Burning the Books
A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
A Wolfson History Prize Finalist
A New Statesman Book of the Year
A Sunday Times Book of the Year
“Timely and authoritative…I enjoyed it immensely.”
—Philip Pullman
“If you care about books, and if you believe we must all stand up to the destruction of knowledge and cultural heritage, this is a brilliant read—both powerful and prescient.”
—Elif Shafak
Libraries have been attacked since ancient times but they have been especially threatened in the modern era, through war as well as willful neglect. Burning the Books describes the deliberate destruction of the knowledge safeguarded in libraries from Alexandria to Sarajevo, from smashed Assyrian tablets to the torching of the Library of Congress. The director of the world-famous Bodleian Libraries, Richard Ovenden, captures the political, religious, and cultural motivations behind these acts. He also shines a light on the librarians and archivists preserving history and memory, often risking their lives in the process.
More than simply repositories for knowledge, libraries support the rule of law and inspire and inform citizens. Ovenden reminds us of their social and political importance, challenging us to protect and support these essential institutions.
“Wonderful…full of good stories and burning with passion.”
—Sunday Times
“The sound of a warning vibrates through this book.”
—The Guardian
“Essential reading for anyone concerned with libraries and what Ovenden outlines as their role in ‘the support of democracy, the rule of law and open society.’”
—Wall Street Journal
“Ovenden emphasizes that attacks on books, archives, and recorded information are the usual practice of authoritarian regimes.”
—Michael Dirda, Washington Post
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ovenden, director of the Bodleian Libraries of Oxford University, debuts with a wide-ranging and thought-provoking account of efforts to destroy, neglect, or conceal books, archives, private papers, government documents, and other records. Ovenden describes the May 10, 1933, burning of thousands of "un-German" books by pro-Nazi students in Berlin and attacks by German troops in WWI and WWII on the Louvain University library in Belgium, as well as the targeting of the Library of Congress by the British in the War of 1812 and the destruction of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Serbs in 1992. Discussions of the burning of Lord Byron's memoir and Philip Larkin's diaries by their literary executors and loved ones feel somewhat tangential, but Ovenden's account of the destruction and removal of government archives from Iraq during the Second Gulf War, thereby limiting access to crucial information on the modern history of the country, is eye-opening and alarming. Even more troublesome, according to Ovenden, are the vast quantities of information currently held at the whim of a few global tech giants. He stuffs the narrative with intriguing arcana, and counterbalances the grim rundown of dangers posed to cultural heritage with profiles of librarians and archivists working to opposite ends. The result is an engrossing and informative portrait of how important it is to preserve and protect knowledge.
