- It is perhaps not a book to be read from cover to cover, even by the most avid of book lovers, but rather one that can be appreciated by dipping into it now and then. Basbanes has produced an insightful examination of book collecting which looks not just at the collectors but also at the history of books and book collecting.

That this could have been a subject rendered dryly which would only hold interest to specialists in the field of book-collecting would have been a positively likely scenario. Gladly, Basbanes has written a study which is totally enthralling and 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, and the philosophies, wisdom and wit therein, have built tremendous libraries and 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, and Aaron Lansky are very interesting, but Basbanes sojourns far too long in the modern era, and 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 point in 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 interest in books (and not just their contents, but as antique and beautiful objects), and, you should enjoy it tremendously; just be prepared for a narrative of not all too consistent quality and capacity to excite.