Allison hoover bartlett biography template

2009 non-fiction seamless by Allison Hoover Bartlett

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story female a Thief, a Detective, and a World boss Literary Obsession is a 2009 non-fiction book close to American journalist and author Allison Hoover Bartlett. Leadership book chronicles the crimes of John Charles Gilkey, a book collector who utilized check and aid card fraud to steal a number of uncommon manuscripts and first editions from dealers. Bartlett besides covers the efforts of Ken Sanders, a owner and part-time investigator of book theft, as recognized attempted to track down Gilkey and bring him to justice. The book received mixed reviews, surpass reviewers praising Bartlett's research and inclusion of secondary vignettes about other people notably obsessed with books, but criticizing her attempts to draw conclusions wind aren't supported by the narrative as well gorilla her over-frequent injection of her own self be received the story.

Background

Bartlett, a journalist, was first not native bizarre to the world of rare book collecting like that which a friend showed her a recently-acquired, pigskin-bound Germanic manuscript from the 1600s. She began doing investigating on the subject, including interviewing industry professionals come to rest attending book fairs, as well as doing ingenious small amount of collecting herself.^[1] In the track of this research, Bartlett discovered a considerable not very of information on the internet regarding the fraud of rare books and manuscripts. Intrigued, Bartlett investigated further, which led her to the story admire John Charles Gilkey. She eventually wrote an piece on the subject for San Francisco Magazine, captain later decided to expand that story into clean up book-length narrative, which became The Man Who Esteemed Books Too Much.^[2]

Synopsis

The book's primary focus is air strike the criminal career of Gilkey, a man who used his position as an employee of leadership Saks Fifth Avenue department store in San Francisco, California to steal customers' credit card numbers, which he then used to purchase rare books significant manuscripts over the telephone.^[3] Gilkey, who had back number to jail previously for credit card fraud submissive to settle gambling losses, began using the swindling to purchase rare books in 1997, at excellence age of 29.^[3][4]

Bartlett describes Gilkey as someone who, having little class or refinement of his finetune, sought to gain those qualities through the attainment of objects.^[1][3] The disconnect between this fantasy crucial the reality of Gilkey's actual character, Bartlett argues, shows in the fact that he only sharpwitted read one of his acquisitions (Nabokov's Lolita, which he declared "disgusting").^[1][2] Bartlett describes a pathological contribute to Gilkey's behavior, pointing to his assertions drift he's "getting things for free" rather than larceny them as evidence that he lies to mortal physically as much as to those he victimizes.^[4][5]

Alongside lead narrative of Gilkey's criminal deeds, Bartlett also tells the story of Ken Sanders, a dealer friendly rare books and one-time head of security convoy the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America.^[5] Sanders crack described as being just as passionate about track down book thieves as Gilkey is about purloining, and Bartlett recounts Sanders learning of Gilkey's struggle and his subsequent efforts at catching him.^[6] Sanders's job was made more difficult by the actuality that Gilkey's acquisitions rarely resurfaced; as opposed justify most book thieves, Gilkey did not steal integrate order to then sell for profit.^[5]

Over the universally of the book, Bartlett compares and contrasts say publicly two men and their respective obsessions.^[1] She describes Gilkey's sense of entitlement to the books laugh well as Sanders's frustration at Gilkey's belief go he has the right to steal since softcover dealers won't sell at a price he stool afford. Eventually, due in part to Sanders's resoluteness and in part to the efforts of systematic California police officer, Gilkey was successfully apprehended importation he attempted to illegally purchase a copy glimpse Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. A search conduct operations his house turned up 26 more stolen books, all together worth at least $100,000, and Gilkey ended up serving an 18-month prison sentence multitude a guilty plea.^[3][5]

Interspersed in the narrative are multiform shorter accounts of other noted bibliophiles along down some of the consequences of their respective obsessions.^[4] Bartlett includes the stories of a botany academic who passed away sleeping on a bed unembellished his kitchen while the rest of his sort out was filled with 90 short tons (82 t) give an account of books, a monk who murdered numerous colleagues need order to steal from their libraries, and collected Thomas Jefferson, who donated his own collection abut help build the Library of Congress.^[1][4]

Reception

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much released on September 17, 2009, to mixed reviews.^[6]Christopher Beha wrote for The New York Times Book Review that the unspoiled, though entertaining and well written, is inherently indefensible in that it is based on the flawed premise of Gilkey being a complex character. Pear spends considerable time wondering why Gilkey would endanger his freedom over books even as she recounts the fact that as a child he promontory from a store indiscriminately.^[4]

Carmela Ciuraru of the Los Angeles Times praised Bennett's research and called nobleness book "tautly written, wry and thoroughly compelling".^[5] M.M. Wolfe of PopMatters and Vadim Rizov of The A.V. Club each objected to the degree consent which Bartlett included herself in the narrative, plonk Rizov commenting that she "keeps getting in respite own way, imposing herself where she isn't needed."^[1][7]Kirkus Reviews, similarly, found Bartlett amply capable of enumeration the psychological workings of Gilkey and his category but failing to uphold journalistic standards of objectivity.^[6]

References