THE BOOK GUYS History......Back to the Book Guys
The BOOK GUYS began in the 1980s when Allan Stypeck, owner of Washington's largest used book stores, paid his first visit to the Mike Cuthbert Show in Washington. The basic format then was what it is now: listeners with books in their possession called the program and Allan gave them an appraisal based on their description of the books. All evaluations are contingent on a visual inspection, of course, but most callers just want to know if they might have something valuable in their library or not, or just love to share book stories. So many people suggested that Allan and Mike do the show as a weekly show that they listened and, in the late 90s, started offering the show to public radio stations in a 54-minute format.

In recent years the format has expanded to cover everything to do with the book: THE BOOK GUYS talk with researchers, novelists, publishers, autograph experts, book conservators, printers and various craftsmen who make books. At any time, and frequently, the discussion wanders far afield from the book in question! Sometimes a book was made into a movie and Mike and Allan try to remember who starred in the film. Sometimes there are other books by the same author that are more interesting. Sometimes The Boys break into song. You never know what's going to happen!

In recent years, THE BOOK GUYS have also been going on the road, making as many as eight appearances each year in cities where the program is broadcast. At these broadcasts all appraisals are on-site. Libraries and our affiliate stations often use our appearances as fund-raisers.

The BOOK GUYS also offer valuable weekly prizes during quizzes sponsored by the Library of Congress Center for the Book. The Guys offer a basic reference list of books for the collector, and Library of Congress guidelines on preservation, conservation and care of books. All you have to do to get on the show or get the free materials is to click the links on the home page for either or both lists in PDF format. To get on the show with questions about books, call 1-800-828-BOOK any time of day or click here to email us directly.click here to email us directly.

The show is recorded live-to-tape in Washington during evening hours and is offered free to public radio stations making it possible for the BOOK GUYS network to broadcast the program any time they wish, as many times as they wish.
If the BOOK GUYS are not heard in your area, we urge you to call your local public radio station and tell them to order a tape or download the program from the NPR satellite any Thursday at 1900 Eastern time for consideration. Of course, you can always listen here on-line by clicking the "Archives" button on the home page.