BOOK REVIEW: THE MAN WHO LOVED BOOKS TOO MUCH

By chance I picked up a copy of "The Man Who Loved Books Too Much," which George Fuld mentioned in the 2010 Esylum. The book detail the exploits of John Gilkey, a rare book thief who will do pretty much anything to pilfer a book. Libraries and dealers alike, beware! He steals, gets caught and prosecuted, only to steal again after his sentence is served. The author, Allison Hoover Bartlett, leaves us little assurance that the cycle will ever be broken.

Bartlett's point of view reminded me a lot of Alison Frankel's book on the 1933 double eagle - bringing an outside journalist's eye to what is primary a middle-aged male endeavor. Book collectors, it turns out, like coin collectors, tend to be older males. As such, the book is a little bit painful to read - she has no axe to grind with the collector per se, but she is telling it like she sees it. The scary part is that most collectors will see a bit of themselves in Gilkey, who she thoroughly dissects over a series of interviews.

The primary source material is the author's extensive interviews with Gilkey and Ken Sanders, a rare book dealer responsible for bringing Gilkey to justice. Bartlett made the decision early on to inject herself as a character into the book - perhaps self indulgent in some situations, but necessary in this one. She develops a relationship with Gilkey over a period of years, and if she doesn't amplify the reader will be left curious.

As my wife, not a numismatist, tells me, the story behind my books ought to be a book itself. The book is a quick read (not sure why the publisher chose to double space it, perhaps to help justify the cover price) and with used copies on Amazon starting at $2, is a no-brainer for all of us who love books too much.

Inside Brick Row, natural light streamed through the windows, illuminating books sitting in cases along every wall and under windows, and on a graceful arc of shelves that ran through the middle of the shop. It was a quiet refuge from the city streets below, and if you ignored the computer and phone on Crichton's heavy, oak desk, it could be a nineteenth-century bookshop. Thousands of majestic leather-bound books, many with gold lettering, caught the light as I walked by. Given Gilkey's Victorian library fantasies, I could see why he favored this shop, why he chose to bring me there.

To visit the author's web site, see: www.allisonhooverbartlett.com/book.html

"AMERICA'S BEAUTIFUL NATIONAL PARKS"

Join Aaron J. McKeon on a guided tour of our nation's valuable treasures�the national parks, forests, and other landmarks honored in the U.S. Mint's latest quarter-dollar program. This wonderfully illustrated handbook is also an introduction to collecting the new coins. Foreword by Kenneth Bressett. Hardcover, $19.95. Order at www.WhitmanBooks.com , or call 1-800-546-2995.

Wayne Homren, Editor

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com

To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum

PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE FULL ISSUE PREV FULL ISSUE

V14 2011 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE