Joseph Hone Audiobooks

The Book Forger: rare books, fakes and the expert eye that catches them

1 audiobook reviewed

★ 4.1/5 average

62 listener ratings

Who is Joseph Hone?

Forgery only becomes visible when somebody knows enough to doubt, and the world of rare books has always drawn both the forger and the specialist who eventually notices. Joseph Hone works that territory in The Book Forger, a title announcing its subject without any embellishment at all.

Our shelving is not much of a guide in this case, so take the book on its own terms: fakes, provenance, and the peculiar economics of collectable printing, where reputation and paper turn out to be worth far more than either looks on the surface. Ten hours is the scale of a properly researched account rather than a quick anecdote, which suggests a story with enough turns in it to justify the length.

Joseph Hone in audiobooks

Dozens of listeners have rated the recording and the score has held at a respectable four and a bit, which for a specialist subject suggests the storytelling carries non-specialists along. Thomas Judd reads the ten hours.

It suits anyone who comes to true crime for the ingenuity rather than the violence, and anyone who has ever wondered how an expert eye actually operates. No prior reading is required, so it can be picked up cold. Start browsing below.