The Library at Night

385 Pages·2008·2.32 MB·English

by  Alberto Manguel

The Library at Night
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A L B E R T O
M A N G U E L

T H E L I B R A R Y
AT N I G H T
Yale University Press
New Haven & London
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Disclaimer: Some images in the printed version of this
book are not available for inclusion in the eBook.
PAGES II/III: Aby Warburg’s Library, Hamburg, Germany
First published in Canada in 2006 by Alfred A. Knopf Canada.
First published in the United States in 2008 by Yale University Press.
Copyright © 2006 Alberto Manguel.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including
illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by
Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers
for the public press), without written permission from the publishers.
Permission to reprint “The Mayan Books” by A.D. Hope from
The Collected Poems 1930-1970, Angus & Robertson, 1972, granted by
arrangement with the Licensor, c/o Curtis Brown (Aust.) Pty. Ltd.
Pages 357-360 constitute a continuation of the copyright page.
Printed in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2007937419
ISBN 978-0-300-13914-3 (hardcover : alk. paper)
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and
durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity
of the Council on Library Resources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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In the sixteenth century,the Ottoman poet AdbüllatifÇelebi,
better known as Latifi,called each ofthe books in his library
“a true and loving friend who drives away all cares.”
This book is for Craig.
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Contents
2
Foreword
6
The Library as Myth
36
The Library as Order
64
The Library as Space
90
The Library as Power
106
The Library as Shadow
128
The Library as Shape
162
The Library as Chance
176
The Library as Workshop
192
The Library as Mind
214
The Library as Island
234
The Library as Survival
252
The Library as Oblivion
268
The Library as Imagination
292
The Library as Identity
306
The Library as Home
320
Conclusion
326
Acknowledgments
329
Notes
357
Image Credits
361
Index
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All that remains ofan Athenian library: an inscription stating that
opening times are“from the first to the sixth hour”and that “it is
forbidden to take works out ofthe library.”
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