Phil Cohen (1) (1943–)

Books about books are my thing together with bookish memoirs, This book is set up in two sections firstly as a memoir of the author mostly based on his time as a leftie protester and squatter in the 60s which generally speaking is not really my thing but like many books surprising things crop up to delight and in this case most notably the time he ran away to sea on a Grimsby trawler - woop woop Grimsby gets a mention and as a Grimbarian myself any reference to my hometown is always a delight - my only surprise was that he managed to get out alive. Now section two is where it was really at for me - pure bibliomaniac bliss - lots of personal library talk ( I have my own library - ever spreading into every room!) and book recommendations ( I got straight on the net and bought Elias Canetti's Auto Da Fe. I am, however, in mourning for the British Museum Reading Room which has sadly long gone - oh misery another never to be fulfilled ambition. All in all a delightful read for any bibliophile and would be even more so for people with memories of the London scene in the 60s ( I am slightly too young to remember that era )… (meer)