Among the Gently Mad: Strategies and Perspectives for the Book Hunter in the 21st Century

This is a great book for anyone interested in collecting books, or who likes books, or even anyone just interested in what makes a book collectable. Different people adopt very different approaches and strategies to book collecting and Basbanes documents a number of them. The eccentric madness of it all is what makes it entertaining and I found that this quickly became a hard book to put down. After reading this I suspect that I will never look at books the same way again. The fundamentals of book collection are not unlike other forms of collection, so people who are self confessed "collectors" (You know who you are!) are likely to find this an exciting read. In among all the entertaining yarns is a pretty good starters guide to book collection, and this book contains a number of practical pointers to web sites and book sellers to get the novice started. Overall it was really enjoyable to read and very much a page turner.

Reading Basbanes is like engaging in a long, relaxed conversation over coffee in your living room with a very knowledgeable friend. In this third volume of his slightly rambling but always fascinating and well-informed discussions of books, book collectors, booksellers and dealers, and all the periperal subjects they engender, he combines advice on bibliophily in the age of the Internet with reminiscence on how collecting used to be done, and what the old and the new still have in common. As a small-time collector of limited resources myself, I enjoy reading abut the fabulous collections built up by those who not only have money to spend but also the intelligence and passion to add value to what they hunt down and acquire by adding to the accretion of knowledge. In fact, as Basbanes makes clear, becoming personally involved with books and other "stuff" is what separates collectors from mere accumulators. In fact, I find I have also become a collector of Nick Basbanes. . . .

I doubt that many of Nicholas Basbanes' readers will have the resources to emulate some of the collectors he describes in Among the Gently Mad (and in his earlier works A Gentle Madness and Patience and Fortitude.) I know I certainly won't be buying a Shakespeare First Folio, but nevertheless I value Among the Gently Mad for the perspective it gives me on my fellow bibliophiles. I enjoy reading about the book fairs and the lengths to which some collectors go to add to their libraries. Most of all I enjoy the tips Basbanes and his subjects give me about adding to my own collection. An absolutely essential addition to any gentle mad person's library.

Nicholas Basbanes has been a source of enjoyment for bibliophiles since publication of what is arguably the most enjoyable treatise on the book collecting culture, _A Gentle Madness_. In that book the heady heights of high-end collecting and the depraved depths of obsessive biblio-theft are expertly profiled. Equally delightful, his recent _Patience and Fortitude_ has a place of honor on my 'books-on-books' shelf.While I have enjoyed many hours reading these books, which allowed me to circulate vicariously in book circles currently beyond my reach, I always wondered when Mr. Basbanes would write a book focusing on the everyman collector.With the publication of _Among the Gently Mad_ my question has been answered, and the validity of the adage. "...be careful what you wish for..." has been affirmed for me. In a departure from his previous two works, the author not only provides delightful anecdotes on book culture, he has also constructed the most practical and up to date guide on the nuts and bolts of collecting available today. In the process he has laid bare nearly every trick and technique of collecting that I have picked up over the past several years.The internet has, in many ways, revolutionized book collecting. Mr. Basbanes describes in what ways, and provides helpful pointers on how to maximize the 'net's usefulness, including mentioning specific web sites of interest. This material is useful not only for the new collector, but the established collector as well. Additionally, traditional book collecting via catalogue, auction and scouting are not neglected - and testimonials of collecting technique from collectors and dealers abound.In short, if I were to begin book collecting today this is the first book I would buy, hands down. As a collector, it is one I have found very useful - and it goes without saying - entertaining. The only down side of the publication of this book is that those informed by its pages will create stiffer competition for the good books out there!

Nicholas Basbanes loves books. He loves everything about books. Their history. Their tactile feel. Stores, fairs and homes full of them. Hordes of them. The esoteric among them. And, he loves those who collect them.He loves us so much that he has written this little tome to help us. He wants us to have a focus. He wants us to love the search. He absolutley warns against collecting as a sure-fire investment (but, boy, has he lots of wildly improbable, but true, finds).Basbanes' previous works A GENTLE MADNESS and PATIENCE & FORTITUDE discuss the myriad aspects of the book, and, apparently, he has a third in the series aborning. Yet in AMONG THE GENTLY MAD he tells stories illustrating "strategies and perspectives for the book hunter". Although readable in a day or so, this is one book on books I'm sure to reread again and again. It is that fun. And that good.