Download Free Audio A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books Books

A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books

Nicholas A. Basbanes

Hardcover | Pages: 638 pages

Rating: 4.05 | 2043 Users | 158 Reviews

Be Specific About Books Concering A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books

Original Title:	A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books
ISBN:	0805036539 (ISBN13: 9780805036534)
Edition Language:	English
Literary Awards:	Anthony Award Nominee for Best Critical Work (1996), National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee for General Nonfiction (1995)

Commentary To Books A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books

When it was first published, A Gentle Madness astounded and delighted readers with stories about the lengths of passion, expense, and more that collectors will go in pursuit of the book. Written before the emergence of the Internet but newly updated for the twenty-first century reader, A Gentle Madness captures that last moment in time when collectors frequented dusty bookshops, street stalls, and high-stakes auctions, conducting themselves with the subterfuge befitting a true bibliomaniac. A Gentle Madness is vividly anecdotal and thoroughly researched. Nicholas A. Basbanes brings an investigative reporter’s heart and instincts to the task of chronicling collectors past and present in pursuit of bibliomania. Now a classic of collecting, A Gentle Madness is a book lover’s delight.

Itemize Regarding Books A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books

Title	:	A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books
Author	:	Nicholas A. Basbanes
Book Format	:	Hardcover
Book Edition	:	First Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 638 pages
Published	:	August 15th 1995 by Henry Holt & Company (first published 1995)
Categories	:	Nonfiction. Writing. Books About Books. History

Rating Regarding Books A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books

Ratings: 4.05 From 2043 Users | 158 Reviews

Write-Up Regarding Books A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books

One of my very favorites. I own two copies and have given others to fellow bibliophiles. I'd say I too suffer from this Gentle Madness, but "suffer" is such the wrong word. There is so much pleasure in being mad for books. I'm also mad for book-lovers, what wonderfully interesting folk we are!

While writing his memoirs, the grandson of the seventeenth century bibliomaniac Isaiah Thomas euphemized that his grandfather suffered from the gentlest of infirmities. Taking this quotation as inspiration for the title is somewhat of a misnomer, however, as Basbanes book only partly concerns itself with bibliomania. Primarily, it is a fascinating survey of the history of book collecting. Basbane stylistically blends the erudition, research and paranoid self-qualification of historical

In his first book, Nicholas Basbanes (author of On Paper: the Everything of Its Two Thousand Year History) sets out to chronicle the history of a very particular obsession: that of book collecting, the only hobby to have a disease named after it. A Gentle Madness, finalist for the 1995 National Book Critics Circle award and a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, traces bibliophiles, bibliomanes, and the occasional biblioklept through the ages, and presents its tale in a series of

Highly recommended. Very well researched, well presented, full of information and very entertaining as well. Would make a good reference book, also.

A history of book collecting over the centuries, at 525+ pages (600+ pages including the bibliography and endnotes), this book is not for the faint of heart. I found it enlightening, but then I'm a book nerd who has become interested in book collecting in recent months. I guess I still love printed books better than digital copies. I started this book on my Nook, but couldn't get into it. I eventually bought a paperback copy and did make it all the way through. Actually glad I did.

This is the book to pick up if you feel guilty about having too many books: Basbanes tells of book collectors and their passion, describing the need to have many books and to keep them (and, occasionally, read them) as a psychological condition its sufferers have no need or desire to be cured of.More at my blog.

This is a favorite of mine. Basbanes has a wonderful and inviting way of describing the 'bibliophile' condition. All hardcore readers should read Basbanes' work. You'll learn so much!