Burning the Books: A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge

A Wolfson History Prize Finalist
A Sunday Times Book of the Year

"If you care about books, and if you believe we must all stand up to the destruction of knowledge and cultural heritage, this is a brilliant read--both powerful and prescient."
--Elif Shafak

"Wonderful...full of good stories and burning with passion."
--Sunday Times

"Timely and authoritative...Touches not only high politics but also information technology and life-and-death drama...I enjoyed it immensely."
--Philip Pullman

"The sound of a warning vibrates through this book."
--The Guardian

"Essential reading for anyone concerned with libraries and what Ovenden outlines as their role in 'the support of democracy, the rule of law and open society.'"
--Wall Street Journal

"Ovenden emphasizes that attacks on books, archives and recorded information are the usual practice of authoritarian regimes."
--Michael Dirda, Washington Post

Libraries have been ransacked since ancient times but the deliberate destruction of knowledge has increased in frequency and intensity in the modern era. Burning the Books takes us from ancient Alexandria to Sarajevo, from the burning of "un-German" books by the Nazi party in 1933 to censored memoirs and doctored tweets. The Director of the world-famous Bodleian library, Richard Ovenden captures the motivations and emotions of book burners--political, religious, cultural--and shines a light on the librarians and archivists who have valiantly fought to preserve valuable documents, often risking their lives in the process.

More than repositories for knowledge, libraries inspire and inform citizens. Ovenden reminds us of their social and political importance, and challenges us to bolster our support for these essential and fragile institutions.