Library: An Unquiet History kicks off by quoting a passage by Thomas Wolfe from Of Time and The River in which a man who works in a large library is beset by book panic, realizing that no matter how fast he reads he will never be able to read all the books in the library. It then goes on to tell the history of libraries (in the sense of collections of books that may or may … Continue reading Library: An Unquiet History by Matthew Battles →
The Library Book by Susan Orlean is a gripping piece of nonfiction. Using the 1986 Los Angeles Library Fire as a framing device, Orlean explores the mystery of how and by whom the fire was started as well as the history of the Los Angeles Public Library and how libraries today are changing to meet modern needs. Orlean goes into detail about the fire itself, which makes for agonizing, informative, and emotionally gripping reading. The … Continue reading The Library Book by Susan Orlean →
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 … Continue reading Library: An Unquiet History →
