Library

528 pages

English language

Published Dec. 6, 2021 by Basic Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-5416-0077-5

Perfect for book lovers, this is a fascinating exploration of the history of libraries and the people who built them, from the ancient world to the digital age.

Famed across the known world, jealously guarded by private collectors, built up over centuries, destroyed in a single day, ornamented with gold leaf and frescoes, or filled with bean bags and children’s drawings—the history of the library is rich, varied, and stuffed full of incident. In The Library, historians Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen introduce us to the antiquarians and philanthropists who shaped the world’s great collections, trace the rise and fall of literary tastes, and reveal the high crimes and misdemeanors committed in pursuit of rare manuscripts. In doing so, they reveal that while collections themselves are fragile, often falling into ruin within a few decades, the idea of the library has been remarkably resilient as each generation makes—and …

Perfect for book lovers, this is a fascinating exploration of the history of libraries and the people who built them, from the ancient world to the digital age.

Famed across the known world, jealously guarded by private collectors, built up over centuries, destroyed in a single day, ornamented with gold leaf and frescoes, or filled with bean bags and children’s drawings—the history of the library is rich, varied, and stuffed full of incident. In The Library, historians Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen introduce us to the antiquarians and philanthropists who shaped the world’s great collections, trace the rise and fall of literary tastes, and reveal the high crimes and misdemeanors committed in pursuit of rare manuscripts. In doing so, they reveal that while collections themselves are fragile, often falling into ruin within a few decades, the idea of the library has been remarkably resilient as each generation makes—and remakes—the institution anew.

Beautifully written and deeply researched, The Library is essential reading for booklovers, collectors, and anyone who has ever gotten blissfully lost in the stacks.

6 editions

Ben Waber reviewed Library by Arthur der Weduwen

A Comprehensive History of Written Texts, Collections, and the Emergence of Libraries

5 stars

This book traces the evolution of written text, the development of commercial activity around it, and the eventual (extremely recent) emergence of modern libraries. For those unfamiliar with the book industry these chapters will be especially illuminating, and the dominance of a subscription model for libraries until quite recently was fascinating. The book is more Western-focused than I'd like, with strangely little coverage of libraries under the Ottoman Empire or in Asia more broadly. Overall, however, this is an incredible view into the forces that led to the creation of modern libraries and just how fragile those institutions can be. Highly recommend.

Ben Waber

rated it

April 24

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