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The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession Paperback – October 5, 2010

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Allison Hoover Bartlett (Author)
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Allison Hoover Bartlett (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars 183 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Riverhead Books; Reprint edition (October 5, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1594484813
  • ISBN-13: 978-1594484810
  • Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (183 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,506 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsBook lovers, beware.
By Sam Sattler on August 25, 2009
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
Despite its title, "The Man Who Loved Books Too Much" is not a book about some especially avid reader who becomes so obsessed with reading that he allows it to take over the rest of his life. One only has to read the book's subtitle, "The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession," to learn that "the man" in question had a much different problem.

That John Gilkey is an obsessed book collector is beyond question. Gilkey's gnawing desire to own rare books, however, does not make him unique - or even uncommon. People collect a variety of objects for a variety of reasons and many of them do become obsessed with the chase and the displaying of their "trophies." What makes Gilkey unusual enough to have a book written about him is that he entirely satisfies his urge to own rare books by stealing them. Price is no object for a man who never intends to pay for the books he adds to his personal library.

"In The Man Who Loved Books Too Much," Allison Hoover Bartlett combines Gilkey's story with that of the man who became obsessed with stopping his thefts, rare book dealer Ken Sanders. Against all odds, she was able to befriend both men to such a degree that she was able to gain insight into what motivated each of them - one to steal books and the other to spend countless hours trying to stop him.

Bartlett spent a great deal of time getting to know John Gilkey. She visited him in jail when he was serving time for stealing expensive items from rare book dealers; she interviewed him extensively while he was a free man; and she visited his mother's home where she was allowed to see some of the books being kept for him there.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsA Rare Look at the World of Rare Books
By Jean Leinhauser VINE VOICE on July 22, 2009
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
Take a peek at the inside world of rare book dealers and the bibliophiles who covet their wares -- but not enough to pay for them. This is shoplifting taken to its highest level, second only to jewel thieves. Lust for a
$5,000 volume? Just slip it under your coat and walk calmly off with it at a big show. Meet some of the dealers and how they defend their merchandise and run down the culprits who make off with the big-buck items. Get to know one of the master book thieves who has dreams of building a prestigious library that will be the envy of all. The often-arrested John Charles Gilkey, abetted in later years by his father, fees an entitlement that is hard to understand. If he wants something -- in his case, a book -- he feels life owes it to him. Despite getting caught and jailed numerous times, he keeps his dreams and keeps on stealing.

This book gives insight into a little-known aspect of the book world, and if you love books for the sake of books, you'll enjoy the author's interviews with book people at the top -- and feeding at the bottom -- of
their world.
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5.0 out of 5 starsPassion Overshadows Reason - Compelling Page Turner
By M. Hill TOP 100 REVIEWER on August 13, 2009
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
Collectors are my business. My clients aren't book collectors, but the objects aren't important, it's the common thread of collecting and the level of interest/passion involved. In my work I have had customers who enjoyed their hobby but kept it in perspective. They didn't let it negatively affect the rest of their lives, but I've also had clients that consumed macaroni and cheese all month long so they could afford a particular treasure. One pair of clients (they collected together) phoned on the way to the airport leaving for their honeymoon. The gift money they'd just received would pay for a treasure they'd been eyeing. For some people collecting is their life, and the rarer the treasures they possess, in their mind, defines how important and special they are. As passion for the hobby grew so did the crimes at shows I'd attend. Theft became common and more and more security guards were hired to inspect packages and watch the entrances and exits.

This book is a compelling narrative of the world of collecting and the passionate individuals who reside in it. It illustrates how the line between desperately wanting something can evolve into theft because the need and distorted importance of the collection overshadows right and wrong. It is a true crime, cat and mouse game where the end result, as is often the case in the real world, doesn't neatly resolve everything.

Whether the reader is a collector or has never for a moment cared about searching for old treasures, the book does what good books should always do -- permit immersion into another's world. The book does this beautifully and makes this the perfect gift for a sick friend, an avid reader, a book lover or a collector.
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2.0 out of 5 starsFun story- nimrod author.
By Bad Futhermucker on November 12, 2009
Format: Hardcover
I'm enjoying this read, but finding myself annoyed by the author's naivete. She goes around with her subject to a the scene of one of his crimes, and then is dismayed to find herself becoming part of the story. She wonders about his motives, but never seeks the insight of a criminologist or a psychologist. She seems totally unaware that the criminal whose misdeeds she sanctions through her fawning, nonjudgemental curiosity is using her to justify his actions, both to himself and to the world. The pretty blonde finds him fascinating- how could this not stoke his ego, and reassure him that he's in the right?
In all, though I don't like to wish ill on anyone, I can't help thinking that her attitude would change if someone robbed her house- perhaps stole the only copy of her next book just before it went to the publisher- or picked her car clean off the street, never to be seen again. Her tone of amoral equivocation swoops nauseatingly close to that of the crook she's profiling, and essentially ignores the damage and violence he does to the hard work, to the dreams and passions, of others. In her drive to "get" his story- and, we may posit, to sell books and to aggrandize herself- she tacitly condones his destructive behavior. A closer knowledge of the empty feeling of the violated might make her less surprised at the anger his victims still express years after the fact.
But frankly, I doubt it. She's a grown woman with college-aged children and should know better. I will studiously avoid her "work" in future, and recommend that you, gentle reader, do the same. In the end, she proves to be no better a person than the criminal she's profiling, and I feel like a sucker for having thought better of her than that.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsAn interesting blend of a non-fiction tell-all and a detective ...

An interesting blend of a non-fiction tell-all and a detective novel. Curious and maddening, heartwarming and gut wrenching for those who adore books.

Published 2 months ago by Lowly Peon
1.0 out of 5 starsthe mechanics of good story-telling, human beings

I'll get right to the point: if you know something about, or are interested in, any of the following things -- the antiquarian and rare book trade, the mechanics of good... Read more

Published 3 months ago by jonny17
5.0 out of 5 starsSuper interesting!

A real page turner! A learned a lot about the book industry as well. Super interesting!

Published 4 months ago by #redhead.with.book
4.0 out of 5 starsEntertaining read

What Bartlett does here has been done elsewhere and to good effect. If you're not familiar with the pathological thieving niche of the book world, though, Bartlett's is a fun and... Read more

Published 10 months ago by Librum
1.0 out of 5 starsI found this book to be a waste of time

What blah characters. I found this book to be a waste of time.

Published 10 months ago by Daphne1
5.0 out of 5 starsCalling All Book Lovers!

This is a book that I picked up somewhere, either a used book store or a library sale---I can't remember. Read more

Published 11 months ago by prairie woman
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Gift

Published 14 months ago by Mary Ann Randall
5.0 out of 5 starsDrew me into 'Books'

I read this book non-stop, as the main character, the thief, has such a bizarre personality. It shows through all the interviews, which are thoroughly recounted. Read more

Published 14 months ago by Bonnie Zacharias
1.0 out of 5 starsAudio book version - an awful narrator makes a marginal book even...

The dreary narrator of the audio book version is by far the worst narrator I've ever heard on an audio book. Read more

Published 14 months ago by R. Gale
4.0 out of 5 starsAn introduction to the rare-book market...and an invitation to...

I had never heard of this man or his book thefts, but as an avid reader (dare I say hoarder?) of books, the title alone was enough to catch my eye. Read more

Published 15 months ago by K. Cuthbertson

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