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foofers1622's review against another edition
5.0
This had to be one of the most depressing and sicking books I've ever read and I loved every damn page of it. Fernando does an amazing job going through history and reporting every book and library that was damaged or destroyed. The one quote that really hit me hard was Heinrich Heine's "Where they burn books, they end up burning men"..WOW. Another take away I got from this book was how spoiled us Americans are. We have the luxury of reading any book we want at anytime. So many people in other countries, even to this day, would die trying.
rell_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
carinthia72's review against another edition
5.0
Perfect book for me - full of a myriad of interesting historical facts while simultaneously tracing the human paradox of the love of learning paired with a seemingly incurable need to eventually destroy everything we create. Made me sad to a degree, as I learned just how much we've lost over time. Still, very highly recommended.
littlemereading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
"Those who burn books will end up burning people." Heinrich Heine
In the history of humankind, books have become the epitome of life and culture. The disappearance of books signifies the erosion of human memory. Baghdad, the capital city of Iraq is the living proof of this. War, theft, looting, and neglect have destroyed the stories in which the first book was written, the first law was made, and one of the greatest libraries of all time was created.
In the history of humankind, books have become the epitome of life and culture. The disappearance of books signifies the erosion of human memory. Baghdad, the capital city of Iraq is the living proof of this. War, theft, looting, and neglect have destroyed the stories in which the first book was written, the first law was made, and one of the greatest libraries of all time was created.
miss_cat's review against another edition
3.0
Very dry, but does have some interesting tidbits spread throughout.
storytimed's review against another edition
3.0
Very comprehensive but also so very, very, dry. Not necessarily universal, though I am in awe of the sheer amount of research done: kind of more like "the West, Latin America, the Middle East and China sometimes" with no real attention paid to the rest of Asia or Africa. Still, it's a powerful book. Reading this induced despair. People are shit and don't value knowledge enough I guess.
leichenzug's review against another edition
4.0
The first half of the book was fascinating, but it started to be a bit repetative after that
leilaammartin's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. It started off okay but didn't hold my attention past the first couple of chapters. I may try it again sometime but it wasn't doing it for me this time around.
bloodravenlib's review against another edition
2.0
The book was interesting, but it was a bit tiresome and depressing at times. You are looking at humanity's history pretty much by the many books (and scrolls and manuscripts) that have been lost or destroyed from natural disasters to man's intentional destruction. It is written in short sections, which makes it easy to read, but the prose is a little on the dry side (which is why I gave it two stars; it just did not draw me in). If you are interested in books, it is worth a look, but it is a slow read.