Customer Reviews
An entertaining look at book-collecting. - By: Paul Macdonald, 17 Jun 2008 
That this could have been a subject rendered dryly which would only hold interest to specialistsin the field of book-collecting would have been a positively likely scenario. Gladly, Basbanes has written a study which is totally enthralling & the pole opposte from the dreariness one might have expected from such a peculiar subject-matter, even though, ultimately, the book feels at times one of undulating quality.
The book is arranged into two parts, the latter being slightly longer; Part One is concerned with the history of book-collecting from the classical period to the 19th Century, and, to my mind, holds considerably more interest than the over-long Part Two. This section of the book is a wonderfully engaging account of the eccentrics who's passion, the book, & the philosophies, wisdom & wit therein, have built tremendous libraries & have been cultural philanthropists of sorts; the very first Chapter, a summary of sorts of notable past bibliophiles, was an absolute joy.
Part Two is of varying quality; the story of Haven O' More, Stephen Blumberg, & Aaron Lansky are very interesting, but Basbanes sojourns far too longin the modern era, & whilst I would say, 75% of it is perfectly readable, he hoveres dangerously close to simply boring his readers with reams of paper which illustrate fairly similar cases; the entire 'Instant Ivy' chapter, which documents the case of Texas University, was a low pointin the book, but it did recover thereafter.
In all, this is a very entertaining book; the only quality assumed on the part of the reader is an interestin books (and not just their contents, but as antique & beautiful objects), and, you should enjoy it tremendously; just be prepared for a narrative of not all too consistent quality & capacity to excite.
started out interesting.. bogged down somewhere - By: , 05 Jan 1999 
This started out as an interesting look at books & the passions that surround them. When he got into the 20th century & started detailing the obsessive behaviours of certain more contemporary collectors at excessive length, I lost interest. I've been working on it gradually for several months because I'm no longer able to read more than a few pages at a time, & still haven't finished.
Excellent book on a divine madness - By: , 16 Dec 1998 
Having my own small collection of 800 books, a few first editions, several autographed editions I can relate. I loved this book. It was given to me last year by my best friend, another book lover, & I have enjoyed it so much. I am not a great, gifted collector, but still a collector & I can tell you where each book was purchased, the date, & sometimes even my mood. Some of the books I will not let anyone borrow they are too precious to me. Yes, I too suffer from this divine madness as my two children also. It is a great hobby, madness whatever..."So many books so little time."
Outstanding!! Like reading a AA Handbook and seeing yourself - By: , 24 Oct 1998 Just finished. Five stars. I am trying to email the author to thank him. Anyone interestedin books (which includes you) deserves to read this book. The chapter on Blumberg is especially illuminating.
