The Man Who Loved Books Too Much

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much
by Allison Hoover Bartlett
Rating: ★★★★½
isbn: 9781594488917
Publication Date: January 1, 2009
Pages: 274
Genre: Books and Reading, Non-fiction
Publisher: Riverhead Books

Rare-book theft is even more widespread than fine-art theft. Most thieves, of course, steal for profit. John Charles Gilkey steals purely for the love of books. In an attempt to understand him better, journalist Allison Hoover Bartlett plunged herself into the world of book lust and discovered just how dangerous it can be.

Gilkey is an obsessed, unrepentant book thief who has stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of rare books from book fairs, stores, and libraries around the country. Ken Sanders is the self-appointed "bibliodick" (book dealer with a penchant for detective work) driven to catch him. Bartlett befriended both outlandish characters and found herself caught in the middle of efforts to recover hidden treasure.

With a mixture of suspense, insight, and humor, she has woven this entertaining cat-and-mouse chase into a narrative that not only reveals exactly how Gilkey pulled off his dirtiest crimes, where he stashed the loot, and how Sanders ultimately caught him but also explores the romance of books, the lure to collect them, and the temptation to steal them. Immersing the reader in a rich, wide world of literary obsession, Bartlett looks at the history of book passion, collection, and theft through the ages, to examine the craving that makes some people willing to stop at nothing to possess the books they love.

I’m not a fan of true crime books; I find any public attempt to ‘get into the mind’ of a criminal a distasteful glorification of abhorrent behaviour and I think criminals should rot in obscurity.

All of which makes my enjoyment of this book just prove what a hypocrite I am, although in my defence I didn’t realise when I bought it that it would be delving into the sociopath’s head – I thought it was more a documentation of the chase itself; how a ‘bibliodick’ investigated the stolen books and how the thief was apprehended.  You know, like a mystery!

It was very little of any of those things, since the thief in question was apprehended before Hoover Bartlett started researching the book and agreed to participate (the book started as an article for a San Francisco magazine).

The first half of the book was everything I hoped it would be, as Hoover Bartlett met with rare book dealers, went to book fairs, talked about book collecting and some of the lottery-like finds that have happened over the years.  She talked with the ‘bibliodick’, Ken Sanders, who talked about how he got sucked into chasing down the elusive man who’d stolen over 100k worth of books over three years and was getting away with it.  The first half of this book was purely fascinating.

The second half of the book was fascinating too – in a train wreck sort of way.  The second half of the book focuses on Hoover Bartlett’s attempt to figure out why the thief does what he does, and continues to do even after he’s been caught.  I loathe using a serial killer as a comparison – for obvious reasons – but this guy was, in every way except the crimes he committed, Ted Bundy:  clean cut, well spoken, charming, respectful, intelligent, with absolutely no conscience whatsoever.  He knew what he was doing was illegal, but didn’t think it was wrong – and he didn’t care either way.  His delusions were mind-boggling, and just when I thought he couldn’t possibly go there in the land of rationalisations, he’d go there.

I originally bought this book years ago in some half-hearted cautionary tale sort of way, when I was battling the stacks of books threatening to take over my house.  It wasn’t that kind of book, but still, it was one I couldn’t put down.  It was well written, Hoover Bartlett seemed she was being pretty transparent with the reader, and I genuinely enjoyed the parts about what it means to be a book collector.

But I still don’t like true crime books.