A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books - New 1999 Preface By the Author

New York: Henry Holt and Company - An Owl Book, 1999. Seventh Printing . Trade Paperback. Near Fine. 6" x 9. Szafrankshi, Paula - Design. 638 Pages Indexed. First published in hardback in 1995 and the First Owl Books Edition was published in 1999. This is the seventh printing. There is a tiny black spot on the top page edges. No other marks of any sort. A tight square, very thick book. Very light concave spine. Barely noticeable. Interior text and illustration pages are bright, tight, and white. There are two center sections of black and white glossy photographs total 28 pages with multiple photos per page. The 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, finalist for the 1995 National Book Critics Circle award, is an adventure among the afflicted. Richly anecdotal and fully documented, it combines the perspective of historical research with the immediacy of investigative journalism. Above all, it is a celebration of books and the people who have revered, gathered, and preserved them over the centuries.