|  | Author: Allison Hoover Bartlett
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
List Price: $24.95
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Rating:  88 reviews
Sales Rank: 18450
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
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
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Showing reviews 21-25 of 88
 Lost opportunity for a good story December 28, 2009
Sara F
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book is like going to a party and listening to a compelling adventure told by an inept storyteller. You know there's something interesting in there but the author just doesn't bring it out. She's fascinated by the wrong parts of the story. If I were her editor I'd have asked for extrapolation on every part she truncates and judicious deleting where she finds the story interesting. Further, she keeps teasing the reader that she was only trying to write a story, until she became intractably involved in the story. Except that she didn't. Other than knowing where the creepy little petty thief kept his stash --at his mom's house, surprise, surprise--nothing really involves the author to the point of getting her in trouble. She's not even called by the courts as a witness, so big deal. And the worst thing is **spoiler alert** the book just ends. There's no conclusion in the narrative, simply a "I never heard from John again and here are my thoughts on that".
On the positive side, there were many interesting anectdotes about OTHER book collectors throughout history who had nothing to do with this story. Whenever the story turned back to John Gilkey, it was just sordid, dreary and dull.
 Loved it ... December 28, 2009
P. Meltzer (Wynnewood, PA USA)
I really enjoyed this book and read it in 2 days. I wanted to respond though to the three main themes put forth by those who reviewed the book negatively. One common complaint was that the author inserted herself too much into the story. There is no doubt that she did make herself a part of the story and ever more so as the book went on. So to that extent, the charge is true. However, this did not bother me at all. I thought that the moral (and possibly legal) dilemmas she found herself faced with were interesting and I see no great crime when the author is, or becomes, part of the story, if that is part of the natural flow of events, which it was in this case.
The second criticism is that the "protagonist"--Gilkey--was merely a two-bit thief who was not inherently all that interesting. Here again, I think that there is some truth to the charge. However, I think that, whether he was actually interesting or not, she made him so (and in so doing made the read compelling), which to me is simply evidence of her skills as a writer. So this criticism didn't bother me either.
The final one is that, by not turning him in, given her knowledge, she may have been committing some ethical crimes herself. Again, there may be some truth to this one as well. First however, that has no effect on whether the book was enjoyable to read or not (and it was). Second, she is after all a journalist and not a detective or law enforcement officer. If a professional photographer sees someone being wounded in battle, should they not take the photo and tend to that person instead? Third, the fact is that he was repeatedly arrested and put in jail anyway. So the "system" was aware of what he was up to. She obviously can't control the length of his sentences, and if the justice system felt his crimes were serious enough, it could have imposed longer sentences. Finally, she indicated that she wanted to try and find out where the unrecovered stolen books were hidden--which sounds reasonable to me.
Anyway, I really liked the book.
Not Particularly Compelling December 25, 2009
Kenneth Goldstein (Seattle, WA USA)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Being an avid reader and book collector I picked this up with some interest, but found myself disappointed on many levels. The two main characters aren't particularly intersting (the thief is a non-entity with an overgrown sense of entitlement and no thoughts of other human beings), the crimes and the tracking down of the thief aren't interesting at all, and the author conducts herself with a sense of fear and trepidation as if she were following murderous druglords as opposed to a loser who uses stolen credit card numbers to steal first editions. I grew tired of everybody involved long before the end.
a book about books December 25, 2009
Don Kochi (los angeles CA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
there is something appealing about a book about books. having once worked part-time in an used bookstore (in LA CALIF) i've dealt, worked with and met several breeds of bibliomanics, book collectors, book dealers, owners of used bookstores (verifiable dinosaurs), those with fetishes for certain 'types' of books, etc. so the textual collecting milieu was quite familiar to me. additionally, the southern california landscape of book shops, book dealers, antiquarian book shows, etc were all within my realm of first-hand experience and did ring true. however the central object of this work, i.e, 'the man who loved books too much' is nothing more than a self-delusional, ego-centric petty thief....so why did the author bother lending this pathetic loser good ink by quoting his pointless ranting self-justifications? it was a constant theme within the text...once would have really been sufficient. furthermore the author should have had the good taste to take herself out of the narrative. the reader is unmercifully subjected to her incessant nagging conscience and questioning morality about a 'borrowed' antique book...then barrages the reader again by her own world-view on the sheer materialism of book collecting. by this, the author elevates herself by mentioning (time and time again) the sentimental family value she attaches to certain books (from her childhood-handed down to daughter) rather than concerning herself with the base monetary worth of a collectible edition. okay, okay...we get the preachy drift she's NOT a book collector per se and morally superior to any gross materialism you or i might engage in....but do we really care?. what little interest i had (reading) was sparked by her research into the prodigious and prolific book thieves of history. unfortunately this potentially engaging historical thread was not further explored or expanded by her. the reader would be better served by other 'books about books' such as BOOK ROW, GENTLE MADNESS, etc. also there is a witty and grabbing autobiography by a former professional book buyer....the title of which (alas) escapes me at this moment (she starts off as a young book clerk in the fabled B. DALTON BOOKSELLERS on hollywood blvd., her evolution and development as a book buyer, her multi-experiences in the book business, all the wonderful and eccentric characters she've worked with and met throughout the years, etc......a very worthwhile memoir).
 She's not a book lover December 22, 2009
A. Mullen (United States)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
The author is obviously a journalist, not a book lover. She seems indifferent to the plight of book dealers and libraries victimized by this thief. By the way, did she ever return the Krautterbuch to the library from which it was obviously stolen? Or is she happy with the deception of "the borrower of a book of indeterminate provenance? Is book theft OK if you can get away with it, or simply rationalize it? Sounds like Gilkey!
Showing reviews 21-25 of 88
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