James Bama: American Realist

I recently recieved my copy of James Bama: American Realist and let me tell I'm just floored by this incredible collection by a true master painter. Bama is relevant to this blog because his speciality was book covers, mostly of the mass market paperback variety where his incredible visions of adventure were needed to catch the eye of readers.
I knew him only for his iconic portrayal of pulp legend Doc Savage, but there is a whole lot more in this book, covers for westerns, war stories, science fiction and even romance and teen novels.
The highlight for me, of course, was the Doc Savage section, with cover reproductions of every single Bantam Books Doc Savage novel with a James Bama painting. These covers almost cry out READ ME as they are filled with incredibly visions of adventure. Sadly, these Doc Savage novels are long out of print so finding them can be a challenge. Nostalgia Ventures has reprinted a few Doc Savage adventures in 3 volumes but without the Bama covers (dammit!), opting instead for the original pulp magazine covers, which is cool, but still, the Bama covers would have been cooler.
The book ends with a section of Bama's western themed paintings which is what he does nowdays, and these too are fantastic evoking serene visions of cowboys, indians and wildlife, always with his characteristic realistic style.