"It's not uncommon": Right. I could have mentioned many others besides T.S. Eliot et. al., particularly Robert Gottlieb, who was both revered by his authors and an author of excellent books.

Gottlieb collected plastic pocketbooks and did a book about them, and you could hardly imagine a less promising subject: Who even remembers those purses, let alone shares his avid interest? But he hooked me with his smart writing and ability to find a larger cultural meaning in a 1950s artifact.

What was surprising about Pineapple Street was the gap between what you expect from an editor and what you got.