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Audiobooks > Social Science >  Anthropology > Library: An Unquiet History
Library: An Unquiet History Audiobook, by Matthew Battles Play Audiobook Sample

Library: An Unquiet History Audiobook

By: Matthew Battles
Library: An Unquiet History Audiobook, by Matthew Battles Play Audiobook Sample
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This audiobook is no longer available through the publisher and we don't know if or when it will become available again. Please check out similar audiobooks below, and click the "Vote this up!" button to let us know you're interested in this title. This audiobook has 1 votes
Read By: Grover Gardner Publisher: Random House Audio Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 4.50 hours at 1.5x Speed 3.38 hours at 2.0x Speed Release Date: September 2003 Format: Unabridged Audiobook ISBN: 9781415912706
3.004992 out of 53.004992 out of 53.004992 out of 53.004992 out of 53.004992 out of 5 (3.00) - 625 listener ratings
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Quick Stats About this Audiobook

Total Audiobook Chapters:

7

Longest Chapter Length:

71:46 minutes

Shortest Chapter Length:

33:08 minutes

Average Chapter Length:

56:58 minutes

Audiobooks by this Author:

1

Other Audiobooks Written by Matthew Battles: > View All...

Palimpsest: A History of the Written Word Audiobook, by Matthew Battles

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Publisher Description

For rare-books librarian Matthew Battles, libraries represent a compelling paradox. On the one hand, they exist to collect and preserve knowledge. On the other hand, they have been used to control, restrict, and sometimes obliterate knowledge. Battles takes us on a spirited foray from classical scriptoria to medieval monasteries, from the Vatican to the British Library, from socialist reading rooms and rural home libraries to the Information Age. At the same time, he gives due attention to both what has been found and what has been lost—from the clay tablets of ancient Mesopotamia to the storied Alexandrian libraries in Egypt, from the burned scrolls of ancient China to the book pyres of the Hitler Youth. This history speaks volumes about the care of the written word.

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"When you're a book person, even a flaky one like me, you usually end up with a library fixation. Matthew Battles, who works at Harvard's Houghton Library, ended up doing something useful with his by tracing the history of the library through the centuries. In the process, we find some interesting things about the guardians of knowledge and the ways they try to steer the course of things. The chapter on Nazi librarians is especially fascinating."

— Eric (4 out of 5 stars)

Quotes

  • “Battles’ sprightly narrative performs a valuable service by blowing the dust off our stodgy, conventional conception of the library to reveal the living heart of cultures that beats beneath its stone facade.”

    — Los Angeles Times Book Review

  • Gifted and eloquent, Battles has written a pertinent book, full of insight and humanity.—Nicholas Basbanes, author of On Paper

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  • Huge in scope…engaging.—BookPage

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  • Blow[s] the dust off our stodgy, conventional conception of the library to reveal the living heart of culture.—Los Angeles Times Book Review

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  • Battles’ book is an obvious choice for bibliophiles. But the author’s evident enthusiasm for his subject just might fan into flame any passion for books and libraries that smolders in the heart of the general reader, too.—Boston Herald

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  • Elegantly written....A great read, flowing over many time periods and geographic regions.—Library Journal

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  • Battles turns an all-seeing telescope on the most spectacular galaxy in our intellectual heavens—that magnificent constellation of books we call a library—and brings into focus the brightest stars and blackest holes in its dynamic history.—Richard Lederer, author of A Man of My Words

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  • Splendidly articulate, informative and provoking…sweeping in its inclusiveness, extraordinarily brisk in narrative vigor, and consistently lively—utterly trumping the cliches of the mustiness of libraries and the dreariness of librarians. A book among books, to be savored and gone back to.—Michael Packenham, Baltimore Sun

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  • This is an idiosyncratic and brave book…like many other fine works of literature, [it] is not unlike a library.—Dallas Morning News

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  • Fascinating…At its heart, the book is above all a celebration of mankind’s ceaseless quest to quench curiosity and organize knowledge—a quest all the more timely, yet more overwhelming, in an era when our collective 'library' has swelled into the world wide web, the largest information system humanity has ever known.—Maria Popova, author of Figuring

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  • “Splendidly articulate, informative, and provoking…A book to be savored and gone back to.”

    — Baltimore Sun

  • “Battles…offers a distinguished portrait of the library, its endurance and destruction throughout history, and traces how the library’s meaning was questioned or altered according to the climate of the time. In accessible prose, Battles recounts the building and burning that have marked the library’s long history…Dynamic characters lend this history a novelistic tone.”

