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The Library at Night
 
 
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The Library at Night [IMPORT] (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: imaginary books, Library of Alexandria, Buenos Aires, British Museum (more...)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

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  Kindle Edition, September 26, 2006 $9.99 -- --
  Hardcover, April 28, 2008 $18.15 $12.95 $9.99
  Hardcover, Import, September 26, 2006 -- $19.92 $13.95
  Paperback, April 27, 2009 $11.56 $10.48 $10.34

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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" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.


Review

Praise for Alberto Manguel:
“Manguel is a tireless champion of the written word. He cares about books . . . with a deep, unswerving passion because he believes they are – still, despite our electronic progress – essential links between the individual and the world.”
–The Vancouver Sun

Praise for A Reading Diary:
• A Globe and Mail Best Book
• Finalist for the writers’ trust of canada drainie-taylor biography prize

“Alberto Manguel has probably read more widely than almost anyone else now alive. Among English speakers, perhaps only Harold Bloom, George Steiner and Guy Davenport may outclass him – and they are all twenty years his senior, and long-time university teachers, to boot: In short, Manguel’s approach to books remains resolutely that of an amateur, one who loves with the pure joy sometimes denied the more scholarly.”
–The Globe and Mail

“A Reading Diary is an utterly seductive book, the kind of book that lovers will want to read aloud to one another, that friends will quote back and forth.”
–Calgary Herald

“Manguel’s exquisitely distilled style and gentle humility are pure pleasure. His diary is a goldmine of the unexpected, and his companionable, deeply cultivated persona will entrance all those who love to read and to ponder.”
–Publishers Weekly (starred review)
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Knopf Canada (September 26, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0676975887
  • ISBN-13: 978-0676975888
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.7 x 1.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,591,692 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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More About the Author

Alberto Manguel
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Alberto Manguel Page
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
imaginary books
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Library of Alexandria, Buenos Aires, British Museum, United States, British Library, Sir Thomas Browne, Library of Congress, Captain Nemo, Bibliothèque Nationale, Aby Warburg, Don Quixote, Laurentian Library, Robinson Crusoe, Walter Benjamin, Ibn Jama'a, Julius Caesar, Diego de Landa, Shah Muhammad, King Ptolemy, Jorge Luis Borges, Domesday Book, Lindisfarne Gospels, Andrew Carnegie, Pope Clement, Fritz Saxl
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
100 of 107 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
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
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
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25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Romance of Reading, July 20, 2008
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
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.
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30 of 37 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
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Roger Moris about "The Library at Night"
When I did receive the book I was a little bit disappointed because the back of the book and therefore also the front cover had gotten loose completely. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Moris Roger

3.0 out of 5 stars Rambl'in Man
I purchased this book in the hopes of generating ideas about how to build a personal library; not just one that consists of books but one of infinite probabilities as it relates... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Patrick Curren

5.0 out of 5 stars Michealangelo, Luther, Proust, Buddha, and your school librarian
This is an opus....and a grand one at that.
This is a book that whets ones appetite for even more. Read more
Published 11 months ago by N. A. Walther

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful
This is an absolutely beautiful book for all lovers of books and reading. Highly recommended.
Published 14 months ago by litlover

5.0 out of 5 stars A Unique Book For Those Who Love Books
The Library At Night is the first book I have read by Alberto Manguel. I can say now, after completing it earlier today, that I am looking forward to reading other selections... Read more
Published 15 months ago by David A. Plouffe

5.0 out of 5 stars Ideal Mix
The LIBRARY AT NIGHT is an ideal blend of contemplation and observation, of thought and history. With chapters that read like short stories it is accessible to the 'not enough... Read more
Published 16 months ago by John Beckham

4.0 out of 5 stars The scream of a dying star
Alberto Manguel's The Library At Night is a curious confection: ostensibly a love letter to bookishness, it rejoices in collections of books and their owners through many prisms;... Read more
Published 16 months ago by O. Buxton

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
For those who enjoy reading and perhaps a bibliophile or two, I found this book to be a very pleasant accounting of Manguel's love of books. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Leclerc

4.0 out of 5 stars A wealth of erudite anecdotes about books and libraries, but not much more
In part, its most successful part, THE LIBRARY AT NIGHT is a collection of anecdotes about books and libraries, a worthwhile addition to the pantheon of "books on books". Read more
Published 18 months ago by R. M. Peterson

5.0 out of 5 stars "A big library really has the gift of tongues and vast potencies of telepathic communication"

Alberto Manguel starts this wonderful book quoting Northrop Frye. Manguel is a prolific writer who returns time and again to the joys of reading: A History of Reading,... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Robert C. Ross

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