The Shakespeare Thefts: In Search of the First Folios

"[Rasmussen] has unearthed wonderful anecdotes of theft, fraud, and the peculiar mania of passionate bibliophiles." —Stephen Greenblatt, Pulitzer Prize–winning author

The first edition of Shakespeare's collected works, the First Folio, published in 1623, is one of the most valuable books in the world and has historically proven to be an attractive target for thieves. Of the 160 First Folios listed in a census of 1902, fourteen were subsequently stolen—and only two of these were ever recovere...