... a deeply engaging and timely 'history of knowledge under attack'... detailing specific episodes rather than attempting a comprehensive history, charting the apparently never-ending threat to the recorded past. He dissects the methods and motives of those who have sought to burn, bury or delete the texts through which the story of the human race – its wanderings, discoveries and longings – has been documented. But he is careful to lavish special attention, the admiration of a kindred spirit, on those who stood in the way ... The sound of a warning vibrates through this book. Ovenden sets us straight about the great library of Alexandria: it was not destroyed by fire, but rather neglect. He calls it a 'cautionary tale of the danger of creeping decline, through the underfunding, low prioritisation and general disregard for the institutions that preserve and share knowledge'.
... Burning the Books reveals on every page, not only is he careful, diligent and wise, he also knows what to leave out, and what to keep in – and it’s this quality, above all, that makes his book so remarkable. Its sweep is quite astonishing and yet, amazingly, his narrative runs to just 320 pages ... Ovenden’s somewhat more diminutive ark, also written at a time of huge political and economic strife, attempts to save the concept of the library itself, something it achieves not through polemic – though his book comes with a handy, cut-out-and-keep five-point plea for their continued existence – but by telling stories.
... eminently readable ... Despite its title, Burning the Books is concerned as much with the building and maintaining of libraries as with their annihilation. It is essential reading for anyone concerned with libraries and what Mr. Ovenden outlines as their role in 'the support of democracy, the rule of law and open society.' He takes care to emphasize the remarkable resiliency with which libraries can be revived after their looting and destruction in times of war or revolution, often with added safeguards and renewed sense of purpose.
... an erudite, frightening and often exhilarating journey, from the partial destruction of the huge library of the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal at Nineveh in 612 BC to the current threat to human knowledge posed by our reliance on powerful private interests who control our digital resources ... This is not just a fascinating, often entertaining, surprising, incredibly well-researched and beautifully written book. It is an important book, now more than ever, when the whole idea of evidence is under attack from many quarters.
... a passionate and illuminating account of the obliteration of knowledge that has occurred over the past three millennia. Ovenden’s aim is 'not just to highlight the destruction of [libraries] . . . but also to acknowledge and celebrate the ways librarians and archivists have fought back'. Working in a library is usually a rather safe profession, but the characters in this book are superheroes who fight and die for the cultures they are obliged to protect ... This splendid book reveals how, in today’s world of fake news and alternative facts, libraries stand defiant as guardians of truth.
In Burning the Books: A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge , Richard Ovenden, head librarian at the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library, chronicles how libraries have served as sanctuaries for knowledge under constant threat, and what that means for the present and the future ... Ovenden’s book is matter-of-fact in tone, but its historical accounts of the destruction of libraries and the information they contain are harrowing.
... a thoughtful and readable addition to the oeuvre ... Ovenden notes that the significance of books and knowledge is understood by those who wish to destroy them as well as the collectors, archivists and librarians who work to preserve and protect them. As he examines different historical episodes, Ovenden builds a case for why libraries and archives are essential for a functioning open society, and how libraries can best be supported in this role despite current political and financial restraints ... This is a very cohesive history of books, information and knowledge and the attempts to collect and curate them, made more enjoyable by the author being able to use his library’s collection to illustrate the many ethical conundrums. By examining these key incidents and the strategies of those determined to destroy history and knowledge, Ovenden makes a compelling case for the preservation of, and open access to, information within a very readable social history.
... a wide-ranging and thought-provoking account of efforts to destroy, neglect, or conceal books, archives, private papers, government documents, and other records ... He stuffs the narrative with intriguing arcana, and counterbalances the grim rundown of dangers posed to cultural heritage with profiles of librarians and archivists working to opposite ends. The result is an engrossing and informative portrait of how important it is to preserve and protect knowledge.