    — Publishers Weekly

  • “Battles, a rare book librarian at Harvard, takes the reader on a world tour of the library from ancient times to the present digital age…Battles writes in an engaging way, and his book will be appreciated by librarians and book lovers.”

    — Booklist

  • “One might expect a book that…[is] huge in scope and academically dry…Library is neither…[An] engaging book.”

    — BookPage

Library Listener Reviews

Overall Performance: 3.08 out of 53.08 out of 53.08 out of 53.08 out of 53.08 out of 5 (3.08)
5 Stars: 1
4 Stars: 7
3 Stars: 12
2 Stars: 3
1 Stars: 2
Narration: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Story: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Write a Review
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Interesting but dry at the same time. "

    — Ramona, 2/11/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Reading for the 000 portion of the Dewey Decimal Reading Challenge. "

    — Becca, 2/10/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " I really liked it. I read most of it at work, and I got quite a few comments. One of the librarians I work with thought the title was hilarious. It was interesting to read about the origins of the library and how it works though. It makes me miss the card catalog that much more. "

    — Janine, 2/3/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " This book gave some interesting history of the library. I especially liked the parts chronicling the different formats information was stored in before the codex (book) was invented. However, the author moved from topic to topic in a very haphazard and unorganized way (kind of ironic considering this person is a librarian - I guess we're not all organized...) "

    — Amy, 1/31/2014
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Not as good as it could have been, and definitely skewed toward the history of libraries in the Ancient World and the Far East. Not a single mention of Dr. William Pepper, who created the first free and public library in the U.S. (Philadelphia), though Boston and New York Public are included. The book was less of a narrative history and more of a dissertation, the point of which seemed to be to include as many bits of general history as possible into each chapter. The result was fairly disjointed work about the role of libraries in the intellectual dialogue throughout history. "

    — Tom, 1/17/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " meh, some good factoids, but relentlessly nerdy "

    — Rock, 1/14/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " A short history of the library as a concept and a reality. Very well written and entertaining. It held my interest all of the way through. "

    — Tim, 1/14/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " The heart of this book is -- an exploration of libraries and how the institution has evolved over the years -- is certainly worthwhile but Battles' philosophically-inspired prose becomes a huge anchor on the material he presents. "

    — Tim, 1/12/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " So much of the "unquiet" part is book-burning and library destruction that it made this book-lover weep. "

    — Tom, 12/25/2013
  • Overall Performance: 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5

    " Read for LIS class. "

    — Clementine, 12/13/2013
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Yes, two stars. It was ok. The library's place in history is riveting but you wouldn't know it from this book. "

    — Susan, 11/20/2013
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " I mean... Battles ends the book wondering where the Library of Congress is going to assign the call number for his book. Delightfully geeky. "

    — Emily, 1/17/2013
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Hard to follow at times but fun to read. "

    — Amelia, 10/13/2012
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " The bit about the geniza was worth the price of the book alone. Very interesting "

    — Meredi, 10/2/2012
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " A cultural history of the world. Well done. Held my interest. "

    — Peregrina651, 6/28/2012
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " I found the content very interesting but prefer books detailing the history of a subject to be more linear. "

    — Katelyn, 2/18/2012
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Library by Matthew Battles (2004) "

    — Keith, 8/24/2011
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " I'm not much of a nonfiction reader, but it was interesting learning about the history of libraries. "

    — Jo, 8/8/2011
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " I appreciate the academics of the rendering.Someone has to get this message out I think Matthew missed an opportunity. Library read "

    — Jack, 3/9/2011
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " I found the content very interesting but prefer books detailing the history of a subject to be more linear. "

    — Katelyn, 2/2/2011
  • Overall Performance: 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5

    " Read for LIS class. "

    — Clementine, 1/30/2011
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Had to read it for class. A pretty interesting history of the library. Battles tends to name=drop a bit though. "

    — Ariel, 9/15/2010
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Hmmm, skipped through a lot, was a bit boring in places, but then other parts were really interesting and well written, bit of a mixed bag this one. Maybe i'm just not used to reading nonfiction for pleasure and am judging it on an unfair criteria. Just 2 stars, it was ok. "

    — Gems, 6/27/2010
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Interesting general history book on libraries...... "

    — Leslie, 3/4/2010
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " The bit about the geniza was worth the price of the book alone. Very interesting "

    — Meredi, 2/8/2010

About Grover Gardner

Grover Gardner (a.k.a. Tom Parker) is an award-winning narrator with over a thousand titles to his credit. Named one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, he has won three prestigious Audie Awards, was chosen Narrator of the Year for 2005 by Publishers Weekly, and has earned more than thirty Earphones Awards.