Nicholas Basbanes, who lives in North Grafton, Mass., is the author of two previous works: A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes and the Eternal Passion for Books (1999), a finalist for the National Book Critics Award, and Patience & Fortitude: A Roving Chronicle of Book People, Book Places, and Book Cultures (2001).
Basbanes now adds a "Madness Redux" to his exploration of the world of books and to that species of human beings dubbed "the gently mad," the bibliophiles and bibliomaniacs who would sell their shirts to buy nicely bound volumes.
Among the Gently Mad is not for everyone. It is not for those who wonder why a person spends two weeks reading a book rather than watching a two-hour movie.
If, however, you delight in frequenting yard sales, flea markets, book fairs, library sales, book stores, trade shows, antique shops, and thrift stores in search of printed treasures, then you will love Basbane's work.
To be sure, serious book collecting can be frightfully expensive and often out of one's financial league, as, for example, the $6.16 million dollars that was paid for the 1623 edition of William Shakespeare's dramatic works, commonly known as the First Folio, one that bore the prior ownership signature of the poet John Dryden.
Somewhat less expensive was a first-issue copy of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone that recently sold for $15,000.
However, one does not need to own a Gutenberg Bible (1454-55), the first work printed in Europe from movable type, or the Bay Psalm Book (1639), to be an avid book collector.
Bibliophiles sometimes meet a tragic end, as related by an anecdote from chap. 9: "Homer and Langley Collyer of New York City, two reclusive brothers, quite literally died under the collapsing weight of their various hoards in 1947, with one of them remaining buried for two and a half week before firefighters could locate his body beneath what was estimated to be 150 tons [300,000 pounds!] of newspapers, magazines, books, and assorted doodads."
In a letter to John Adams (June 10, 1815), Thomas Jefferson wrote: "I cannot live without books." Basbanes subscribes to this sentiment; his work testifies to an in-depth knowledge of and experience in the world of books. He speaks with authority as one who intimately and expertly navigates his chosen field.
While Basbanes believes there is no substitute for a tactile, "hands-on" (one might even say erotic) examination of books, he shows how the Internet can be used to aid and abet one's obsession. ...
Among the Gently Mad is a virtual "Who's Who" of booksellers and book collectors. Throughtout the work, the author scatters helpful hints of do's and don'ts. Numerous vignettes illustrate the truth of the principles inculcated. Whether one is a nascent bibliophile or an incorrigible bibliomanic, this guide will prove to be a invaluable resource.
...

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!

In my opinion this book isn't as good as A Gentle Madness. Both are long and indeed "roving," but I would have rather that this book had been marketed as two or even three separate books of which I would have possibly bought one and perhaps read two. There are indeed many nice stories, but i found that I enjoyed some of them markedly less than others which I guess one must expect with this much material. I would think that this book would be a must have for librarians, especially of special collections. I must admit that I'll still be curious to read Basbanes next book when it arrives.

If you are passionate about books, I mean really passionate, then Basbanes may have written this tome for you. He provides a 600-page history of bibliomania, the obsession with books through the centuries. But for the general reader, the non-scholar, this book is probably twice as thick as it needs to be.

The chapter, "Madness Redux," features Jay Fliegelman, a Stanford University English professor and book collector who seriously (and physically) assesses the relationships between the books he owns. "I wake up sometimes and I will go to my library and move a book from one shelf to another, because in the middle of the night I thought about certain connections between the two. I am wondering, does this author belong with this author?" The perfect image for those who live, and literally, dream books.

It is interesting to read of thirteenth century librarians chaining books to wooden cabinets in an attempt to deter thieves and vandals. Chains apparently became a basic component in the layout of medieval libraries (as replicated, too, in the recent Harry Potter movie). The Cathedral Library at Hereford, England, is currently home to the largest collection of chained books anywhere in the world.

There are also pages on some famous bookstores such as the cavernous Serendipity Books, Inc, in Berkeley, California (owner Peter B. Howard's only business goal is to "continue with dignity"), and both the Argosy and Strand Book Stores in New York City. The Strand also sells and rents books by the linear foot, and proprietor Nancy Bass once filled an order for customers in Miami Beach who wanted only books in the colors hot pink, yellow, and magenta.

Basbanes also tracks the antiquarian bookselling trade in Europe. German bookseller Heribert Tenschert, based in Ramsen, Switzerland, produces beautiful book catalogs which are marvels of scholarship, often more than 500 pages long. Tenschert insists that selling a book is only a small part of what he does. "What I shamelessly believe is that you have to fall in love with a book first. It is physical as well as emotional."

Patience and Fortitude in the title, if you didn't know, are taken from the unofficial names of the two lions carved from Tennessee pink marble outside the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue. That library is also featured in this big book about book people.

