Basbanes, Nicholas - A Gentle Madness

Gentle? Perhaps. Expensive, almost certainly.
The disease of book collecting which many here can possibly relate to.
On the other hand, those discussed are mega-players.

Starting out in Egypt, then Greece and Rome, eventually charting the dynasties of England.
Bibliophiles on the order of sovereigns or deep-pocketed aristocrats.
Much later, Stateside, there is the House Of Morgan as well as Huntington.

A chapter on Texas oil gushers building the massive Texas University library, balanced by the rising wealth and predominance of California.

This is entertaining reading, if from a distance. These folks have money; they spend more in a year than most can earn in a lifetime.

Then there is the wonderful Stephen Blumberg. Lacking unlimited resources, he built his multi-million dollar collection the old-fashioned way – – stealing.
Excuse me, Blumberg declared that he viewed his activities as an indefinitely extended inter-library loan.
This chapter delves at length into his resourcefulness and ingenuity, getting past high security of universities and major city libraries.

Remember, rare books are out there. Keep checking Thrift Town, some steamer trunk might contain a Gutenberg.