Preface vii
Infinity xiv
Chapter 1 A Library with No Books Oral Traditions And The Songlines 3
The pleasure of books 14
Chapter 2 The Last Days of Alexandria Ancient Books And Their Storage 18
Booths in bed 34
Chapter 3 In Pursuit of Perfection The Rise Of The Codex 37
Fools in love 49
Chapter 4 "A damned sewerful of men" Renaissance Rediscoveries 52
Mean-spirited collectors 77
Chapter 5 Free for All The Abundance Of Books In The Printing Era 79
Curiosities 94
Chapter 6 "What the Barbarians did not do" The Vatican Library 96
Delicacies 108
Chapter 7 Secret Histories Tricks And Treasures In Library Design 110
Found 129
Chapter 8 Keepers of Books The Best And Worst Librarians In History 131
Vandals 138
Chapter 9 The Quintessence of Debauchery Heber, Byron, And Barry 141
Writers' libraries 153
Chapter 10 Execration upon Vulcan Libraries Destroyed By Fire And War 156
Library fauna 176
Chapter 11 The Count Book Looters And Thieves 182
Book wheels and machines 197
Chapter 12 "The interior of a library should whisper" The Pierpont Morgan Library 199
When disaster strides 209
Chapter 13 For the Glory The Folger Shakespeare Library 211
Birth 230
Chapter 14 Killing a Monk Fantasy Libraries 231
Death 250
Chapter 15 A Love Letter Libraries For The Future 252
Afterlife 263
Acknowledgments 265