A History of Reading - Softcover

Manguel, Alberto

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0670843024 ISBN 13: 9780670843022

Publisher: Viking Adult, 1996

Synopsis

A history of reading presents tales of book thieves, book burners, censors, anarchists, women of eleventh century Japan who had to invent their own reading material, and African-American slaves who were forbidden to read under penalty of death. 20,000 first printing. $20,000 ad/promo.

About this title

Review:

This book contains some of the best writing about reading, encompassing the 6,000-year recorded history of this oldest of media--books. I should note that its dust-jacket surpasses mere decoration: Remove it, flip it open, and there is a lovely timeline of the history of reading to post next to your reading chair. An absolutely delightful book and, not surprisingly, Very Highly Recommended.

From the Back Cover:

"An absolute treasure.... Alberto Manguel has written a celebration of reading [that] has the impact of an elegy." -The Globe and Mail

"Anyone who reads will be hooked right away: ...it is, after all, a history of ourselves, and a celebration of our favourite occupation." -Margaret Visser

"A love letter written to reading." -George Steiner, The New Yorker

"A remarkable achievement. I finished the book with a sense of gratitude to have shared this journey through time in the company of a mind so lively, knowledgeable and sympathetic." -P.D. James, The Sunday Times

"A highly entertaining overview that leaves us with both a new appreciation for our own bibliomania and a deeper understanding of the role that the written word has played throughout history." -The New York Times

"Awe-inspiring.... A fine anthology of things we are unlikely to have found, or ever to find, for ourselves." -The Times Literary Supplement

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking Adult
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0670843024
• ISBN 13: 9780670843022
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384