The Man Who Loved Books Too Much ─ The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession

Unrepentant book thief John Charles Gilkey has stolen a fortune in rare books from around the US. Yet unlike most thieves who steal for profit, Gilkey steals for love - the love of books. Perhaps equally obsesssed is Ken Sanders, the self-appointed 'bibliodick' who's driven to catch him. Following this eccentric cat-and-mouse chase with a mixture of suspense, insight and humour, Allison Hoover Bartlett plunges the reader into a a rich world of fanatical book lust and considers what it is that makes some people stop at nothing to possess the titles they love.

Allison Hoover Bartlett's writing has appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, and other publications. Her original article on John Gilkey was included in The Best American Crime Reporting 2007.