When I returned home from Europe at the end of last November, my luggage was lost. Ultimately they were both returned (the first one after a few days, but the second one was only lately returned). However, the latest one was damaged and some of the contents lost. Unfortunately, while I didn't mind losing a bag of dirty socks and skivvies, I also lost my bag of European ferret books. They are all gone and I have little or no hope of them being returned. The airline blamed the people searching the bags for not zipping things back together correctly, and the security people blamed the airline. Whomever is at fault, I no longer have most of the books I diligently collected while in Europe. Luckily I placed the ferret books from the Netherlands and Hungary in the bag holding my 4x5 camera and film, which was carry-on luggage, so not everything was completely lost. However, the ferret books I bought in Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Italy are gone. I am hoping someone from the listed countries (or any other country) would be willing to help me replace the lost books. I can either send payment for the books plus shipping, trade for American ferret books, or I can send ferret supplies that may not be available in your country; your choice. Any help would be appreciated. I am compiling a list of all books on ferrets ever published worldwide, and I need the books to review the contents, write a summary, scan the covers, and compare them to other books. Please email me directly with a capitalized "BOOK" in the subject line so I don't lose the email in the torrent of messages I am lately receiving. Thanks! Bob C [log in to unmask] "The herb-doctor had not moved far away, when, in advance of him, this spectacle met his eye. A dried-up old man, with the stature of a boy of twelve, was tottering about like one out of his mind, in rumpled clothes of old moleskin, showing recent contact with bedding, his ferret eyes, blinking in the sunlight of the snowy boat, as imbecilely eager, and, at intervals, coughing, he peered hither and thither as if in alarmed search for his nurse. He presented the aspect of one who, bed-rid, has, through overruling excitement, like that of a fire, been stimulated to his feet." --Herman Melville 1857 The Confidence-Man. [Posted in FML issue 4777]