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blueskygreentreesyellowsun's review against another edition
2.0
I liked the content of this book, but the way the information is presented is very poor. The author jumps from discussions of one institution or person to another with little more than a double-space to let you know a change in course is taking place. It felt disjointed and abrupt, and did not make for a pleasurable reading experience. The topics that the author covered were interesting, and the sections on book collectors and sellers were particularly fun. Given that the material was good, I wish that the author had done a better job of presenting it to the reader.
markfeltskog's review against another edition
Yet another fascinating account of the world of books and ideas from Nicholas Basbanes, who has become, by any objective standard, the leading chronicler of print culture. Very highly recommended.
apatrick's review against another edition
2.0
Had to skip large parts. It's like Basbanes decided to pull together everything he'd ever written about books and libraries and book collectors and compile it. Okay, if it's maybe three or four essays per section, but I don't need to read about 19 different European bookselling families or 12 guys that donated money to build a library and how they did it. This would have been better as several shorter books, but who in god's name would want to read one book about 25 European bookselling families? Glad to be done with this one.
margothere's review
4.0
A whole lot of book about books, book peoples and book places. Even though there have been changes regarding some of the contents, a great read, particularly after Part One: Overture.
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