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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 002
EAN: 9780312317263
ISBN: 0312317263
Label: St. Martin's Griffin
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 432
Publication Date: April 01, 2005
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: March 24, 2005
Studio: St. Martin's Griffin

Alternate Versions: Click to Display

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Books > Subjects > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Authors
Books > Subjects > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Australian
Books > Subjects > Biographies & Memoirs > General
Books > Subjects > Biographies & Memoirs > General AAS
Books > Subjects > Home & Garden > Antiques & Collectibles > Books

Editorial Review:

Product Description:

In the rural Australia of the fifties where John Baxter grew up, reading books was disregarded with suspicion, owning and collecting them with utter incomprehension. Despite this, by the age of eleven Baxter had 'collected' his first book - The Poems of Rupert Brooke. He'd read the volume often, but now he had to own it. This was the beginning of what would become a major collection and a lifelong obsession.His book-hunting would take him all over the world, but his first real find was in London in 1978, when he spotted a rare copy of a Graham Greene children's book while browsing on a stall in Swiss Cottage. It was going for 5 pence. This would also, fortuitously, be the day when he first encountered one of the legends of the book-selling world: Martin Stone. At various times pothead, international fugitive from justice, and professional rock musician, he would become John's mentor and friend.In this brilliantly readable and funny book, John Baxter brings us into contact with such literary greats as Graham Greene, Kingsley Amis, J.G. Ballard and Ray Bradbury. But he also shows us how he penetrated the secret fraternity of 'runners' or book scouts - sleuths who use bluff and guile to hunt down their quarry - and joined them in scouring junk shops, markets, auction rooms and private homes for rarities.In the comic tradition of Clive James's Unreliable Memoirs, A Pound of Paper describes how a boy from the bush came to be living in a Paris penthouse with a library worth millions. It also explores the exploding market in first editions. What treasures are lying unnoticed in your garage?

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Breezy Anecdotes of a Life in and Around Books
I've been on a kick lately where I'm reading lots of "books about books," and/or "books about reading," which led me to pick this one up. The subtitle "Confessions of a Book Addict" is an apt one, as this is essentially a rambling memoir whose only unifying theme is the author's love of books. And while it does delve into the rarefied (and often grubby) realm of book collecting and collectors, that's not really the focus. Actually, other than the author's lifelong love of books and telling a good ... Read More

Rating:

- Australian Book Lover
The book is a mixture of tidbits about famous collectors, the author's coming of age in Australia, obscure collectibles/authors, and whatever else came to the author's mind. Maybe a hardcore collector could keep up with this account.
I gave it up after 118 pages. I love books and was interested in the Australian descriptions, but became discouraged by the disjointedness of the book.

Rating:

- Discombobulation
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 ... Read More

Rating:

- Memoir and Peek at the World of Book Collecting
I am a book collector and I enjoy my passion very much. Many people would say I'm obsessed but it only takes a book like this one to remind myself that I'm in the minor leagues.

Part memoir and part peek into the world of book collecting, Baxter tells of his youth in the wilds of Australia where, like many of us, he delved into the world of comic book and science fiction collecting. He matured along the way with an interest in Graham Greene before dumping that collection and moving onto ... Read More

Rating:

- A Literary Lesson

I rated this book 5*'s but not in the normal fashion.The title got my attention as I like "books about books";of which there are a varied lot.To start with,this book is well titled;A Pound of Paper,how unpretentious can you get?
Now, as to my rating:
As an overall book,I enjoyed it at times,at other times I found it a drag,I skipped a lot;but still couldn't put it down.
I rated it 5*'s;but only by adding up 5 single *'s:
1*-As a biography,for anyone who knows ... Read More

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