Patience & fortitude : wherein a colorful cast of determined book collectors, dealers, and librarians go about the quixotic task of preserving a legacy / Nicholas A. Basbanes.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Basbanes, Nicholas A., 1943-

Contributor:

Gotham Book Mart Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Books--History.

Books.

History.

Books and reading--History.

Books and reading.

Book collecting--History.

Book collecting.

Libraries--History.

Libraries.

Genre:

History.

Penn Provenance:

Gotham Book Mart (former owner) (Gotham Book Mart Collection copy)

Physical Description:

xviii, 636 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 23 cm

Edition:

First Perennial edition.

Other Title:

Patience and fortitude

Place of Publication:

New York : Perennial, 2003.

Summary:

In his national bestseller, A Gentle Madness, Nicholas Basbanes explored the sweet obsession people feel to possess books. Now, Basbanes continues his adventures among the "gently mad" on an irresistible journey to the great libraries of the past -- from Alexandria to Glastonbury -- and to contemporary collections at the Vatican, Wolfenbuttel, and erudite universities. Along the way, he drops in on eccentric book dealers and regales us with stories about unforgettable collectors, such as the gentleman who bought a rare book in 1939 "by selling bottles of his own blood." Taking the book's grand title from the marble lions guarding the New York Public Library at 42nd Street, Basbanes both entertains and delights. And once again, as Scott Turow aptly noted, "Basbanes makes you love books, the collections he writes about, and the volume in your hand."

Contents:

Part 1 Overture

1. Eternal Life 13

2. Godspeed 71

Part 2 Book People

3. Madness Redux 141

4. Splendid Anachronisms 180

5. Profiles in Bibliophagia 219

6. Hunters and Gatherers 262

7. Many Years 326

Part 3 Book Places

8. The People's Palace 351

9. Once and Future Library 386

10. In the Stacks 425

11. Deep Sleep 475

12. As in a Vial 506.

Notes:

Originally published: New York : HarperCollins, 2001, subtitle: a roving chronicle of book people, book places, and book culture.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 590-602) and index.

ISBN:

0060514469

9780060514464

OCLC:

52112640