Let me know if you want to borrow it. I already have the catalog of Editions Mexicanos Umados. Their selection is pretty poor. Thanks for the other publishers address. Whenever I think I can afford it, I may want to order that Popol Vuh book. This Popol Vuh stuff is ancient Maya material. Some time ago I ordered a book on it from Espasa-Calpe, but it turned out to be out of print. --------- I have not yet received the book of Nunez Cabeza de Vaca. The books that are ordered to Spain usually arrive within 3 months. After receiving the book and reading it, I will send it to you. I beg of you to safe it well, because I want to add it to my collection of Conquerors. It could be very difficult to find another such book, because when you request books from Espasa-Calpe, they say that they are run out of them. It is very possible that my book is one of the last ones available. I think you have already read the Nunez Cabeza de Vaca book in english, but without doubt you want to read it in spanish. ------- “Colleccion Austral” of the Espasa-Calpe is a collection of cheap and rustic editions of classic works. The volumes of the old editions are well made, with the pages stitched; but the new volumes are very poorly made: the pages are bound with glue and they come loose very easily. The book of N. C. de V. that I got was printed in 1985 (and therefore, not withstanding what I said in my last letter, will be easy to obtain) and it has its pages bound to the back with glue. Because of that, if you want me to send you the book, I will not get angry if the pages come loose while you have it — really, it is probably inevitable for the pages to come loose. But I beg you to be careful and not lose any pages. Using the English expression: [I don’t necessarily expect to get the book back in one piece, but I do want to get all the pieces back!]