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Burning the books : a history of the deliberate destruction of knowledge / Richard Ovenden.
Kislak Center for Special Collections - Furness Shakespeare Library (Van Pelt 628) Z659 .O94 2022
Available
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Ovenden, Richard, author.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Book burning--History--20th century.
- Book burning.
- Book burning--History--21st century.
- Censorship--History.
- Censorship.
- Libraries--Destruction and pillage--History--20th century.
- Libraries.
- Libraries--Destruction and pillage--History--21st century.
- Archives--History.
- Archives.
- Cultural property--Protection.
- Cultural property.
- Information science--Sociological aspects.
- Information science.
- Books--Social aspects--History.
- Books.
- Libraries--Social aspects.
- Archives--Social aspects.
- Libraries--Destruction and pillage.
- Genre:
- History.
- Physical Description:
- 308 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm
- Edition:
- First Harvard University Press paperback edition.
- Place of Publication:
- Cambridge, Massachusetts : The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2022.
- Summary:
- "Libraries have been attacked since ancient times but 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"-- Provided by publisher.
- Contents:
- Machine generated contents note: 1. Cracked Clay Under the Mounds
- 2. A Pyre of Papyrus
- 3. When Books Were Dog Cheap
- 4. An Ark to Save Learning
- 5. Spoil of the Conqueror
- 6. How to Disobey Kafka
- 7. The Twice-Burned Library
- 8. The Paper Brigade
- 9. To Be Burned Unread
- 10. Sarajevo Mon Amour
- 11. Flames of Empire
- 12. An Obsession with Archives
- 13. The Digital Deluge
- 14. Paradise Lost?
- 15. Coda: Why We Will Always Need Libraries and Archives.
- Notes:
- "First published in Great Britain as Burning the Books: A History of Knowledge Under Attack in 2020 by John Murray (Publishers) A Hachette UK company"--Title page verso.
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 241-290) and index.
- Local Notes:
- Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund.
- ISBN:
- 9780674271104
- 0674271106
- OCLC:
- 1141417443
- Publisher Number:
- 99992657254
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