Phantoms on the Bookshelves

"A charming book full of erudition and wit" that explores the human impulse to accumulate books (Literary Review).

Jacques Bonnet, a lifelong accumulator of books ancient and modern, lives in a house large enough to accommodate his tens of thousands of volumes, as well as some overspill from the libraries of his friends. While his musings on the habits of collectors from the earliest known libraries are learned, amusing, and instructive, his advice on cataloging may even save lives.

Ra...