I LOVE flea markets, thrift stores and antique stores and this was right up my alley! I enjoyed learning about the Chelsea Flea Market in Manhattan, which I have never been to. I love all of the characters he talks about and the way Michael Rips made me feel like I was there with him and could get a clear picture of the Chelsea Flea Market. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A quick read and and quirky book about the author's many interactions with the dealers and sellers at the Chelsea Flea Market. Wandering and broad in scope, this book might appeal to readers who enjoy slice-of-life material, reading about New York and New Yorkers, and human nature. I found it a bit dull--there's quite a bit of repetition in the figures the author writes about and their habits, good, bad, or otherwise--and I, unlike the author, got tired of reading about the same jerks berating potential customers and being cliquish and elitist. I don't share the author's infatuation with the rude and prickly stereotype he celebrates in the book, and so this one is just not for me.

For all lovers of flea markets of the chase for the elusive treasure this is the book for you.As a former New Yorker I spent time at the Chelsea Market at the connected flea markets set up on the street,& found my treasures.Little did I know of all the characters the world that went on within the merchants.The quirky people the odd collectors.The author himself has his own pursuits for elusive treasure.
This is a lovely entertaining read I will be gifting it to friends who remember TheChelsea flea market& enjoy the hunt, #netgalley#ww.norton

Rips takes readers on a first class tour of the Chelsea Flea Market in Manhattan, where just about anything you can imagine can be had for a price. We get to meet the vendors, some strange, some lovable, but all passionate about their wares. Rips obsession with collecting grows more passionate just at the Chelsea enters its final days and Rips investigates a painting that might well be a masterpiece. Tremendous fun, Rips is the Thomas Hoving of collecting