·A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age Journalist Ted Botha became obsessed with mongo (defined as any discarded object that is retrieved) when he moved to New York. Decorating his apartment with the furniture and objects he found on Manhattan's streets, he soon realized he wasn't the only person finding things of value in the garbage, and he began meeting all kinds of collectors. Mongo is Botha's remarkable record of his travels among these varied and eccentric people-an appropriately addictive tribute to this longtime, universal phenomenon. Ted Botha was born in New York and grew up in Japan, South Africa, and Washington, D.C. He has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal, among other publications. His first book, Apartheid in My Rucksack, was a personal account of discovering Africa as a white African. "We thought we knew something about this subject...but Botha's book offers a completely different perspective."-Jane and Michael Stern, New York Times Book Review "[Botha] writes about his subject with such earnest reverence that it's difficult...not to share his enthusiasm. Megapolitans eager to learn about the seamy underbelly of Manhattan should certainly consult Mongo, a work of urban reportage packed with arcane trivia and entertaining revelations."-New York Observer "If you thought eBay aficionados and savvy bargain hunters were unduly resourceful, Botha introduces us to a whole new class of scavengers on the streets of New York City."-Washington Post Also available: HC 1-58234-452-3 $23.95 Delightfully weird, and thought-provoking enough to make you consider panning through garbage for gold.-Entertainment Weekly