- Hardcover: 417 pages
- Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books (Dec 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0312317255
- ISBN-13: 978-0312317256
- Product Dimensions: 18.8 x 14.4 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,808,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
John Baxter grew up in rural Australia during the 1950s, and found that reading books was not highly regarded. Owning and collecting books was by no means a common pursuit then either, but this didn't stop John from developing a passion for books, and their ownership, which has grown through obsession into a major collection.
I don't completely share the obsession, but I love reading books about books. I enjoy finding out what books other bibliophiles value, and why. The connections between books, their authors and readers are interesting to read about as well.
In John Baxter's case, while his book hunting has taken him around the world, his first significant find was in London, in 1978, when he saw a copy of a rare children's book by Graham Greene (`The Little Horse Bus') with an asking price of 5pence. On the same day John met Martin Stone, one of the legends of the book-selling world, who became his mentor and friend. What makes this book memorable is the inside look into the various worlds of book collecting: the sometimes fascinating people involved in the trade (such as Martin Stone); distinguishing some of the many variables that make books collectible or not; and (of course) his contact with literary figures such as Graham Greene, Kingsley Amis and Ray Bradbury.
Along the way, John Baxter became a biographer (he has written biographies of George Lucas, Woody Allen, and Stanley Kubrick) and has written a number of other books about films and those who make them. It's interesting to read about how the boy from rural Australia ended up living in a Paris penthouse with a library worth millions. But the real fun, for me, was in the appendices: from the various lists that some collectors would like to fill (such as all of the winners of particular prizes); to which published book an individual would choose to grab from their shelves if their house was on fire; and finishing with some book collecting gems culled from eBay. My current favourite from the final category is:
`ALEX HALEY SINGED 1st ED. - `ROOTS' - HB w/DJ'
`Rarity can be created, but not value. That has to be achieved. It gathers on a book like the patina of a bronze, over decades of diligence and care.'
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
I don't completely share the obsession, but I love reading books about books. I enjoy finding out what books other bibliophiles value, and why. The connections between books, their authors and readers are interesting to read about as well.
In John Baxter's case, while his book hunting has taken him around the world, his first significant find was in London, in 1978, when he saw a copy of a rare children's book by Graham Greene (`The Little Horse Bus') with an asking price of 5pence. On the same day John met Martin Stone, one of the legends of the book-selling world, who became his mentor and friend. What makes this book memorable is the inside look into the various worlds of book collecting: the sometimes fascinating people involved in the trade (such as Martin Stone); distinguishing some of the many variables that make books collectible or not; and (of course) his contact with literary figures such as Graham Greene, Kingsley Amis and Ray Bradbury.
Along the way, John Baxter became a biographer (he has written biographies of George Lucas, Woody Allen, and Stanley Kubrick) and has written a number of other books about films and those who make them. It's interesting to read about how the boy from rural Australia ended up living in a Paris penthouse with a library worth millions. But the real fun, for me, was in the appendices: from the various lists that some collectors would like to fill (such as all of the winners of particular prizes); to which published book an individual would choose to grab from their shelves if their house was on fire; and finishing with some book collecting gems culled from eBay. My current favourite from the final category is:
`ALEX HALEY SINGED 1st ED. - `ROOTS' - HB w/DJ'
`Rarity can be created, but not value. That has to be achieved. It gathers on a book like the patina of a bronze, over decades of diligence and care.'
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
13 reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
A True Delight For Every Book Lover
4 Jan 2004
Format:Hardcover
This is a engaging, entertaining memoir by a true book lover. The leisurely, slightly discursive way in which John Baxter unfolds his life story led me into imagining I had struck up a conversation with him in a musty second-hand book shop; and found his story so entertaining that I invited him across the street to a dark, smoky pub to continue the tale over several tall pints of lager.
Baxter grew up in Australia, and has since called London, Los Angeles and Paris home. He's been a broadcaster, novelist, biographer and film critic. The one constant thread in this far-ranging life has been his love of books. As a young adult, he became obsessed with science fiction. While living in London, he stumbled on a rare copy of a Graham Greene children's book, which served as the basis for a Greene collection he spent several years building.
