Captain's Log: War Stories on the Cedar River
- Jeffrey A. Rothermel
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 2 hours ago
By Jeffrey A. Rothermel, bookseller
Cedar Rapids, Iowa (USA)
August 25, 2025
Weathering the Storm
August 16-17, 2025
Seminole Valley Farm Museum
This was the fourth year, that I have travelled to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to sell books by the river during the annual "World War II Remembered" weekend. (I missed last year's event due to a family requirement.) The remembrance was a fantastic event. I met interesting people and learned new things about our past. We traded a few stories. I sold some books. Historians study how our historical interpretations change over time. The history of history is called historiography (the study of historical writing). Not everyone learns from a book. There are various types of learners. Some are visual learners. Some learn by doing. I am continually fascinated by the military vehicles of that time period. The vehicles are eighty years old and still operational. Hearing what automotive part is original, which parts are not, mesmerizes me. Somebody will add that they are looking for a reprint or an original of a certain manual concerning their jeep. That information gets tucked away in my brain housing group as I trade, buy, and sell printed materials from our past. It was a good group. No one was looking for documents from the Manhattan Project.
This year the weather did not disappoint with its traditional rainstorm at sunset/sunrise. As the armies established their bivouac on Friday night, a wicked storm swept in with wind gusts reported at 71 miles per hour at the Cedar Rapids Airport.[1] The Friday rain and intense summer heat made for a muggy weekend. Such volatile damp weather poses adventurous risks to paper products. Deciding what to bring and how it will be protected from the elements is a deliberate mental process of continual reevaluation. Everything survived. Many unique items did not make the trip from the safety of store in Iowa City to the riverbank in Cedar Rapids.
One item that I really wanted to bring to the event was a book about the 88th Division in the World War of 1914-1918. Due to the humidity, I opted not to bring it. Bookselling is a lot like soldiering. One should have a back-up contingency plan. The alternate plan worked! The book sold on August 23, 2025 via the Captain's Book Shoppe website. Book adventures are often stories are about executing versatile options. Some books do better at open-air markets than on the internet. Others are best sold via cyber...
I tend to use multiple online venues which facilitates retaining options.
The book was listed on Google:
The same book was also listed on the ViaLibre search engine:
Historians contemplate the concept of luck. There is an element of luck to both soldiering and bookselling. Once in a while, we are able to make our own luck. Finding history and those interested in it is enjoyable work. "Making luck" is a continual journey.
I had the privilege to meet once again with some top-notch military history reenactors, collectors, and enthusiasts this past weekend.
Ferdinand Porsche is credited with designing "an inexpensive, lightweight military transport vehicle that could operate reliably both on- and off-road, in even the most extreme conditions" called the Volkswagen Type 82 Kübelwagen. Approximately 53,000 Kübelwagens were manufactured between the years of 1940-1945 (Source: Wikipedia). When drafting this article, I searched for my books about Kübelwagens, then realized they had all sold. The life of a bookseller is a story of supply and demand. One of those Kübelwagen-vehicles was zipping around the Captain's Book Shoppe bookselling tent. Please refer to the photos below.
The German mounted patrollers were a bit suspicious of the local shopkeepers. Thankfully, the invaders did not burn any books.
Rule 127 of Star Trek's Ferengi Rules of Acquisition says: "stay neutral in conflict so you can sell supplies to both sides." As a merchant, it is probably best to not pick sides. Though, as a combat veteran my loyalty is always with the U.S. Third Infantry Division that was out in full force at the event. It was good seeing the wide array of reenactors that depicted a vast time span of units from various countries. (Reenactors from the Second World War, the Vietnam War and the European Cold War were present. They offered authentic portrayals of those periods.)
This year there was an impressive German check point. The pseudo-cement bunker was protected by barbed wire, a belt of "cement" dragons teeth barriers, a mine field, and "metal" hedgehog obstacles. The detailed craftsmanship it took to create, replicate and construct the strongpoint was fascinating.
The checkpoint was something one reads about in books.
Books often outlive their caretakers. Captain's Book specializes in transitioning books from one generation to another. If you have an interesting or unique item, please consider contacting Captain's Book Shoppe (ask for Jeff).
Photo of Bookseller Jeff (August 16, 2025). Dealing in common and the rare original thought (used & rare books). Stop by the showroom for some browsing, or swing by our website: CaptainsBookShoppe.com
It was an enjoyable weekend of non-traditional bookselling. I am looking forward to more book adventures.
The Book Showroom is open Monday - Friday 12 noon - 5 PM.
Saturday the store is open 10 AM - 2 PM.
Closed on Sundays.
Captain's Book Shoppe LLC
1570 S. 1st Ave, Suite H
Iowa City, Iowa (USA) 52240
Store Phone: (319) 351-3166
Website: CaptainsBookShoppe.com
Thanks for taking the time to read this edition of THE CAPTAIN'S LOG. Please consider following the book adventures at:
Captain's Book Shoppe on Facebook: Facebook
Captain's Gentle Madness - Book Collecting: Facebook
Vintage Captain on Twitter, now "X": Captain's Book Shoppe LLC, IOBA (@CPTsBookShoppe) / X (twitter.com)
Bluesky: @captainsbook.bsky.social
= = = = = NOTES.
Cedar Rapids CBS TV Channel 2 News Report, August 15, 2025 Thunderstorm: Strong storms cause damage, power outages in eastern Iowa Friday (Accessed August 24, 2025).
