1. The most obvious comparison is to Nicholas Basbanes. 1995.A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books(New York: Henry Holt and Co., Basbanes describes how, while engaged in interviewing booksellers, collectors, and librarians in order to “understand the phenomenon of book collecting”, his interviews with the book thief Blumberg and coverage of his trial helped him to realize that he wanted to weave his interviews into a “connecting theme”-that “however bizarre and zealous collectors have been through the ages, so much of what we know about history, literature, and culture would be lost forever if not for the passion and dedication of these driven souls” (p. 3). Indeed, it is difficult to discern the differences between Blumberg and legitimate individual and institutional collectors in Basbanes study. One feels empathy for thief and collector alike (although Basbanes never condones the thefts). InThe Island of Lost Mapsthe reader feels more of the struggles of the author in trying to understand Bland and his robberies, although the perspectives toward collectors, librarians and archivists, and scholars share many commonalities. One major difference between Blumberg and Bland is that Blumberg built a personal collection and respected the books and manuscripts, while Bland generally cut maps out of books in order to sell the items for financial gain
2. Harvey.The Island of Lost Maps274 p
3. Harvey.The Island of Lost Maps276 p