This book is dedicated to the "like-minded reader," and its descriptions do make a sympathetic heart beat a little faster. Lake is a rabid bibliophile (and curator at the Ransom Humanities Research Ctr., Univ. of Texas, Austin) who revels in the tracking of books and other documents, specifically those concerning 19th- and 20th-century literary, art, and music history. He focuses on the acquisition of primary sources, giving equal weight to the substantive qualities of the material by pointing out the scholarly value found in the text, as well as the aesthetic qualities, e.g., describing a fine binding with relish. He makes extensive reference to the world of bookselling, using a specialized vocabulary while avoiding jargon. Highly recommended for academic and larger public libraries.