Besotted by Books
‘Editions & Impressions: Twenty Years on the Book Beat,’ by Nicholas A. Basbanes
(Fine Books Press: 210 pp., $27.95)
By Martin Rubin, Special to The (L.A.) Times
February 23, 2008
If anyone in the United States is truly a book person, surely it is Nicholas A. Basbanes. For two decades, the literary critic and columnist has cast a fond, even loving eye, on the culture of books, their substance, their wider meaning in society and the people who — in ways similar and markedly different — share his passion. His intense engagement with all things bookish shines from every page of his new collection of journalistic pieces, each one sparkling with insights born of total immersion in his beloved subject.
Basbanes already has written a handful of indispensable books on this topic, but, as he makes clear in his introduction to “Editions & Impressions,” he selected these particular essays “precisely because they are not replicated in any substantial way” in his other published work. The essays are radiant with his joy in discovering and exploring the byways of the book world. And what a world it is, full of fascinating characters and interesting tales, which Basbanes, with his experience covering “every imaginable kind of story as a newspaper reporter,” is perfectly fitted to evoke. . . .
For Martin’s full review, click here or visit www.latimes.com.