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jazzy_daveOliver Tearle "The Secret Library" (Michael O'Mara Books)
This is a well-written and interesting account regarding literary curiosities that shaped, in one way or another, the world of today's reading. Each chapter opens with a synopsis of the historical and literary events that defined each era, followed by a short description of the most well-known works, a few more obscure ones, and the impact they have on the contemporary readers. Its focus is, largely, the English speaking world, and contains only a few passages dedicated to the literary history of the rest of Europe. There are no references to the other continents.
I loved the underlying humorous tone of the writing and of course, the reference to Blackadder's ''aardvark'' problem when discussing Samuel Johnson's Dictionary. Who can forget that marvelous episode?
The Secret Library is a well-rounded, easy-to-read book for those who want to introduce themselves to the ''Books about Books'' genre. To those of us who have an extensive experience with essays and numerous kinds of texts about this particular subject, it can become a bit boring at times, it doesn't offer anything new.
This is a well-written and interesting account regarding literary curiosities that shaped, in one way or another, the world of today's reading. Each chapter opens with a synopsis of the historical and literary events that defined each era, followed by a short description of the most well-known works, a few more obscure ones, and the impact they have on the contemporary readers. Its focus is, largely, the English speaking world, and contains only a few passages dedicated to the literary history of the rest of Europe. There are no references to the other continents.
I loved the underlying humorous tone of the writing and of course, the reference to Blackadder's ''aardvark'' problem when discussing Samuel Johnson's Dictionary. Who can forget that marvelous episode?
The Secret Library is a well-rounded, easy-to-read book for those who want to introduce themselves to the ''Books about Books'' genre. To those of us who have an extensive experience with essays and numerous kinds of texts about this particular subject, it can become a bit boring at times, it doesn't offer anything new.
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