Book Review 1/26: "The Man Who Love Books too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession" by Allison Hoover Bartlett

In an effort to put off reading "The Wind and the Willows" I decided to post my first book review for the aforementioned book.  (My other efforts to put off reading "The Wind and the Willows" included calling my parents to chat (who never called back - thanks, guys :), pulling out a 1,000 piece puzzle, taking a nap, and watching a movie with Tim.  It's been a productive day.)  So, in an effort to pretend like I'm back in school, here it goes!

Hoover Bartlett, Allison.  The Man Who Loved Books too Much: The Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession. (Riverhead Books: New York, 2009).

The Man Who Loved Books too Much, as the title suggests, follows the story of a man, John Gilkey, who steals rare books.  On the flip side, she author Allison Hoover Bartlett also follows rare book dealer and self-proclaimed detective, Ken Sanders, who is driven to catch Gilkey.

While the books is fascinating, the title seems a bit deceiving, as Bartlett mostly focuses on Gilkey - even "casing the joint" with him in the "name of research".  She portrays Gilkey as a self-centered bibliophile--a person who with a love of books who usually collects as well.  Gilkey justifies stealing rare books by stating that he is unable to afford them and therefore the world is denying him a pleasure that is out of reach for him, which is not fair. 

At the time of writing the book, Bartlett met with Gilkey many times--both when he was in jail and after his subsequent release--to which he gives her an inside scoop into his life.  Gilkey, she claims, is putting on a show, and she is the only member of the audience.  Because of this, Bartlett is given an inside look into his life of crime.  Bartlett is afraid of losing the story of Gilkey so rather than turning over information Gilkey passes on to her about his methods and items he claims to have stolen, Bartlett justifies keeping silent by claiming she is under no legal obligation.  She states that, after checking with lawyer friends, the statute of limitations has expired and there is no need to turn the story over to the police.  The rare book dealers would probably have something to say about this - and at one point, Ken Sanders tells Bartlett her methods are "disgusting", which is easy to believe.

Bartlett portrays Ken Sanders as obsessive about books (which seems a little obvious, given the title of the book) and as a little crazy.  She interviews Sanders mostly to get his perspective on how Gilkey ended up in jail, and that seems about the extent of her interaction with Sanders.  

While the book is interesting and an easy read, it is hard not to get frustrated with Bartlett.  In an effort to get the best possible story, she tends to justify her actions and claim that her actions constitute research.  She does not seem much better than Gilkey when, rather than telling him what he is doing is wrong, she goes along with him.  She does, closer to the end of the book, tell Gilkey that he is stealing from people who are in the business for a livelihood, but beyond that does put for much of an effort to try and stop him or at least warn the rare book dealers.  

Overall, The Man Who Loved Books too Much was well-researched and written, but could have focused more on the side of rare book dealers and Ken Sanders in an effort to write about what the title says the book is about.