The Library at Night [Kindle Edition]

Alberto Manguel (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'... crowded with memorable tales of reading as rescue, as solace, as liberation, in times of want, fear or tyranny... The Library at Night revels in the physical pleasure of drifting and dipping through the Gutenberg galaxy of ink-on-paper books.' Boyd Tonkin interview with Alberto Manguel, The Independent 'Books jump out of their jackets when Manguel opens them and dance in delight as they make contact with his ingenious, voluminous brain. He is not the keeper of a silent cemetery, but a master of bibliographical revels.' Peter Conrad, The Observer"

Product Description

Inspired by the process of creating a library for his fifteenth-century home near the Loire, in France, Alberto Manguel, the acclaimed writer on books and reading, has taken up the subject of libraries. “Libraries,” he says, “have always seemed to me pleasantly mad places, and for as long as I can remember I’ve been seduced by their labyrinthine logic.” In this personal, deliberately unsystematic, and wide-ranging book, he offers a captivating meditation on the meaning of libraries.

 

Manguel, a guide of irrepressible enthusiasm, conducts a unique library tour that extends from his childhood bookshelves to the “complete” libraries of the Internet, from Ancient Egypt and Greece to the Arab world, from China and Rome to Google. He ponders the doomed library of Alexandria as well as the personal libraries of Charles Dickens, Jorge Luis Borges, and others. He recounts stories of people who have struggled against tyranny to preserve freedom of thought—the Polish librarian who smuggled books to safety as the Nazis began their destruction of Jewish libraries; the Afghani bookseller who kept his store open through decades of unrest. Oral “memory libraries” kept alive by prisoners, libraries of banned books, the imaginary library of Count Dracula, the library of books never written—Manguel illuminates the mysteries of libraries as no other writer could. With scores of wonderful images throughout, The Library at Night is a fascinating voyage through Manguel’s mind, memory, and vast knowledge of books and civilizations.

(20080423)

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 5759 KB
• Publisher: Yale University Press (September 26, 2006)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B001A1AW8S
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #264,410 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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

122 of 130 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Visitors often ask if I've read all my books;my usual answer is that I've certainly opened every one of them.", December 3, 2007

By 

J. Guild (Toronto,Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Library at Night (Paperback)

In this wonderful tome ,Alberto Manguel has given anyone who loves books a fascinating look at books,libraries and the captivating world of books in general.
Books have been a major part of the author,s life,and he shares it with us on both a personal and worldwide basis. Generally speaking,anyone who loves books,can never resist the desire to have their own library.In this 373 page book ,he touches on just about every aspect of a library,both those which are personal and those which are public or private.The reader will constantly think of their own library as he discusses all these things. How and why the books are acquired,how are they arranged,how are they catalogued,how long are they kept,how hard were they to acquire,what will become of them,what about lending them,which are your favorites and why,where are they housed;you name it ,he talks about it.
I have a place in my library where I keep "Books About Books".I love to read about books and this one will be at home with them.
This book is beautifully written with a copious amount of amazing photographs. Because the author covers so much in the book,it never gets laboured and there is something new and interesting on every page.
Some of the things are simple ,such as the price-stickers,which he so aptly calls "these evil white scabs".They annoy me as well,and I have found a product called "Goo Gone" a great help in getting rid of them.This reminds me of those "evil doer of deeds" in some bookstores who price-clip the dust jackets because in their little minds they don't think the customers can handle the published price versus what they are asking. I am always interested in the published price of older books and their actions are nothing short of vandalism in what they do. Manguel also talks about items or bookplates readers leave in books as interesting as well, as notes made by other readers and previous owners or readers. Personally,I enjoy these things because they are a bit of the story of the life of that book.
He talks about libraries throughout history and even makes comments about things today,such as; an echo of Carlyle's complaint: "Every day the library is filled with,among others,people sleeping,students doing their homework,bright young things writing film scripts-in fact,doing almost anything except consulting the library's books." Ain't that the truth!!He tells us about the personal libraries of the famous (Rudyard Kipling) and the infamous (Adolf Hitler); with pictures.He talks extensively about his personal library from the time when he was a child to the present time. The reader cannot help but compare the author's to his own.
There are an amazing 44 pages of notes at the end covering 367 sources of information,photo credits and a detailed index. This alone is a treasure trove of information.
It's hard not to go on and on about this book.So,I'll leave it at this and just suggest to pick it up,and see for yourself what a treasure it is.
Overall, a mesmerizing gift from one booklover to all of us other booklovers

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Romance of Reading, July 20, 2008

By 

John D. Cofield - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Library at Night (Hardcover)

Alberto Manguel has produced a romantic history of libraries which incorporates their best feature: the ability to wander down hitherto unsuspected byways and make new discoveries, often winding up far from your original objective but still satisfied by what you have found instead. This is a discursive history of libraries through various categories: Myth, Order, etc. with fascinating essays for each. Those who love reading and libraries will learn much history and philosophy and will recognize in Manguel a kindred spirit and friend.

34 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Consolation, April 3, 2008

By 

Christian Schlect (Yakima, Washington/USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Library at Night (Hardcover)

I can not imagine a better gift than this to buy for a person who loves collections of books, whether as a professional librarian or one who simply possesses a private library (big or small).

Alberto Manguel is a wise and learned author. The lessons of his well written book go beyond libraries and touch on what makes us human, and that which connects us, across time and as people, to our historical past.