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Library
400 pages
A sweeping, novelistic journey through the triumphs and tragedies of human knowledge, celebrating the institutions that preserve our history while mourning those we have lost.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like embarking on a spirited, globe-trotting expedition through the annals of human memory. The narrative moves at a brisk, engaging pace, blending encyclopedic historical breadth with a deeply novelistic prose style that brings ancient scriptoria and modern reading rooms to life. The mood shifts gracefully between profound reverence for the preservation of knowledge and a somber, reflective atmosphere when confronting the tragic destruction of cultural heritage, from scroll burnings to the loss of great historical archives. It is an expansive, intellectual experience that traces an emotional arc from awe to sobering vulnerability. Bibliophiles, history buffs, and anyone who feels a deep kinship with the written word will find themselves completely absorbed by this sweeping tribute to the survival of books.
- Mood
- intellectual
- somber
- expansive
- awe-inspiring
- Tone
- spirited
- reverent
- encyclopedic
- reflective
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- survival of knowledge · destruction of culture · preservation of history · power of the written word
- The writing
- Novelistic and spirited, blending encyclopedic historical breadth with engaging, narrative-driven storytelling.
- The arc
- Moves from a sense of awe at the accumulation of human knowledge to a sobering reflection on its vulnerability and destruction.
- Who it's for
- Bibliophiles and history enthusiasts who are fascinated by the physical and cultural legacy of books and the institutions that house them.
Content notes
- book burning
- cultural destruction
- loss of historical artifacts
About the book
On the survival and destruction of knowledge, from Alexandria to the Internet. Through the ages, libraries have not only accumulated and preserved but also shaped, inspired, and obliterated knowledge.Matthew Battles, a rare books librarian and a gifted narrator, takes us on a spirited foray from Boston to Baghdad, from classical scriptoria to medieval monasteries, from the Vatican to the british Library, from socialist reading rooms and rural home libraries to the Information Age. He explores how libraries are built and how they are destroyed, from the decay of the great Alexandrian library to scroll burnings in ancient China to the destruction of Aztec books by the Spanish--and in our own time, the burning of libraries in Europe and Bosnia. Encyclopedic in its breadth and novelistic in its telling, this volume will occupy a treasured place on the bookshelf next to Baker's Double Fold, Bashanes's A Gentle Madness, Manguel's A History of Reading, and Winchester's The Professor and the Madman.
Description from Open Library.
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