A Splendor of Letters: The Permanence of Books in an Impermanent World by Nicholas A Basbanes (PDF)

Description

In A Splendor of Letters, Nicholas A. Basbanes continues the lively, richly anecdotal exploration of book people, places, and culture he began in 1995 with A Gentle Madness (a finalist that year for the National Book Critics Circle Award) and expanded in 2001 with Patience & Fortitude, a companion work that prompted the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and biographer David McCullough to proclaim him “the leading authority of books about books.” In this beautifully packaged edition, Basbanes brings to a close his wonderful trilogy on the remarkable world of books and bibliophiles.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: About the Author Nicholas A. Basbanes has worked as an award-winning investigative reporter, a literary editor, and a nationally syndicated columnist. The author of five books, he also writes a regular column for Fine Books & Collections magazine and lectures widely on book-related issues. He and his wife, Constance, live in Massachusetts.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Reading the works of Nicholas A. Basbanes is somewhat like attending a series of lectures by a master professor, one who loves his subject passionately and seems to know every aspect of it. In this volume, as in the preceding works of his trilogy, Mr. Basbanes takes you around the world and back in forth in time, yet the journey always has a constant purpose: to explore the many ways in which humankind has transmitted its thoughts in written form.A central theme of this work is the many assaults on the written word through the ages, and their ultimate triumph of survival. From the destruction of Carthage to the Nazi book-burnings and the more recent destruction of libraries in Tibet, Cambodia, Sarajevo, the written word has again and again been one of the prime targets for those who wish to subjugate a people. Yet for all that has been lost through violence and neglect, much has been preserved.Here Basbanes turns to threats to books of a different sort–libraries discarding little-used volumes because of space issues, or various electronic technologies that have been heralded as being the replacement for the codex, or bound book, as we have known it for centuries. Yet the book endures, and if enough people with the passion of Nicholas A. Basbanes are around, it should endure for countless years to come.This book and its two predecessors represents an educational, entertaining and thought-provoking distillation of a career spent learning about and celebrating the written word. Although “A Splendor of Letters” marks the completion of his trilogy, I hope this will not be the last word Mr. Basbanes has to share on the subject. And I’m sure many other readers feel the same way.–William C. Hall

⭐Nicholas Basbanes has enriched the lives of bibliophiles with his A Gentle Madness and Patience and Fortitude, the first two volumes in this trilogy devoted to books and the people who love them. He has now brought the trilogy to a close with A Splendor of Letters, which is just as fascinating as either of the first two volumes.A Splendor of Letters is a wide ranging look at many aspects of the book world. History is served through an examination of several attempts to destroy the written word, from Nazi Germany to Pol Pot’s Cambodia; and with happier stories of archaeologists’ rediscoveries of ancient libraries. More stories of book collectors of the sort that made A Gentle Madness so interesting are also provided, as is more material on the problems libraries and collections have when they run out of space and must determine what to do with the overflow, which was a major topic in Patience and Fortitude. The main thrust of A Splendor of Letters, however, is a defense of the book in its traditional form against those who would proclaim its death at the hands of technology.As with all of Mr. Basbanes’ works (which also include Among the Gently Mad, A Primer for Book Collectors), the fascinating material is enhanced by the beauty of the writing. No book lover should pass this by.

⭐Excellent discussion of books and book collecting.

⭐It’s amazing to read without wanting to take a break a book of such a serious subject. My tears were real both for the tragedy of book destruction which destroyed the memories of many people over the course of history but for the realization that “the public” will not read this….but SHOULD! Everyone should know the story of the past in order to live responsibly in the present.-

⭐Learned so much from this book. Much of it fascinating. Wish Mr. Basbanes would update the book.

⭐This author is a leading authority about books and collections. Very, very good.

⭐I recently discovered books on the history of collecting by Basbanes. They are wonderful. Fascinating, well researched, well written. Just a delight to read for a book lover.

⭐awesome

⭐this bibliophile is willing to read anything that Basbanes writes, consistently excellent

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