A question of value : stories from the life of an auctioneer
(Book)

"In thirty-one essays, each titled for a specific item Bob encountered in his long and increasingly successful auction career, objects are presented as windows, invitations to consider broad personal and collective histories, often leading to unresolved social inequities. The author, whose Mennonite background often conflicts with his career, wrestles with the complexities of ownership and value: possessions as self-definition, symbols of wealth and ambition, icons of family history, sources of addiction, or wells of comfort and inspiration. The result is a portrait of a man and a community that reflect the best and worst of ourselves as we grasp for meaning in objects-and then must decide what to do with our possessions when it's time to let them go"--,Provided by publisher.