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| Document Type: | Book |
|---|---|
| All Authors / Contributors: |
Matthew Battles |
| ISBN: | 0393020290 0393325644 9780393020298 9780393325645 |
| OCLC Number: | 51305782 |
| Description: | x, 245 p. : ill. ; 22 cm. |
| Contents: | Reading the library -- Burning Alexandria -- The house of wisdom -- The battle of the books -- Books for all -- Knowledge on fire -- Lost in the stacks. |
| Responsibility: | Matthew Battles. |
Abstract:
Reviews
Publisher Synopsis
Battles turns an all-seeing telescope on the most spectacular galaxy in our intellectual heavens that magnificent constellation of books we call a library and brings into focus the brightest stars and blackest holes in its dynamic history. --Richard Lederer, author of A Man of My Words Read more...
WorldCat User Reviews (2)
Too rambling to get through
I tend to love material on libraries, history of libraries, history of books and publishing, etc., but this writing is just too rambling. The author is clearly knowledgeable about libraries and the historical contexts in which the great libraries evolved (and many ultimately fell) but he doesn't structure...
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I tend to love material on libraries, history of libraries, history of books and publishing, etc., but this writing is just too rambling. The author is clearly knowledgeable about libraries and the historical contexts in which the great libraries evolved (and many ultimately fell) but he doesn't structure his writing around any narrative, theme, or big idea. So it's just a bunch of stuff that happens, as told by an erudite person who kind of wanders all over the place. I wish his considerable expertise could have been harnessed in a well-organized narrative about this fascinating subject. I really, really wanted to love this book, and I tried three times to get through it. Though somewhat heavier, "A Universal History of the Destruction of Books" by Fernando Baez is a better bet.
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Rise and Fall of Libraries
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Similar Items
Related Subjects:(7)
- Libraries -- History.
- Libraries and society -- History.
- Books -- History.
- Bibliotheken.
- Bibliothek
- Geschichte.
- Gesellschaft
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