I read Pottle's book about the Boswell Papers found at Malahide Castle and at Fettercairn first and rated it as excellent. If I had read Buchanan's book first, I might have been disappointed with Pottle's book. Pottle's book is written from a scholarly point of view. Buchanan's book is written from a legal point of view, but Buchanan makes all the legalese interesting. Buchanan supports his story with a zillion footnotes, while Pottle could have used about a hundred more.

A few thoughts about the people who helped or hindered the publication of the Boswell papers - mostly gleaned from Buchanan's book:
Isham definitely deserves the lion's share of the credit for persevering in his quest to obtain all the Boswell Papers.
But Lady Talbot deserves much of the credit as well. She had every right to find another buyer after Isham decided to include her heavily censored portions of the manuscripts in the publication of the early volumes of the Boswell Papers.
Then too, James H. Van Alen deserves more of the credit than he has been given. His patient financial backing to the tune of over $200,000 enabled Isham to continue on his quest of the Boswell Papers.
Then there is R.W. Chapman, the villain of Operation Hush. For five years, Chapman withheld from Isham and Pottle his knowledge that Claude Colleer Abbott discovered additional Boswell Papers at Fettercain. Worse, Chapman allowed his friend L.F. Powell to proceed with his revision of G.B. Hill's edition of the Life of SJ, knowing full well that the Fettercairn Papers were vital to Powell's book. But worst is that in 1932, Chapman published an article on the Boswell Papers, hiding the fact that additional papers existed.
See Pottle's Pride and Negligence: The History of the Boswell Papers. ( )