Customer Reviews

Old Books, Rare Friends: Two Literary Sleuths and Their Shared Passion

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Given to me as a birthday present on a misty Northwest beach,the whimsical allure of these charmingly self-possessed women residingin one of the toughest cities in the world, drew me into its first pages even as the rest of my party sat around on logs, barbecuing fine local viands & feeding the camp dogs. From their student years, surviving the Depression & WWII; to studying & getting published through the exciting times of starting a company & their book-hunting jaunts to musty basements in faraway places this is a lively, lovely duet by two voices weaving a deeply evocative memoir...

For everyone loving books, history and detectives this book is a great pleasure to read. With great enthusiasm Leona & Madeleine write about their lives and the books which they bought and sold. It makes one jealous of times when rare books could still be found under piles of dust instead of being sold for fortunes. So stop reading the reviews and start reading this book now.

I didn't expect to be so enthralled by this fast moving and engrossing joint autobiography by original thinkers and literary sleuths/feminists who were drawn together by a devotion to literature, the printed word, and a thirst for adventure.

I expected to be interested, and was rewarded with a page turner that I was reluctant to put down. The dedication with which the authors pursued lost works of the printers' art, and unravelled conundrums of history make marvellous reading.

If you love literature, as I suspect most Amazon book customers do, than you'll enjoy this most unusual duo.

Sometimes I will fall in love with an author's life as perceived through her books, and read all of her works for other glimpses into her private paradise. Authors such as Will and Ariel Durant, Edwin Way Teale, Stephen Jay Gould, and Oliver Sacks have shared their curiosity, astonishment, and joy with me. These authors are endlessly inquisitive. Each new discovery in their world, whether it is a fern, a skull, or an anecdote about a long-dead king is greeted with joy and eagerly shared with the reader.

Now in the dusty corner of bibliomania, I have found two more authors who are willing to share their joy of discovery with me. They even have a name for it: 'Finger-Spitzengefühl'--"the electrifying alertness to what is unusual or important in an early printed book. When 'Finger-Spitzengefühl' is coupled with serendipity, the gates of paradise open for the dealer in old and rare [books]."

Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern share their "thrill of the chase and the joy of the find," as well as a seven-decade-long partnership in life--"the partnership of 'Faithful Friends' who share 'a deep, deep love.'"

I have to admit I had trouble getting into this book. I read some of the earlier pages six or seven times because I kept falling asleep and losing my place. However, once the authors were out of childhood recollections and into the chase--first of all for the works that Louisa May Alcott had published under a pseudonym--then I was hooked.

These authors have illuminated many once-obscure corners of history through their curiosity and devotion. They deplore collectors who pursue rare books as an investment, much as I would deplore a physician who is in practice 'only for the money.' Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern have devoted their lives to the search for the old and rare, and their love, curiosity, and wisdom show through on almost every page of this book.

The two elderly women, who are pictured on the book jacket of Old Books, Rare Friends, are both prolific writers who have also been active in the antiquarian book trade for fifty years. They are true friends, who grew to love and respect each other as they grew in their knowledge of old books and in their abilities to find them. They wrote this book together, but retained their separate identities by each writing her own story until their stories became the same. Thus we get Leona's history from childhood until her dramatic failure to win her Doctorate from Columbia, and Mady's story through her Masters degree and first biography of the early feminist, Margaret Fuller. p At this point, the two have met and realize that they share a love of books and a lack of interest in marriage, although both have been courted by many. They are both devoted to their families, but Mady gives Leona the necessary nudge that forces her to hang out her "shingle" as "Leona Rostenberg-Rare Books". Both women show a rare independence of spirit and interest and because they each write with verve and enthusiasm, all this personal history reads like a good novel. p Now the business is launched and the rest of the book is happily spent recounting their sleuthing adventures in old book stores in Europe and American, founding and enjoying the American Association of Antiquarian Booksellers and generally having a wonderful time supplying books to universities and collectors. They make is sound very easy to find a sixteenth century book that no one recognizes, buy it for $2.90 and then sell their find for $900 and be praised for the effort. Of course it is not simple and their knowledge of history as well as books is impressive . This is a book that any reader or collector of modern or antiquarian books will relish.

Those who love books and the history of the written word have benefitted from these devoted "literary sleuths" who not only devoted themselves to located lost treasures, but who pioneered the rights of women in academe. A story of how devotede friends could pool their talents to rescue lost arts and discover the literary secrets of groundbreaking authors. A suprisingly exciting read.

For those of us who lust after books about books, as well as the history of successful booksellers, this book is one of the best. "Old Books, Rare Friends" details the struggles and triumps of two of the most famous women in bookselling during the twentieth century. They include lots of stories about tracking those elusive hidden gems overlooked by other more successful book dealers. They also describe each woman's scholarly adventures, successes and failures. I read this when it was first published, but wanted to own it so I could re-read it from time to time. If you love books you can't go wrong with Madeleine and Leona's story.

This book was recommended to me by a friend. At first, I read a chapter and put it down; though it was interesting, I was quite busy on other books, work and life in general. When I finally picked it up again, a couple of months later, I set aside time, prioritizing, this book.
I hardly had to prioritize though, as it ended up being a full day, 8+ hours of immersion while on my back patio. The book takes you through two women with different lives and yet similar passions for knowledge, history and culture, and shares the progression of them weaving their background and present into their future.
Their positive attitude is present in spite of challenges, which I believe is what brings them from existing in life to complete living in life.
A treasure that you won't want to put down, you may feel compelled to ration yourself a chapter or pages a day to not feel the let down at the end of the book; however, you may find yourself in spite, devouring it in a day as I did.
Rest assure, I am purchasing this book for all of my closest friends as the story is not only illuminating but inspiring as well.
You feel their passions; how often does that happen in any of life?
You are doing yourself a disservice to not drink this memoir ala' couple in...

Although I envy these wonderful women and think it is great they were given an opportunity to tell there unique story, it was not balanced. Book dealing the over covered and their incredible friendship was just barely shared. The power of one "true" friend is something I would have enjoyed reading about.