The "engaging" and "ambitious" ( Washington Post ) history of libraries and the people who built them, from the ancient world to the digital age. The history of the library is rich, varied, and stuffed full ofincident.In TheLibrary , historians AndrewPettegreeand Arthur derWeduwenintroduce us to the antiquarians and philanthropists who shaped the world's great collections, trace theriseand fall ofliterarytastes, and reveal the high crimes and misdemeanors committed in pursuit of rare manuscripts.In doing so, they reveal that whilecollections themselves are fragile, often falling into ruinwithin a few decades, the idea of the library has been remarkably resilientas each generation makes--and remakes--theinstitution anew. " The Library proves that truth is more intriguing than fiction.Full of charismatic individuals and astonishing facts." The Times (London).