Thieves of Book Row: New York’s Most Notorious Rare Book Ring and the Man Who Stopped It

McDade, a curator of rare books and author of a tome on notorious 1990s book bandit Daniel Spiegelman (The Book Thief), is well positioned to bring to life a forgotten part of New York City history. His tale begins in the 1930s, during the heyday of the city’s legendary Book Row on Fourth Avenue, a series of six blocks dominated by used book stores: “If it was printed, it could be found there, somewhere.” Sounds like a bibliophile’s heaven, but not all of the dealers took care to ensure the ethical provenance of what they proffered. “Bookleggers” or “Fourth Avenue pirates” actively colluded in cheating their customers, some going so far as to engage in the practice of “sophisticating,” a wonderfully self-serving portmanteau meaning to splice together damaged first printings with mint-condition later editions to create a “better” book. Still, those misdeeds paled in comparison with the organized theft rings whose predations on the New York Public Library make up the focus of this definitive history. McDade isn’t always able to capitalize on the story’s innate drama, but a fantastically colorful cast of characters and rich period detail will hook book lovers and historians of N.Y.C. 6 b&w halftones. (June)