Product Description
<p><b>Andrew Pettegree</b> is Professor of Modern History at the University of St Andrews and one of the leading experts on Europe during the Reformation. He is the author of the prize-winning <i>Book in the Renaissance</i> and <i>The Invention of News</i>, among other publications. He is a former Vice-President of the Royal Historical Society and the founding director of the Universal Short Title Catalogue. <br><br><b>Arthur der Weduwen</b> is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow and Deputy Director of the Universal Short Title Catalogue project at St Andrews. He is the author of several books on the history of newspapers, advertising and publishing. He owns a small library of seventeenth and eighteenth-century books, which, as the research for <i>The Library</i> has shown, is probably doomed to be dispersed.</p><p><b>LONGLISTED FOR THE HISTORICAL WRITERS' ASSOCIATION NON-FICTION CROWN</b><br><b><br>A <i>SUNDAY TIMES </i>NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR</b><br><br><b>'Timely ... a long and engrossing survey of the library' <i>FT</i></b><br><br><b><i>'</i>A sweeping, absorbing history, deeply researched' Richard Ovenden, author of <i>Burning the Books</i><br></b><br>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.<br><br>In this, the first major history of its kind, Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen explore the contested and dramatic history of the library, from the famous collections of the ancient world to the embattled public resources we cherish today. Along the way, they introduce us to the antiquarians and philanthropists who shaped the world's great collections, trace the rise and fall of fashions and tastes, and reveal the high crimes and misdemeanours committed in pursuit of rare and valuable manuscripts.</p>Princes, collectors, bookworms and thieves: the extraordinary story of the library, from Alexandria to the age of Google[In] this superb history, filled with fascinating details that will delight every bibliophile, the authors tell the rich and varied history of libraries, from those that aspire to collect the sum of human knowledge to modest but valued personal collectionsOutstanding ... a history of libraries from the ancient world to yesterday, it is fetchingly produced and scrupulously researched - a perfect gift for bibliophiles everywhereThis history of the library, from the Assyrians to the digital age, is itself a wonderful collection of knowledge ... a book full of fascination and ultimately one of optimism, tooThis sweeping bookish history has something for everyone ... it is a glorious reminder that books are borderless and boundless and libraries priceless, in all sensesExcellent ... rigorous but riveting history Timely ... a long and engrossing survey of the library that shows how adaptable and creative libraries have been over timeDespite [a] staggering range, the authors manage never to seem in a rush, or to skimp on incidental detail ... holding it all together is a keen eye for stories of individual lives that are representative of something larger ... [a] sweeping historyA sweeping, absorbing history, deeply researched, of that extraordinary and enduring phenomenon: the libraryWhat is a 'library'? Is it a mute display of personal wealth and power, or of a humble devotion to God? A routine community resource, or a waste of taxpayers' money? In <i>The Library</i>, we are led nimbly through the centuries, seeing how it has been all of these things and more, as the authors place on the shelf a cornucopia of bookish history.Comprehensive without being miscellaneous, lively without being anecdotal, this sweeping history of libraries shows how central this institution has been to every aspect of human culture. At a time when libraries and librarians are proving themselves to be more important and more resilient than ever before, this whirlwind tour of the different forms that libraries have taken at different times and places will educate and inspire in equal measure.Magnificently researched and compendiousEnthralling ... fittingly, <i>The Library </i>is a handsomely presented and reasonably priced book, with plenty of informative colour plates. The authors' erudition, reflected in a huge bibliography, is carried lightly, and their story is told with wit and wisdom ... A hair-raising journey through the long history of librariesLibraries have had a long and varied history ... This globetrotting book charts their stories