Library: An Unquiet History

The charm of Battles' book lies in its historical sweep and its appreciation for the browser's delight. Cicero to Swift, Bacon to Borges - this is a book full of breezy learnedness. An earnest and passionate bibliophile, Battles traces the varied forms of writing and book-making from the bamboo and silk of ancient China, clay tablets of Mesopotamia and Mayan deerskin, to the more familiar wax tablets, papyrus scrolls, and, finally, parchment of the medieval Western world. Mostly, though, it is what Battles calls "biblioclasms" that capture his imagination - great moments in the collecting, cataloging and destruction of books.
· Mesopotamia [Newsday ]
· Biblioclasms [ Amazon]