A review by isigfethera
Burning the Books: A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge by Richard Ovenden
4.0
This was a really interesting look into different ways knowledge has been destroyed (and that people have tried to preserve it) over the years. There’s a lot in here and it raises a lot of different questions, and scenarios, that it doesn’t always have time to address. I felt like there were a couple of things it could have addressed- like if archives can be created as means of oppression or to consolidate power is destruction sometimes warranted? How about when dealing with the deluge of digital knowledge? But for the most part it makes a good argument for the importance of preservation.
There were also times when it all get a bit disparate, or like he was trying to cram in too many bits and pieces, but for the most part I enjoyed the journey and there was a good argument made at the end. The main weakness I felt was that it did sometimes wear the authors job as Bodleian Librarian too heavily. The collection sometimes added unique perspectives but the chapter in the Bodleian felt a bit much.
Overall though this was interesting and thought provoking and does make you want to go and investigate some of the stories further!
There were also times when it all get a bit disparate, or like he was trying to cram in too many bits and pieces, but for the most part I enjoyed the journey and there was a good argument made at the end. The main weakness I felt was that it did sometimes wear the authors job as Bodleian Librarian too heavily. The collection sometimes added unique perspectives but the chapter in the Bodleian felt a bit much.
Overall though this was interesting and thought provoking and does make you want to go and investigate some of the stories further!