This is not a major treatise on books and their history. Mr. Basbanes has written a book that is a guide, a cautionary tale, and has seeded the work with enough fascinating discoveries to make the read pleasurable whether you collect or you do not. Unlike the writing duo to which I refer and the rubbish they have offered prospective collectors, he has the experience and credentials to help a new collector begin intelligently, and he shares and even celebrates the inventiveness and ingenuity of persons who have created collections that no one before had ever thought of.

He shares stories that include a doctor who has begun to document the history of HIV, an issue that has become a defining event for our world. Another traces a woman who collected all manner of implements used in teaching in the 19th Century. There are the collections of comic books and graphic novels, the collection and now library of Yiddish Literature, and even that of postcards that Mr. Basbanes became a collector of one snowy night without any plan to do so.

Everyone has bits and pieces of life experience that can provide a niche for assembling information on a topic that interests them. And this is one of the most important points the author makes, no matter what you have heard everything worth collecting has not been collected, and further there are countless types of collections yet to be conceived.

I used the phrase cautionary tale and that is perhaps a bit strident, but the author does repeatedly remind prospective collectors to collect what you enjoy, and do not collect with an eye only to a profit. In fact if that latter is your goal, you would be well advised not to collect at all.

And finally he offers a section at the end of his book that lists resources for collectors at all levels, be they traditional or found in the new online world. And again it is the latter readers would be well advised to take seriously what he shares. The internet is an incredible tool, and Mr. Basbanes will suggest even the best search engine for you. But at the same time the internet removes the dealer from the buyer and by doing so magnifies all the traditional missteps a collector can make, and opens the online collector to a host of other perils if they are not careful.

A great read and a wonderful resource. Finally, a bit of writing to hold those of us who are waiting for his third installment about those of us who are gently mad, and thrilled to be so.