Which of these books for my dad?

[ImpYCelyn]

Dad is 60 in January. I want to get him something quite special for a present (when I was a lot younger I promised I'd by him a Lotus Elise for his 60th, sadly that is not going to happen :o )

Anyway, I thought about seeing if I could track down a first edition of a book that was published in 1952. There are fewer than I thought, but I've narrowed it down to:

Lieutenant Hornblower
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Five Have a Wonderful Time
East of Eden
The Old Man and the Sea

I did quite want to try for The Bridge over the River Kwai, but it was published in 1952 in French, and only in 1954 in English, which would defeat the object.

I'm not really sure which he'd prefer as he has a copy of either those, or something by the same author, on his shelves. And his range of books is huge. So really I've chosen those as they are the ones I'm most sure of.

(On a side note it was also the year of publication of Charlotte's Web and the Borrowers, but I don't think he'd like those as much)

I have no idea how difficult they're going to be to find, but which would you choose through preference?

Thanks in advance :)

My Dad is mid-60's and of those he would definitely choose Hornblower.

Thanks!

That's the one I'm leaning towards. Dad has quite a lot of Forester, and I love Hornblower, but I don't want to choose him something just because I like it iyswim. Although I'm pretty sure he would like it.

Out of all of those I'd go for The Old Man and the Sea with East of Eden as second choice, although you might struggle to find first editions of either of those.

I'd rather look for The Old Man and the Sea, I don't much like Steinbeck (although Dad does have a first of Cannery Row).

I think I'll start with The Old Man and the Sea and Hornblower and see what I can find.

Thanks :)

Right, I've had a quick look.

The Old Man and the Sea and East of Eden are out of my price range (barring one copy of East of Eden which seems to be £25, which at 10% the price of the next cheapest makes me , and anything under £400 seems to be in bad condition)

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is so far out of my price range I can't quite comprehend the sums involved Though I was expecting it to be hugely expensive.

Lieutenant Hornblower I can get for about half what I was expecting to pay (yay).

And I've not managed to track down the Famous Five yet.

So Hornblower looks like he's going to be the winner.

that's a really good idea for a special present. Where do you look for 1st editions? Is there a specialist web site or is it e - bay?

hope you've found something!

Sorry, was away for half term.

I haven't bought one yet, but I'm looking at reputable seeming sellers on ebay and also on websites that specialise in 1st editions. But I'm trying to find independent recommendations, so it's taking a while to be sure if they're okay to buy from or not.