From a basic Boy Scout knife and other simple pocketknives to rare Persian rugs, and from a strong interest in historic American clay jugs to fine Asian jade pieces, author Dr. John E. Burke has collected it all. In Never Enough, he describes his life journey through collecting, and at the same time explores why man is a collecting species.

This memoir offers a look inside the mind of a passionate, knowledgeable collector as he discusses his progression from a curious neophyte to a proficient, expert collector in each of his eight domains. Burke walks through the stages of...