In this book, he celebrates some of the most memorable people he's encountered along the way, including book runner Martin Stone (A book runner makes his living, if you can call it that, by buying and reselling books from flea markets, thrift stores and the like); and several literary greats, including Kingsley Amis, Ray Bradbury and Harry Harrison. He also explores collectors of erotica, the difference between Paris and London bookshops, skewers the ignorance of many eBay sellers, and has a grand good time through it all. The closing scene, where he brings all the books he owns together in one place for the first time in his life, had a special resonance for me....it's something I dream of in my own life. For book lovers everywhere.--William C. Hall
Baxter grew up in Australia, and has since called London, Los Angeles and Paris home. He's been a broadcaster, novelist, biographer and film critic. The one constant thread in this far-ranging life has been his love of books. As a young adult, he became obsessed with science fiction. While living in London, he stumbled on a rare copy of a Graham Greene children's book, which served as the basis for a Greene collection he spent several years building.
In this book, he celebrates some of the most memorable people he's encountered along the way, including book runner Martin Stone (A book runner makes his living, if you can call it that, by buying and reselling books from flea markets, thrift stores and the like); and several literary greats, including Kingsley Amis, Ray Bradbury and Harry Harrison. He also explores collectors of erotica, the difference between Paris and London bookshops, skewers the ignorance of many eBay sellers, and has a grand good time through it all. The closing scene, where he brings all the books he owns together in one place for the first time in his life, had a special resonance for me....it's something I dream of in my own life. For book lovers everywhere.--William C. Hall
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Book lovers unite
26 Nov 2003
Format:Hardcover
Though I do not believe in censorship, books like A POUND OF PAPER: CONFESSIONS OF A BOOK ADDICT need to be hidden from family members. Bibliophiles know the affinity that film biographer John Baxter shares with us. Though not chasing around the world like Mr. Baxter has, book lovers will comprehend the need to hit the obscure bookstore whether on a business trip or a vacation. Going to Europe includes visits to the neighborhood bookstores of Athens and Rome (Greece and Italy not Georgia) as key to the itinerary.
Book lovers can commiserate with Mr. Baxter as everyone thinks you're a nut whether one grows up in rural Australia or the urban Bronx. Mr. Baxter provides a bit of book history beyond just the printing press invention and gives insight into proofs and galleys, and limited editions. He also goes into depth of what havoc and destruction the Information Age via the Internet has had on bookstores including the global yard sale of eBay. Though he adds other personal non-book elements of his life, it is his love for the printed media that will hook readers like me whose house displays the destruction of several rain forests (it is hard to be an environmentalist in my abode). Clearly for book hoarders though film addicts might try a spin as Mr. Baxter is part of that community too.
Harriet Klausner
29 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Discombobulation
2 Sep 2004
Format:Hardcover
This was a terrible disappointment. More of a memoir than anything about book-collecting, it was so disjointed it is hard to say what it was about or what the point was. There seemed to be no context or fabric to the book.
There were, however, HUNDREDS of references to obscure authors, actors, film-writers, magazines and books. There were pages at a time where I was completely lost because I had no idea about whom the author was speaking, but he wrote as if the person was well-known to the reader.
Baxter leads the reader around the world from his beginnings in Australia, thence to Britain to the US and ending in France. Again, there is no context. He would flip from a reference to the obscure artist, to an anecdote about himself or some bookseller or collector and then perhaps mention how he had acquired a book.
If viewed as a book about collecting books, you will not learn much. If viewed as a memoir, there was little that was interesting about the author's life and there was precious little about his life other than acquisitions.
There were a very few nuggets about what makes a book valuable or diminishes its worth to a collector, but they were too few and far between.
If you could not tell by now, I can not see much reason to read this book. I think Mr. Baxter flattered himself to think that either he or his collection would be of general interest.
There were, however, HUNDREDS of references to obscure authors, actors, film-writers, magazines and books. There were pages at a time where I was completely lost because I had no idea about whom the author was speaking, but he wrote as if the person was well-known to the reader.
Baxter leads the reader around the world from his beginnings in Australia, thence to Britain to the US and ending in France. Again, there is no context. He would flip from a reference to the obscure artist, to an anecdote about himself or some bookseller or collector and then perhaps mention how he had acquired a book.
If viewed as a book about collecting books, you will not learn much. If viewed as a memoir, there was little that was interesting about the author's life and there was precious little about his life other than acquisitions.
There were a very few nuggets about what makes a book valuable or diminishes its worth to a collector, but they were too few and far between.
If you could not tell by now, I can not see much reason to read this book. I think Mr. Baxter flattered himself to think that either he or his collection would be of general interest.
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