Wanting to live an uncluttered life and collecting things don't go together. Yet most of us love to see and hold beautifully made items. I don't mind reading an e-book but I still admire good printing and binding and paper. At first Wilson's book was hard to slog through, the first half of the book, largely about how to acquire hard of find books, was a chore to get through. While reading it I found myself comparing Modern Book Collecting unfavorably to Books and Collectors by Maurice Dunbar. Dunbar's book made me think that I might perhaps want to be a serious book collector, Wilson's book told me I really don't want to get involved in all the book collecting entails.

In the second half of Modern Book Collecting the author gives the reader a good understanding of how books are actually made and provides the names of the parts. I found that useful. The lists of dealers and collectors were interesting but not so useful for me. The though of owning a few first editions is tempting, but I will try to resist. At least now I know what a first edition is and how to identify one.
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Reading this book was like listening to a couple of smart people talking to each other about something interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed eves dropping on Mr. Wilson. ( )

Though a bit dated, this book opened my eyes to the fact that my unhealthy love for books is in fact a respectable hobby. Great read to get you in the proper collecting mindset, broken into useful, quick sections. ( )

A perfectly serviceable introduction to the collecting of modern editions - focus is as good as exclusively on 20th century authors.

When I bought this I was concerned that it would be badly outdated, but for the most part it holds up remarkably well - nothing about internet trading, of course, and the sections about dealer catalogues and the uses of telephone ordering might not be the most useful in the book, but most of it is filled with sound timeless advice and helpful anecdotes and information about everything from the process of proofreading to the virtues of being polite to poets. It might be slightly rambling at times, but that's part of the charm.

It's also rather smartly written, and with an obvious passion for books and literature - the parts about how the enjoyment of reading is more important than assuring increased value of investments made me smile.

Read it for the insight and personal experience, and consider getting another book covering the more technical details of book collecting in greater detail. ( )