The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Horace Rumpole:

The real Amistad Bible was published in 1838, so I presume that's where Shiga took the date (which makes perfect sense; it was a new Bible at the time Adams received it). Caxton died in 1492, so 1538 still doesn't make any sense. And if it's not American, the reference to BAL makes no sense whatsoever.

It's not like this ruins everything, but the attention to detail is so good elsewhere, it's weird to me that some bits are so confused, and it's impossible for me not to notice. My wife is very tolerant about my pointing out in movies every time somebody's bookshelves are filled with the unmistakable spines of Reader's Digest Condensed Books.

Abi said the binding stuff wasn't actually reality-based.

As a rare book librarian, I have to say the rare book stuff isn't that reality-based either. They keep using the word "Caxton" but there's no such US publisher in the time period. If there's such a thing as American incunabula, it's books published in the 17th century, so 1838 definitely doesn't qualify. The book is basically worthless without the provenance, so the idea of making a forgery is just silly; it'd be far simpler to buy a real one. The BAL is for literature, so Bibles aren't listed.

Obsessive-compulsive quibbling aside, this was a hoot and a half. Loved the guns-blazing raid on the politically motivated book thief, loved the reference work while clambering around on a moving truck, loved the narrow escape from rapidly closing compact shelving.

Mmmm, children.

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