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The Adventures of a Treasure Hunter: A Rare Bookman in Search of American History

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Stories from the bookworld of yesteryear! If you liked John Dunning's BOOKED TO DIE, the whodunnit of the bibliophile world, if you like selling books on internet, or hunting out valuable & rare books for your own collection, you'll enjoy this one! Internet has altered the landscape, and time's they're always changin', but the heart of the hunt remains, at it's core, the same. Here a book-scout/dealer shares his insights, anecdotes, and tall-tales, to the delight of all of us bibliophile internet booksellers of the New Millenium! An extra bonus is that the writer is not only a knowledgeable bookman, but also a historical specialist in Americana - There's a little myth-debunking mixed into the recipe, to add a little flavor ala LIES MY TEACHER TOLD ME (by historian Loewen)! A classic that should be added to the Required Reading list for all new booksellers!

This book is an ode to an era as well as to an occupation. As it was written originally in the early 1950's it tells the stories of an age before you could look online to find rare books, back when a search might take months or years. Since this all takes place well before the Internet age much of the book talks about his dealings with the people as well as the books, and history.

This book isn't like most books of this genre where the book starts early in the author's life and ends near the publishing time. With over 60 years in the book business he's got too much to talk about, to waste time building up his life history. He pretty much gives a quick summary of his first transaction and from there lets his mind wander.

A marvelous book that ended all too soon for me.

I love books about books and book dealers. And after the glowing reader reviews here, I had to order this book. But I practically had to force myself to finish it.

It seems to be nothing more than a collection of unconnected war stories, most of them meant to show how much smarter Everitt was than the rest of humanity. It is very dated and his comments about minorities are jarring, even taking into consideration that he lived in a different time.

Everitt clearly prided himself on being a cantankerous old grouch and after 265 pages, frankly I was glad to be rid of him.

This is by far my favorite book about book collecting and bibliophiles!

Written like my crotchety Grandpa Tony used to tell me war stories over a pot of coffee, I was captivated by the "good old days" of book scouting/dealing when a person could knock on a door and ask if they had old books for sale. Everitt used this and many other tactics to find treasures that otherwise may have been lost to history.

Rather than a beginning to end story, it is a series of antic dotes in his buying and selling books, documents, and ephemera. Some of the treasures include an original pencil sketch of the Idaho state seal (that the State of Idaho was not interested in buying), Bay Psalm Book (first book published in North America), various Lincoln letters, and all types of obscure early Americana. As a person interested in Americana, the description of the countless treasures was half the joy and several of the items were added to my personal wish list.

The book is a collection of stories within three topical sections: Americana - What and So What, The Customers, and The Trade. The stories, however, do not have the expected beginning, middle and end. Rather, they are the kind of ramblings that I had come to expect from Grandpa Tony where he begins talking about Joe, throws a few adventures in the middle, and ends the story talking about Henry as if the story had been about Henry the whole time. Far from a negative, it keeps the reader on the edge of their seat and afraid to get up for a second or third cup of coffee for fear of missing something. In fact, you certainly will.