What a stupendous work of research and scholarship! A Gentle Madness is a dizzyingly erudite romp through the history of books and, most of all, book collecting. There is so much ground to cover that author Basbanes makes you breathless, and occasionally frustrated, at how quickly the ages and collectors parade across the page.

The second half of the book, which focuses on collectors of our day, can drag a bit despite the breakneck pace. Basbanes has gathered so much information he is sometimes seduced into providing a bit too much detail. But these are quibbles. A Gentle Madness is a masterful overview of bibliomania in all its incarnations and will be irresistible to anyone who loves books. ( )

book collecting ( )

ISBN 0805061762

A book of many interesting anecdotal stories of bibliophiles. While the individual stories are at turns funny, interesting, and poignant, readers looking for an analysis of bibliomania will have to look elsewhere, and any central thesis behind these stories wil have to be constructed by the reader. ( )

I enjoy all of Basbane's books but this one is my favorite. Anyone interested in books and/or book collecting will find this highly entertaining. ( )