pEveryone knows which books people buy they can just look at the best-seller lists. But who knows which books people steal Who, for that matter, knows that authors ruin the book market by writing too much Or why book critics are not critical Or why librarians need to throw out more books Who, indeed, knows the answer to that all-important question in our democracy should presidents and presidential candidates write books The answer is no.brIn this irreverent analysis of the book industry, John Maxwell Hamilton -- a longtime journalist and public radio commentator -- answers these questions and many more, proving that the best way to study books is not to take them too seriously. He provides a rich history of the book -- from the days when monks laboriously hand-copied texts to the tidal wave of Titanic tie-ins -- and gives a succinct overview of the state of the industry today, including writing, marketing, promoting, reviewing, ghostwriting, and collecting.brThroughout, Hamilton peppe