Scan barcode
missoj's review against another edition
It was interesting and I hope to get back to it someday, but it was a little slow and then I ran out of renewals at the library. oops.
algorithm0392's review against another edition
3.0
This book was kind of like a library. A tremendous idea with a lot of history, names, dates, and places (perhaps too many...) sweeping across time and space. Thoroughly researched—who knew library records exist from many centuries ago—this book was an ode to books. Ended up skimming a fair amount towards the end, hoping for more recent history and perhaps more of a U.S. focus. Books are cool, though.
Maybe 2022 is the year I spring for a Kindle? Hey, libraries evolve.
Maybe 2022 is the year I spring for a Kindle? Hey, libraries evolve.
daisydoolie's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
4.25
I really enjoyed this !! I read it slowly over two months, chapter by chapter with a pen in hand, and it sparked so many questions, conversations and ideas. It’s quite academic and getting use to the writing style took me some time to slip into, and at often it read a bit list-like, but overall I really enjoyed it and I feel like I learnt so much and thought of so many new ideas just from reading this book.
gracie_reads_everything's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting and informative but, disappointingly, largely euro-centric. Even though there are initial references to the Library of Alexandria and other non-western institutions built up since ancient times in Asia, South America, and Africa, it stops there. The rest of the book is a great overview of Euro-American library history. Libraries in other countries are only mentioned as established by western imperialism. I would be interested to know more about how libraries as a concept existed and flourished in the east as well, but the references made to these tend to be glorifying in antiquity, yet dismissive in modernity. A good read but disappointing in regards to information beyond the scope of the Euro-American library systems.