A Gentle Madness Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books

by Nicholas Basbanes

Overview

When first published, A Gentle Madness astounded and delighted readers about the passion and expense a collector is willing to make in pursuit of the book. Written before the emergence of the Internet but newly updated for the 21st Century reader, A Gentle Madness captures that last moment in time when collectors pursued their passions in dusty bookshops and street stalls, high stakes auctions, and the subterfuge worthy of a true bibliomaniac. An adventure among the afflicted, A Gentle Madness is vividly anecdotal and thoroughly researched. Nicholas Basbanes brings an investigative reporter's heart to illuminate collectors past and present in their pursuit of bibliomania. Now a timeless classic of collecting, no lover of books can miss A Gentle Madness.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940015265255
Publisher:	Fine Books Press
Publication date:	05/30/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	633
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Nicholas A. Basbanes is the author of eight books about various aspects of books and book culture. His first, A Gentle Madness, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1995, and was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. An award-winning investigative reporter during the early 1970s, Basbanes was literary editor of the Worcester Sunday Telegram from 1978 to 1991, and for the next eight years wrote a nationally syndicated column on books and authors. His work on On Paper, a cultural history of paper and papermaking, was supported in part by a National Endowment for the Humanities Research Fellowship, and will be published in 2013 by Alfred A. Knopf. Basbanes lectures widely on various topics, reviews for the Los Angeles Times, and writes a featured column for Fine Books & Collections magazine. He and his wife Constance live in Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

A Gentle Madness--compulsory for anyone seriously interested in books or curious about the manic nature of collecting.

The New York Times Book Review - Philip Kopper

A Gentle Madness is chock-a-block with such strange and appealing characters, each more wonderful than the last.

The Washington Post Book World - Michael Dirda

A surprising number of these stories involve nefarious dealings and vicious rivalries, proving that even in our digitized age, books arouse intense emotions, from worship to greed.

Booklist - Donna Seaman

A massive, comprehensive, and wonderfully readable history of book collecting and collectors.

The Philadelphia Inquirer - David Walton

If anyone in the United States is truly a book person, surely it is Nicholas A. Basbanes.

Los Angeles Times - Martin Rubin