Friday, April 2, 2010

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett


As I've said before, I typically don't read much nonfiction. But a fellow book-lover handed this to me (and granted I picked it out for the library but didn't really know if I'd read it), and she said "You should read this. You love books as much as I do, and well, this guy is really interesting!"

She was so right! I couldn't put this book down! Allison Bartlett was able to talk to John Gilkey, a book thief who told her his story of "acquiring" rare books. How did he do this on a part-time Saks sales clerk salary? He stole them, of course! How did he get caught? With the help of a wily rare book dealer named Ken Sanders and a complicated network of book store owners and dealers. Why did Gilkey steal them? Well, that is where the real interest in this story lies. Gilkey says he deserves them. Why should the ability to acquire books, knowledge, status, and education be left only to those who can afford them, he says? Why can't an average Joe like him have some of them? Why not?

While you and I might say something logical like, "Because these books cost thousands of dollars and others really love them just as much, and I can't pay for them," Gilkey just rejects this kind of thinking as unfair and not very creative. He wants these books, and therefore, he should have them. And that's it.

So, check out this slim volume of intrigue, character analysis, and some wonderful facts about the rare book world. It's a hoot!

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