01815nam a2200289 a 4500001000800000005001700008008004100025010001600066019001300082020001500095020002200110035001700132035001200149040002300161050002000184082001700204100003400221245011000255250001200365260004000377300005100417504006400468520093000532650002101462650001701483984002501500221159319990608152044.0940812s1995 nyuaf b 001 0 eng  a 940339311 a11175248 a0805036539 a080504826X (pbk.) 9000011175248 92266892 aTOCbengcTOCdTOC 0aZ992b.B34 199500a002/.0752201 aBasbanes, Nicholas A.,d1943-12aA gentle madness :bbibliophiles, bibliomanes, and the eternal passion for books /cNicholas A. Basbanes. a1st ed. aNew York :bH. Holt and Co.,c1995. axvi, 638 p., 32 p. of plates :bill. ;c24 cm. aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 575-612) and index. aThe passion to possess books has never been more widespread than it is today; indeed, obsessive book collecting remains the only hobby to have a disease named after it. A Gentle Madness is an adventure among the afflicted. Author Nicholas Basbanes, a dedicated bibliophile himself, begins his book 2,200 years ago in Alexandria, when a commitment was made to gather all the world's knowledge beneath one roof. In a series of lively chapters, the continuum then passes through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance to the twentieth century with a special emphasis on book lore and book culture in Great Britain and North America. In the second half of A Gentle Madness, Basbanes offers a gallery of revealing profiles of living collectors and presents exclusive examinations of the great contemporary stories. The book also includes the most comprehensive bibliography on book collecting compiled in more than a quarter century. 0aBook collecting. 0aBibliomania. aANLcYY 002.075 B297