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Nicholas A. Basbanes

Nicholas A. Basbanes

A native of Lowell, Massachusetts, Nicholas A. Basbanes graduated from Bates College in 1965, received a master of arts degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1968, and served as a naval officer aboard the aircraft carrier Oriskany in the Tonkin Gulf in 1969 and 1970.

His first book, A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books (Henry Holt), was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in nonfiction for 1995 and was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. In 2001 Basbanes released Patience & Fortitude: A Roving Chronicle of Book People, Book Places, and Book Culture (HarperCollins). Basbanes's third book, Among the Gently Mad: Perspectives and Strategies for the Book-Hunter of the 21st Century, was issued by Henry Holt in November 2002. Every Book Its Reader: The Power of the Printed Word to Stir the World will be published by HarperCollins in December 2005.

In addition to his books about books, Basbanes has written for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Smithsonian, Civilization, and New England Quarterly, among others, and lectures widely on book-related subjects. He and his wife, Constance Basbanes, live in North Grafton, Massachusetts.