As he did with the first volume, "A Gentle Madness", Nicholas Basbanes has written a book for a very wide audience. "Patience And Fortitude", goes well beyond any confines that would limit the work to readers interested only in the smallest of details that would be of importance to only the most addicted of bibliophiles. This is a history book, a political science book, a work that discusses education, and a book that addresses the importance of libraries, whether it is the matter in which they are constructed or how political groups attempt to influence History. It is also about the future of books and in some cases the wholesale destruction of publicly owned library inventory and their contents.

There is also good news, for the moment The United States still has more libraries than we do McDonalds. Such may not always be the case if some of those responsible for the care of our written history are not carefully watched. The most notorious example of destruction came about in San Francisco during the transition from the old library to the new. There is no question that a library may choose to have a limited number of copies of a given book, but having the department of sanitation collect and then dump tens of thousands of volumes in to the city landfill should be criminal. There is never a shortage of interest in books. When the disposal of books became known, books that had been marked for destruction were offered to the public gratis. One woman came home with over 1200 books.

The construction of The National Libraries of England, France, and an attempt to create a new Alexandria library are also covered in great detail. England's new facility may not be a visual treat but as a repository for books, there care and distribution it works. The National Library of France would be funny were it not also ridiculous. Vertical libraries don't work very well and the new French facility has not one but four towers. Dozens of steps must be climbed to reach a common area for the towers, but if you wish to enter you must travel back down another set of stairs to gain access. The towers are made of glass. If there is anything that will guaranty the destruction of books it is sunlight. The French facility was a political project that just happened to involve books. Built as yet another architectural monument to a former president it fails from the selection of the location right through to its layout and high tech book management system that has even locked employees out of the building. A recent novel by W. G. Sebald, "Austerlitz", took the time to harpoon this facility in great detail.

The story of a new library in Alexandria, which is scheduled to open soon, is quite sad. Once the site of one of if not the greatest library in history, the new facility is wonderful but it lacks a key ingredient, books. This may sound like sarcasm but the massive core catalogue that any good library needs much less a great library can no longer be assembled. There are very finite numbers of classical rare books, and other facilities are not about to give them up.

Libraries are also critical to the success of any college or university. The author spends a good deal of time discussing the top collegiate libraries in the nation, the difficulties they face with their expanding stock, and how they deal with it. Mr. Basbanes also highlights an insidious political practice as well. UCLA was offered a 1 million dollar grant from the Turkish Government to establish a chair in Ottoman Studies, but it came with the following prohibition, no scholars would be given access to any material, "that might document the Armenian Massacres of 1915". After having taken a quarter of a million dollars from the Turkish Government UCLA was bombarded with protests and the money was returned. In Turkey education and History may be artificially and selectively constructed and taught, but in this instance at least a library in The United States took the correct path. That it had to be pushed by protests is unfortunate but not as unfortunate as the US Congress that dropped a resolution in the fall of 2000 at the request of a lame-duck president not to pass a resolution condemning Turkey for Genocide in 1915. This is not the only example of gifts with strings attached, but when compared to a string that requests a library be named after the donor of funds, it certainly is the most repugnant.

This book will take you around the world to libraries that have functioned for hundreds of years. You will visit monasteries whose collections are one of a kind and are literally irreplaceable. Mr. Basbanes also continues to introduce collectors of books as well as the creators of books from small presses staffed by true artisans. One of the book's highlights is the section dealing with the Pennyroyal Caxton Bible recently produced by the gifted Barry Moser. This work is the first completely illustrated Bible that has been produced for hundreds of years, and the story of its creation is remarkable.

Two volumes complete and one more yet to come. Mr. Basbanes has and continues to create a body of work that will become a standard not only for those who love books, but those who enjoy the history they represent and record.

This is an erudite account of various aspects of book collecting, its practitioners, and their collections. Basbanes covers in detail the histories of some of the greatest collections, and those of the individuals behind them. His thoroughly researched work also explores two collectors whose activities might be more accurately described by changing to "real" the "gentle" of the book's title. A piquant note is added by the fact that true to form one of these two wrote a pseudoanonymous review for Amazon.com but could not resist to reveal his identity by listing his address as "heaven", a take-off on his name "Haven". The author's many years of successful non-fiction writing for the media have resulted in gripping accounts; a must for anybody who shares his - and my - love for books.

Just finished. Five stars. I am trying to email the author to thank him. Anyone interested in books (which includes you) deserves to read this book. The chapter on Blumberg is especially illuminating.

It always seemed to me that my passion for books and the lenghts to which I would often go to satisfy it was not very distant from a mild form of madness. This wonderful book has showed me that, madness though it may be, it has been shared by many illustrious persons and is no reason for shame. My only quibble is a certain degree of envy thar rises up after reading about rich individuals who were able to indulge their preference much more munificently than I!