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50 Books About Books
The Sound of One Hand: Paintings and Calligraphy by Zen Master Hakuin by Andrey Yoshido Seo & Stephen Addiss (Shambhala, jacketed hardcover, $65). A well-illustrated study of the art of Hakuin Ekaku (1685-1768), an influential figure in the history of Zen and founder of the modern Japanese Rinzai tradition.
The Art of Collecting: An Intimate Tour Inside Private Art Collections with Advice on Starting Your Own by Diane McManus Jensen (Jensen Fine Arts, jacketed hardcover, $65). Profiles of twenty-three American art collectors (including David Rockefeller and William Koch), offering insight into their collecting strategies and visions, and supplemented with lavish photographs of their art collections.
Godine at Forty: A Retrospective of Four Decades in the Life of an Independent Publisher by David Godine (David R. Godine, hardcover, $45). Looking back at forty years in the publishing business, Godine highlights approximately two hundred of the imprint’s titles that “made a difference.” Filled with full-color illustrations and lively commentary.
An Extensive Republic: Print, Culture, and Society in the New Nation, 1790-1840 edited by Robert A. Gross & Mary Kelley (University of North Carolina Press, jacketed hardcover, $60). The second of five volumes in the monumental History of the Book in America series joins its companions at last. This indispensable reference work offers a wide-ranging and readable examination of various aspects of print culture in the early years of the United States, populated by essays written by the top names in the field.
The First White House Library: A History and Annotated
Catalogueedited by Catherine M. Parisian (Penn State University Press, jacketed hardcover, $55). A detailed examination of the creation, composition, and significance of the first official White House library, curated by First Lady Abigail Fillmore. Includes contextual essays by Sean Wilentz and others, as well as the first annotated list of the books selected for the library.
The Groaning Shelf and Other Instances of Book Love by Pradeep Sebastian (Hachette India, jacketed hardcover, £12.99/Amazon.co.uk). A pleasantly-sized collection of bibliophilic essays written by Indian journalist and bibliophile Sebastian. On our blog, Nick Basbanes called it “impressive.”
The Phone Book: The Curious History of the Book That Everyone Uses But No One Reads by Ammon Shea (Perigree Trade, paperback, $14.95). The first history of phone book, by the man who brought you Reading the OED.
Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures by Robert Wittman (with John Shiffman) (Crown, jacketed hardcover, $25). A memoir by the FBI’s only full-time art theft investigator, with details of various operations (and attempts) to recover stolen art and documents. According to our blog, it’s “well written and absolutely impossible to put down.”
William Bartram: The Search for Nature’s Design: Selected Art, Letters, and Unpublished Writings, edited by Thomas Hallock & Nancy E. Hoffmann (University of Georgia Press, jacketed hardcover, $49.95). This volume presents previously unpublished Bartram material, including art, letters, and other manuscripts (including garden diaries, an anti-slavery essay, and notes on Native American culture).
The Englishman Who Posted Himself and Other Curious Objects by John Tingey (Princeton Architectural Press, jacketed hardcover, $24.95). The first biography of W. Reginald Bray, an eccentric English collector who took full advantage of postal laws to send unusual objects—including himself, at one point—through the mail. Reviewed in this issue.
Banned in Boston: The Watch and Ward Society’s Crusade against Books, Burlesque, and the Social Evil by Neil Miller (Beacon Press, jacketed hardcover, $26.95). A fascinating look at the Watch and Ward Society’s efforts to combat all manner of vices in Boston and around New England, which included its long-standing attempts to censor books and magazines.
Removable Type: Histories of the Book in Indian Country, 1663-1880 by Phillip Round (University of North Carolina Press, jacketed hardcover $59.95). A broad consideration of the adoption and use of print culture among Native American groups, drawn from a variety of disciplinary approaches.