"A century on from P. S. Allen's edition of the correspondence, and with similar éclat, Van Gulik's work opens a new era in our critical and historical accounting for what Erasmus liked to called his lucubrationes, books produced in daily and nightly encounter with other books."

"Erasmus and His Books is an impressive in-depth study of Erasmus' Versandliste, but exceeding that by far. It shows how and when the humanist author compiled his library and what was its nature, and it reveals how and when he made use of it for his own books. It is a fascinating history of a library and an indispensable guide for anyone who studies Erasmus and his reading and writing culture as well as that of his fellow humanists. I read this book with great admiration: it not only offers a history of Erasmus' library but also a full description and evaluation of each of the 413 books that are mentioned in it."

"Erasmus of Rotterdam lived a busy life amidst, with, and for books. References and allusions to ancient and recent authors, quotations from and reminiscences of older and newer literature occur on each page of his voluminous oeuvre. In order to understand and assess his writings correctly, the reader needs to know which books Erasmus owned, knew, and used. Often it is even necessary to know precisely which edition of a work he used. Van Gulik’s work, the outcome of decades of intensive and meticulous research, presents all the information attainable on the books Erasmus had at his disposal. In spite of the immense amounts of data contained in this volume, it is easily accessible. Due to careful editorial work, the massive information collected by van Gulik is presented here in a form both extremely reliable and utterly readable."

J.C. Grayson lives in Liverpool. He has translated numerous scholarly books from various languages.