Ellison, Harlan. Deathbird Stories. Subterranean. Dec. 2010. c.391p. ISBN 978-1-59606-085-2. $45. SF

It's good to see Ellison, a longtime personal fave, getting reprinted in a deluxe hardcover-and an expanded one at that. This collection of short stories originally graced bookshelves back in the mid-1970s. For this new edition, Ellison has added three additional shorts. The now 22 stories contained herein include "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs," "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes," "Shattered Like a Glass Goblin," and "Paingod." Seriously good stuff. As I said about Ray Bradbury two columns ago, Harlan usually is thought of as a sci-fi guy, but it's an injustice to pigeonhole him because he's so much more. Get him on your shelves. If you end up liking him, see the 2008 documentary Dreams with Sharp Teeth. Ellison takes the prize as the crabbiest person who ever lived. He kvetches about damn near everything and doesn't take crap from anyone, but his rants are wonderful. Go, Harlan!

Stenson, Fred. The Trade. Douglas & McIntyre. Aug. 2010. 514p. ISBN 978-1-55365-536-7. pap. $19.95. F First released in 2000, this Canadian novel scored a handful of lit prizes, including the Grant MacEwan Author's Award, the City of Edmonton Book Prize, and the Georges Bugnet Award as well as being a Scotiabank Giller Prize finalist. Set in 1822, this depicts the brutal fur trade established by the Hudson's Bay Company. One critic likened it to Lonesome Dove with beavers replacing cattle. Fans of that book and sprawling adventure stories in general will go for this.

Benchley, Robert C. The Athletic Benchley: 105 Exercises from the Detroit Athletic Club News. Glendower. 2010. 256p. illus. ISBN 978-0-914303-02-2. pap. $28.95. HUMOR

A founding member of the Algonquin Round Table, Benchley was one of the great sophisticated wits of the mid-20th century. This gathers his articles written for the Detroit Athletic Club News from 1920 to 1932. A good portion of this material has never been reproduced in other Benchley collections and appears here for the first time since its original publication. The text also sports the original illustrations. Benchley's humor is subtle, and there no doubt are still lots of yucks in these more than 100 pieces. Humor is ageless, so give this a shot.

Rosenblum, Naomi. A History of Women Photographers. Abbeville. Aug. 2010. 432p. illus. bibliog. Index. ISBN 978-0-7892-0998-6. $75. PHOTOG

When Rosenblum's chronicle made its debut in 1994, Publishers Weekly anointed it a "landmark volume"; it's easy to see why. The text digs back to photography's beginnings in the glass negative days of the 1800s through the current megapixel age. For this third edition, 20 new female shooters and ten images have been added. In total, this sports more than 300 pix by over 270 photographers. Subjects run the gamut from still life, portraits, and press to artsy stuff-basically everything. The imagery is reproduced beautifully. Informative and wonderfully illustrated, this stunner could do double duty in art and women's history collections.