Saturday, October 10, 2009

THE MAN WHO LOVED BOOKS TOO MUCH : THE TRUE STORY OF A THIEF, A DETECTIVE, AND A WORLD OF LITERARY OBSESSION
by Allison Hoover Bartlett

When it comes to the realm of books, passions can run very deeply. The bibliophiles, among us, love books, read them, voraciously, and share their wealth with other devotees.
Bibliomaniacs are obsessed with collecting rare tomes and will stop at nothing in acquiring them.
John Gilkey is one of these. An unrepentant thief, he stole a fortune in antiquarian books around the country and hoarded them away.
Ken Sanders, an obsessive collector, himself, strove to catch Gilkey. He set up a stolen-book database for dealers all over the world. Acting as a persistent sleuth eventually paid off.
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much is fun to read. Allison Bartlett delves into historical figures who collected books, sellers at book fairs, the method that Gilkey used to commit his crimes, and why he did it in the first place.
Suspenseful, humorous and just plain delightful.
Recommended.

Monday, October 5, 2009

HARRY TRUMAN'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE : THE TRUE STORY OF A GREAT AMERICAN ROAD TRIP
by Matthew Algeo

Six months after Harry Truman left the office of the presidency, he and his wife, Bess, decided to take a road trip. Harry bought a Chrysler New Yorker that had all of the latest gadgets. (He loved cars.) But, it had been eight years since he had been behind the wheel of one, so he needed a refresher course learning how to use power brakes and power steering.
They set off, on June 19, 1953. No press. No Secret Service. Just the two of them, traveling for three weeks, alone, hoping to be incognito.
Author Matthew Algeo meticulously details every place the Trumans went and he himself takes the same route, stays at the same hotels and eats at the same restaurants.
Trivia abounds in this book, such as: the origin of the first "mo-tel" in the world; who designed the Holiday Inn and how Irving Berlin was involved; why the Waldorf=Astoria was written with an equal sign, etc.
You will find historical information about presidents, the highway system, the automobile industry and so much more.
A tremendous read. Not to be missed.
Highly recommended.