Mary's Reviews > A Splendor of Letters: The Permanence of Books in an Impermanent World – The Remarkable Final Trilogy on Bibliophiles from the Leading Authority

A Splendor of Letters meanders quite a bit, and I wouldn't recommend it for focused readers. But it's really nice to feel in good company - you know that this guy cares about books in themselves, their pages, their bindings, their authors, their publishers, their shelves, their homes.
The first few chapters, on ancient texts and materials that have come to light through archaeological research, are fascinating. The few chapters concerning the wiping-out of various cultures by attacking the culture's written words are upsetting. The chapters on the breaking-up and selling of public collections, and even of centuries-old manuscripts being sold page by page are upsetting as well, but I can't always muster the indignance Basbanes wants me to.
That's as far as I've gotten. I hope he picks it back up in the next chapters.