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The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession |  | Author: Allison Hoover Bartlett
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $3.47
as of 3/21/2010 20:05 CDT details
You Save: $21.48 (86%)
New (69) Used (34) Collectible (5) from $3.37
Seller: MarJams
Rating:  89 reviews
Sales Rank: 11432
Media: Hardcover
Edition: First Ediition/First Printing
Pages: 288
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.2
ISBN: 1594488916
Dewey Decimal Number: 002.075
EAN: 9781594488917
ASIN: 1594488916
Publication Date: September 17, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9781594488917 | | • | Condition: NEW | | • | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
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| Also Available In:
| • | Hardcover - The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a | | • | Unknown Binding - The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession (Playaway Adult Nonfiction) | | • | Kindle Edition - The Man Who Loved Books Too Much | | • | Audio Download - The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession (Unabridged) | | • | Hardcover - The Man Who Loved Books Too Much | | • | Paperback - The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession | | • | Audio CD - The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession | | • | Audio CD - The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession | | • | Audio CD - The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession | | • | Hardcover - The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession (Thorndike Large Print Crime Scene) | | • | Hardcover - The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
In the tradition of The Orchid Thief, a compelling narrative set within the strange and genteel world of rare-book collecting: the true story of an infamous book thief, his victims, and the man determined to catch him.
Rare-book theft is even more widespread than fine-art theft. Most thieves, of course, steal for profit. John Charles Gilkey steals purely for the love of books. In an attempt to understand him better, journalist Allison Hoover Bartlett plunged herself into the world of book lust and discovered just how dangerous it can be.
Gilkey is an obsessed, unrepentant book thief who has stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of rare books from book fairs, stores, and libraries around the country. Ken Sanders is the self-appointed "bibliodick" (book dealer with a penchant for detective work) driven to catch him. Bartlett befriended both outlandish characters and found herself caught in the middle of efforts to recover hidden treasure. With a mixture of suspense, insight, and humor, she has woven this entertaining cat-and-mouse chase into a narrative that not only reveals exactly how Gilkey pulled off his dirtiest crimes, where he stashed the loot, and how Sanders ultimately caught him but also explores the romance of books, the lure to collect them, and the temptation to steal them. Immersing the reader in a rich, wide world of literary obsession, Bartlett looks at the history of book passion, collection, and theft through the ages, to examine the craving that makes some people willing to stop at nothing to possess the books they love.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 89
Lessons in Book Crime March 21, 2010
Timothy Haugh (New York, NY United States)
For those of us who battle/revel in our own obsession with books, Ms. Bartlett has written an interesting little volume. In it, she tells the story of John Gilkey, a book thief, and Ken Sanders, a bookseller with the skills to catch book thieves. Along the way, she takes us to book fairs and antiquarian bookstores, teaches a little about valuable books, and introduces us to a number of people in the trade.
Two things stand out in Bartlett's book. First, how easy it is to steal even quite valuable books. At the height of his success, it seems Gilkey was stealing credit card numbers from his customers as a salesman at Saks, and using them to make purchases via internet and in person. Second, how little interest there is in prosecuting book-stealers even when they've stolen tens of thousands of dollars in merchandise. Despite all his larceny, Gilkey has paid little for his crimes. It makes one wonder why most of us--poor collectors who still dream big--are basically honest in our dealings.
Bartlett makes a stab at understanding Gilkey's mindset. She interviews him and visits his home and other book stashes. Still, she doesn't seem to make much headway in understanding him, or why any person's obsessions end up making him cross the line. This is a tough question, of course, that even dedicated professionals have yet to unravel satisfactorily, but it is a disappointment that she can't draw stronger conclusion.
In the end, I don't think this is a book that can find a wide audience. On the other hand, anyone with an interest in the world of book collecting should take a look. It's an easy an entertaining read.
 Okay Story, So So Delivery February 28, 2010
NorthShoreCanarie (New York)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The majority of people who are intrigued by this title probably love books, therefore, read it to satisfy your curiostiy. However, I found the writing to be adequate but uninspired, the personality of the author drab and prissy and the guy who loves books not all that interesting. The thing I most disliked was the plethora of banal connections made presented as cosmic ironies (for instance, between the title of a book and the thief's situation). Also, the author repeats herself A LOT. What I liked most was gaining insight into the world of book collecting.
Flawed, but fun February 23, 2010
Puzzled
Good, quick read exposing the underside of the rare book world. A few glaring errors made me wonder if they were intentionally included to increase the eventual value of a first edition...? (See p. 102, where the phrase, "most of them do not cross the line between coveting and stealing" appears twice in three sentences. See also pp. 253-254, where the word "Renaissance" inexplicably appears twice in a row.) If you read Ann Rule's book, "The Stranger Beside Me," and were bothered by the extent to which the author inserted herself into the gripping story of Ted Bundy, you will find the same irritation with this book. (Personally, I don't like to be aware of the author of a book, but prefer the illusion that the book contains a world belonging only to me, the reader.) That said, there is much to learn and much to enjoy here. It is definitely worth reading.
 A Thoughtful and Articulate Telling of Book Mania February 22, 2010
James L. Breithaupt (Anytown USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Allison Hoover Bartlett took the risk (as did her publisher) of spending significant time and effort writing about a man whom many would rather easily dismiss as a mere "klepto." Instead, John Gilkey, apparently, defined himself to himself and to others through the books he purloined from rare book shops. A mere shoplifter would not have used the Modern Library "Top 100" as his guide to stealing. Gilkey, however, appears to have let his love of books if not literature invent a world where the "have nots" are perfectly justified in taking from the "haves," in this case book dealers who had dedicated their lives to buying and selling valuable books and building important collections at very little profit.
Bartlett's honesty in approaching her subject, both bibliomania in general and Gilkey in particular, is refreshing. She enters the foray not as an expert but as a student of book collecting and perhaps more importantly human nature. Ken Sanders, her pilot through the early part of her investigation, figures largely in the story as initially a one man crusade to corral and incarcerate book thieves. Using an unwished for promotion to head of security for the ABAA, Sanders launches a network of electronic communication that allowed members of the organization to alert each other to Gilkey's movements. By the end of the book, Sanders has relinquished his post and slowly disappears from the stage while Bartlett follows Gilkey from one prison term to another, questioning her own involvement and objectivity in the story.
If you have ever felt an unreasonable or unhealthy appetite for books, you might enjoy this book as a participant, if not in the stealing perhaps in the fervor. Those who are not avid book collectors or bibliophiles but who have felt driven to collect something may still understand the almost psychotic drive to own and possess one thing, and then another, and another, without ever being able to say "I am satisfied, no more."
In this age of drug wars and blood lust, a book about a book thief might sound anticlimactic. My best advice is, buy the book, enjoy the story, and thank Allison for seeing it through.
 The Book That I Didn't Love Too Much February 19, 2010
HyperReviewer (Bay Area, California)
While the title seemed intriguing, I found the book to be uninspired.
In my opinion, the thief, who is the inspiration for the book, lacked complexity and quirks that I would have expected in story about rare book theft. He was uninteresting to me nearly from the outset, and brought no drama to the story. He's just a guy who doesn't have that 'moral' gene.
The detective (bibliodick) Ken Sanders was an interesting character, and I'd definitely have written the book with Ken as the centerpiece, just following his life in counterculture, his lifelong love of books and finally his career as a rare book dealer.
I'm sorry to say it, but I wouldn't recommend this book.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 89
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