A GENTLE MADNESS: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books - NICHOLAS BASBANES

National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist - The passion for acquiring and possessing books has existed as long as the art of book binding itself - from the hand-drawn calligraphy of the earliest illustrated tomes, down to the dime store, paperback passion novels; books have seized our imagination and launched our flights of fancy to other times and other worlds. Mr. Basbanes has opened a window into the world of 'high-finance' book acquisition and collecting which stirs even the most jaded of bibliophiles.