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Aaron M.Actually Barry, I purchased the book via Amazon and when shipping charges are factored in, the discount is nominal if buying it retail at your local book store.
I have to say while certain sections of the book were well done, the book fails miserably in actually taking you into the context of these great collections or profiling the individual collectors.
Marshall Fogel is a perfect example. The book briefly describes what one can only imagine is his magnificent display room, yet we are never shown a single photo of it (or Marshall). The entire article then read like a typical auction catalog describing various individual items in detail, but mentioning only a single tidbit of Marshall himself--12 pages into his 13 page chapter--or his collecting stories (he bought 1953 Topps packs as a kid).
The wasted space Stephen took up with his Giulilo Camillio story (which read like the irrelevant opening paragraphs of a flowery Mastro auction item description) was more than what was spent on Marshall himself.
The book basically is a nice auction catalog for memorabilia collectors (not for card collectors who won't find enough to interest themselves). It reminded me very much of the catalogs Lelands used to publish in the 1990's with a few neat photos of a few carefully arranged items grouped together. (But still, unfortunately, better than any other memorabilia book out there.)
I already have a collection of auction catalogs. What I would have preferred is a in-depth look at the collectors and how they shaped and display or store their collections. Without that the book resembles too much souvenir books from the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Baseball as America exhibit. Otherwise, thanks to Stephen for his efforts.