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Quote by Alberto Manguel

“We are losing our common vocabulary, built over thousands of years to help and delight and instruct us, for the sake of what we take to be the new technology's virtues.”

Book:The Library at Night

Work

The Library at Night

This work delves into the nature of libraries as places of refuge, memory, and human ingenuity. Through personal reflection and cultural history, the author examines how libraries have shaped human thought across civilizations, addressing their architectural forms, their role in preserving forbidden or endangered texts, and the intimate act of reading within their walls. The book traverses different cultures and eras, considering both ancient accumulations of clay tablets and modern digital archives, to presents libraries not merely as repositories of printed matter but as living institutions that reflect the values and aspirations of the societies that create them. more

Author

Alberto Manguel

Alberto Manguel, born in 1948, is a renowned writer from Argentina. His works span various literary forms, including novels, essays, and translations, and are known for their unique style and profound insights into human culture. more

“Books may not change our suffering, books may not protect us from evil, books may not tell us what is good or what is beautiful, and they will certainly not shield us from the common fate of the grave. But books grant us myriad possibilities: the possibility of change, the possibility of illumination.”

May Book Beautiful Suffering Evil Common Fate Possibility Protect Graves Grants Shields Illumination Possibility Of Change

Author:Alberto Manguel

“As readers, we have gone from learning a precious craft whose secret was held by a jealous few, to taking for granted a skin that has become subordinate to principles of mindless financial profit or mechanical efficiency, a skill for which governments care almost nothing.”