Packing My Library: An Elegy and Ten Digressions

Manguel, Alberto

ISBN 10: 0300219334 / ISBN 13: 9780300219333

Published by Yale University Press (edition First Edition), 2018

About this Item

With dust jacket. It's a well-cared-for item that has seen limited use. The item may show minor signs of wear. All the text is legible, with all pages included. It may have slight markings and/or highlighting.

Seller Inventory # 0300219334-11-1-29

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Packing My Library: An Elegy and Ten Digressions
• Publisher: Yale University Press (edition First Edition)
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0300219334
• ISBN 13: 9780300219333
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included

About this title

Synopsis

A best-selling author and world-renowned bibliophile meditates on his vast personal library and champions the vital role of all libraries.

“The author brings a fresh hopefulness to the enterprise of books and reading. Vintage Manguel—a pleasure for his many readers and admirers.”—Kirkus Reviews

In June 2015 Alberto Manguel prepared to leave his centuries-old village home in France’s Loire Valley and reestablish himself in a one-bedroom apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Packing up his enormous, 35,000‑volume personal library, choosing which books to keep, store, or cast out, Manguel found himself in deep reverie on the nature of relationships between books and readers, books and collectors, order and disorder, memory and reading. In this poignant and personal reevaluation of his life as a reader, the author illuminates the highly personal art of reading and affirms the vital role of public libraries.
 
Manguel’s musings range widely, from delightful reflections on the idiosyncrasies of book lovers to deeper analyses of historic and catastrophic book events, including the burning of ancient Alexandria’s library and contemporary library lootings at the hands of ISIS. With insight and passion, the author underscores the universal centrality of books and their unique importance to a democratic, civilized, and engaged society.

About the Author

Alberto Manguel is an internationally acclaimed reader, writer, and critic. From 2015 to 2018 he was the director of the National Library of Argentina. His books include The Library at Night, A Reader on Reading, Curiosity, Fabulous Monsters, and Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey.” He lives in Lisbon, Portugal.