It was fun to go through those books," he said. Reliving that fun today can be costly. Wish Books for sale on eBay range in price from $13 to $190. Those prices are too steep for Duffy.

Be careful when using old reference books. Modern research methods, excavations, and old documents that were unknown for years have led to changed histories. The Chinese Export porcelain dishes that ...

Most of the old reference books are now available as pdf files or interactive downloads to your computer and laptop. They’re also available as apps for your tablet, e-book reader and smartphone.