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A review by lillulu
The Library: A Fragile History by Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen
4.0
A superb overview of the history of libraries. Loved the initial the beginning quarter in particular that helped set the stage for how libraries came to be and how they changed over the centuries, as well as how libraries impacted political power. Also loved the last chapter about the modern politics of libraries, and would easily read a whole book on that alone.
My only gripe with the book is how Eurocentric it was, which would be fine, except there are inklings and mentions of research into global libraries at different points, but they never go in as much depth as discussions about British or American libraries. Whenever they do, it’s always in relation to the UK or to the US, so it feels very one-sided.
And on a separate note that isn’t the content: I would not have chosen this narrator for this audiobook. It took me ages to get through the book because he spoke too fast and didn’t enunciate enough, making it very hard to understand him (and mind you, I listened to the audiobook on a much lower speed than what I usually listen in, and even then, it was very hard to grasp his words and follow the story, much to the detriment of the book).
My only gripe with the book is how Eurocentric it was, which would be fine, except there are inklings and mentions of research into global libraries at different points, but they never go in as much depth as discussions about British or American libraries. Whenever they do, it’s always in relation to the UK or to the US, so it feels very one-sided.
And on a separate note that isn’t the content: I would not have chosen this narrator for this audiobook. It took me ages to get through the book because he spoke too fast and didn’t enunciate enough, making it very hard to understand him (and mind you, I listened to the audiobook on a much lower speed than what I usually listen in, and even then, it was very hard to grasp his words and follow the story, much to the detriment of the book).