The History of Reading [Paperback]

Alberto Manguel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1996

A history of reading presents tales of book thieves, book burners, censors, anarchists, women of eleventh century Japan who had to invent their own reading material, and African-American slaves who were forbidden to read under penalty of death. 20,000 first printing. $20,000 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This book contains some of the best writing about reading, encompassing the 6,000-year recorded history of this oldest of media--books. I should note that its dust-jacket surpasses mere decoration: Remove it, flip it open, and there is a lovely timeline of the history of reading to post next to your reading chair. An absolutely delightful book and, not surprisingly, Very Highly Recommended.

From Library Journal

Writer, translator, and editor Manguel (In Another Part of the Forest, LJ 6/15/94) has produced a personal and original book on reading. In 22 chapters, we find out such things as how scientists, beginning in ancient Greece, explain reading; how Walt Whitman viewed reading; how Princess Enheduanna, around 2300 B.C., was one of the few women in Mesopotamia to read and write; and how Manguel read to Jorge Luis Borges when he became blind. Manguel selects whatever subject piques his interest, jumping backward and forward in time and place. Readers might be wary of such a miscellaneous, erudite book, but it manages to be invariably interesting, intriguing, and entertaining. Over 140 illustrations show, among other things, anatomical drawings from 11th-century Egypt, painting of readers, cathedral sculptures, and stone tables of Sumerian students. The result is a fascinating book to dip into or read cover to cover. For public and academic libraries.?Nancy Shires, East Carolina Univ., Greenville, N.C.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670843024
• ISBN-13: 978-0670843022
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,324,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Internationally acclaimed as an anthologist, translator, essayist, novelist, and editor, Alberto Manguel is the bestselling author of several award-winning books, including A Dictionary of Imaginary Places and A History of Reading. He was born in Buenos Aires, moved to Canada in 1982 and now lives in France, where he was named a Chevalier de l'Ordre français des Arts et des Lettres.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Magpie's Nest of Bookish Treats, May 19, 2001

By 

bibliomane01 - See all my reviews

This review is from: A History of Reading (Mass Market Paperback)

"A History of Reading" is an eclectic collection of essays on books, bibliophiles, bibliophobes, bibliokleptomanes, printing, translation, censorship, reading glasses and the Heian period in Japan. A browser's delight, it can also be devoured in a single sitting (guilty). From reading aloud to reading silently and from the physical pleasures of a book's shape, binding and smell to the less corporeal qualities of books that prompted Pinochet's Chile to ban "Don Quixote" as subversive, Alberto Manguel's bibiomanic panorama is a thoroughly enjoyable celebration of one of life's greatest pleasures. In it, the reader will encounter Callimachus of Cyrene, who worked in the "vanished library" of Alexandria and laid the foundations for what we know today as the library catalogue; compare and contrast the difffering approaches to public readings of Charles Dickens and Pliny the Younger; and decide once and for all whether it is preferable to read lying down or at a desk. Tolle, lege!

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An engaging and eclectic survey, November 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A History of Reading (Mass Market Paperback)

When I first saw Alberto Manguel's A History of Reading, two thoughts ran through my mind. First, what a wonderful topic for a work of non-fiction. Second, how can one possibly write such a book? I am thrilled to report that Manguel has succeeded beyond all expectations. Both a personal essay telling of Manguel's own learning to read and encounters with books and a highly eclectic survey of books and reading through the ages, History provides both erudition and levity, scholarship and wit. In broad outline, Manguel groups his books in two sections. In the first, "Acts of Reading", he tells how reading itself took different shapes during the ages, including being read to, picture reading (books made up of pictures for the non-reader), reading silently to oneself, and other matters. The second part is captioned "Powers of the Reader and deals with the forbidden reader (e.g., pre-emancipation slaves in the American south); translation; prophesy; and other matters. Manguel quickly becomes an old friend and companion. I hated to see this book end!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars make "time" to read this book., January 24, 2001

By 

Cipriano "www.bookpuddle.blogspot.com" (Planet Claire) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A History of Reading (Mass Market Paperback)

Any lover of books and reading will love the time spent here in these pages. "Time" is often the reason many people give for NOT reading. Others often feel guilty about the actual amount of time that they gladly devote to reading. I admit that I am of this latter group. Reading Manguel's book puts it all in perspective... makes me fall in love with the printed word all over again, and helps me to realize that I am part of a long line of splendour... that there is indeed, a wonderful history of those who have loved reading and/or writing books.

His book is an excellent thematic study; the erudite gleanings of seven years of research, and chockfull of the personal touch of a lifetime of being profoundly bookish. Along with vignettes of his personal acquaintance with Argentine poet Jorge Luis Borges, there are very insightful passages on Franz Kafka, Walt Whitman, Rainer Maria Rilke and many other greats. I remember being surprised that Manguel (a Canadian resident since 1982) was not even shortlisted for the Governor General's award for this book... but then later on it won one of the world's most prestigious of awards, France's Prix Medicis... and all was well with the world.

It's a beautifully written book. It fortifies my conviction that if I'm ever too busy to be a READER... then I'm definitely too busy, and something's gotta go!