Free Republic

Man arrested over Shakespeare theft     The Shakespeare book is worth an estimated £15m plus     A man has been arrested on suspicion of the theft of a priceless book from Durham University ten years ago. The first folio edition of a collection of the works of William Shakespeare, published in 1623, was one of a number of manuscripts and books stolen from the University library on Palace Green in December 1998. It is believed to be worth at least £15 million. Durham Police were alerted by the British Embassy in the United States, two weeks ago...

Earlier this year, Random House announced that it would release a list of the 100 best non-fiction books of the century. The publisher had enjoyed success (and controversy) with its 100 best novels; now it would do this. Here at National Review, we decided to get a jump on them by forming our own panel and offering our own list. Under the leadership of our reporter John J. Miller, we have done so. We have used a methodology that approaches the scientific. But-certainly beyond, say, the first 40 books-the fact of the books' presence on the list is far more...

Law librarian Rick Ramponi's collection of 3,000 regional cookbooks --including "Talk About Good" from the Lafayette, La., Junior League and "Shalom on the Range," which celebrates southwestern Jewish cuisine -- was manageable while he lived in a large house in Kalorama. But when he moved to a one-bedroom Dupont Circle apartment with a partner who collects large art and architecture books, Ramponi had to exile those cherished culinary texts to a pair of rented storage units several blocks away. Since 2002, he has spent more than $5,000 to keep them there, which "may be more than they are all worth,"...