The Library at Night

The Library At Night is the first book I have read by Alberto Manguel. I can say now, after completing it earlier today, that I am looking forward to reading other selections that this author has written. I was not quite sure what to expect from this book, from simply reading the title. I could only hope that it would not disappoint and it did not. The book is broken down into 15 chapters. Each of them begins with "The Library As...." You can fill in the blank with such words as "Power," "Myth," "Shadow," and "Chance" (among 11 others). The chapters begin with personal anecdotes from Manguel. We learn a lot about who he is as well as the extent of his personal library. Following the brief reflection, he delves into well-researched historical data that revolve around his chapter topics. The stories he tells flow nicely together and endnotes are provided in the back of the book for further reading. The chapters are quite strong, though I really was expecting more from the last two chapters. The only negative aspects, and really they aren't negative to all, of this book are Manguel's erudite use of language. He excels at linguistics and I found myself needing a dictionary nearby to help me through the text. Manguel makes many comparisons throughout the text between books, many of which, I had not heard of before. While I was excited about these newly discovered books,at least to me, they are not commonplace. So, yes, this book is written on a somewhat high intellectual level and a portion of its charm is lost by the author speaking over the reader's head.

Alberto Manguel has produced a romantic history of libraries which incorporates their best feature: the ability to wander down hitherto unsuspected byways and make new discoveries, often winding up far from your original objective but still satisfied by what you have found instead. This is a discursive history of libraries through various categories: Myth, Order, etc. with fascinating essays for each. Those who love reading and libraries will learn much history and philosophy and will recognize in Manguel a kindred spirit and friend.

Alberto Manguel starts this wonderful book quoting Northrop Frye. Manguel is a prolific writer who returns time and again to the joys of reading: A History of Reading, With Borges, A Reading Diary: A Passionate Reader's Reflections on a Year of Books, and this most recent triumph. When he was seven Manguel assembled "a minuscule Alexandria, about one hundred volumes of different formats on all sorts of subjects." In Toronto he filled bedrooms, the kitchen, corridors and the bathroom with books -- his kids needed a library card to go home. In his dream library "books have no title and boast no author, forming a continuous narrative stream in which all genres, all styles, all stories converge ... a stream into which I can dip at any point of its course." He lives with 30,000 books and reads in his library at night "when the library lamps are lit, the outside world disappears and nothing but this space of books remains in existence." Manguel analyzes the library as Order, Power, Chance, Mind, Imagination, Identity and Home, and others. He describes the library of Alexandria, the personal libraries of Montaigne, Rabelais, Borges and Hitler. "In the spring of 1945, a group of American soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division discovered, hidden in a salt mine near Berchtesgaden, the remains of the library of Adolf Hitler, haphazardly stashed in schnapps crates with the Reich Chancellery address on them." Manguel believes Hitler had 16,000 volumes, ranging from military history to spirituality, popular fiction and a few classics. Manguel is critical of the Web: "The Web, and its promise of a voice and a site for all is our equivalent of the mare incognitum, the unknown sea that lured ancient travelers with the temptation of discovery." He points out that it delivers ephemera; 70% of its communications are destroyed after four months. "On the Web, where all texts are equal and alike in form, they become nothing but phantom text and photographic image." Nonetheless he remembers reading for Jorge Luis Borges when he was a student. In "The Library of Babel" Borges predicted the Kindle: in a footnote Manguel that Borges wrote that the whole library, which includes every text in the world, could be reduced to one handheld book of infinitely thin pages. The Borges note is only one of many many pleasures here. This book is playful, scholarly and erudite and a great joy for anyone who loves to read. Robert C. Ross 2008

I can not imagine a better gift than this to buy for a person who loves collections of books, whether as a professional librarian or one who simply possesses a private library (big or small). Alberto Manguel is a wise and learned author. The lessons of his well written book go beyond libraries and touch on what makes us human, and that which connects us, across time and as people, to our historical past.

In this wonderful tome ,Alberto Manguel has given anyone who loves books a fascinating look at books,libraries and the captivating world of books in general. Books have been a major part of the author,s life,and he shares it with us on both a personal and worldwide basis. Generally speaking,anyone who loves books,can never resist the desire to have their own library.In this 373 page book ,he touches on just about every aspect of a library,both those which are personal and those which are public or private.The reader will constantly think of their own library as he discusses all these things. How and why the books are acquired,how are they arranged,how are they catalogued,how long are they kept,how hard were they to acquire,what will become of them,what about lending them,which are your favorites and why,where are they housed;you name it ,he talks about it. I have a place in my library where I keep "Books About Books".I love to read about books and this one will be at home with them. This book is beautifully written with a copious amount of amazing photographs. Because the author covers so much in the book,it never gets laboured and there is something new and interesting on every page. Some of the things are simple ,such as the price-stickers,which he so aptly calls "these evil white scabs".They annoy me as well,and I have found a product called "Goo Gone" a great help in getting rid of them.This reminds me of those "evil doer of deeds" in some bookstores who price-clip the dust jackets because in their little minds they don't think the customers can handle the published price versus what they are asking. I am always interested in the published price of older books and their actions are nothing short of vandalism in what they do. Manguel also talks about items or bookplates readers leave in books as interesting as well, as notes made by other readers and previous owners or readers. Personally,I enjoy these things because they are a bit of the story of the life of that book. He talks about libraries throughout history and even makes comments about things today,such as; an echo of Carlyle's complaint: "Every day the library is filled with,among others,people sleeping,students doing their homework,bright young things writing film scripts-in fact,doing almost anything except consulting the library's books." Ain't that the truth!!He tells us about the personal libraries of the famous (Rudyard Kipling) and the infamous (Adolf Hitler); with pictures.He talks extensively about his personal library from the time when he was a child to the present time. The reader cannot help but compare the author's to his own. There are an amazing 44 pages of notes at the end covering 367 sources of information,photo credits and a detailed index. This alone is a treasure trove of information. It's hard not to go on and on about this book.So,I'll leave it at this and just suggest to pick it up,and see for yourself what a treasure it is. Overall, a mesmerizing gif