Jacques Bosser

Wow! They aren't kidding! These are some beautiful libraries! The cover photograph of the Great Hall of the Library Congress has provided me with something in the way of inspiration, and I sense a new tourist destination for yours truly, the next time I find myself in D.C. Actually, I have a feeling that all of the twenty-three libraries profiled in this gorgeous book will be going on the "to-do" list (which, as it encompasses the "to-read," "to-see" and "to-experience" list, is practically show more infinite).

This is a book that the reader will want to savor, for although Jacques Bosser's brief descriptions of the history of each library are quite informative, it is Guillaume de Laubier's breathtaking photographs which must surely count as its chief attraction. Whether gazing upon the Baroque splendor of The Monastic Library at Wiblingen (Ulm, Germany), the almost-decadent ostentation of the Vatican Library, or the unique (and more democratic) elegance of the New York Public Library, the bibliophile is in some danger of experiencing sensory overload... I'll be blunt: I didn't just savor this book (reading a few profiles a night), I wallowed in it. Ah bliss! show less

The libraries presented here exude supreme reverence for the book and its contents as towering human achievements. One is hard-pressed to doubt the immortality of the texts contained within each binding. Despite the lofty craftsmanship of the art, architecture and the bindings themselves, they have served their highest purpose only if a reader has been invited, if not lured, to match their dignity in the humble pursuit of truth, wisdom, and beauty. Invest the requisite exertion and time to show more read and contemplate the great books, and you will find the lavishness of even these libraries lacking. Their material riches are first and foremost a catalyst for the enrichment of the soul through the act and art of reading.

Librophiliac Love Letter: A Compendium of Beautiful Libraries, by www.curiousexpeditions.org, is extraordinary: http://curiousexpeditions.org/?p=78 show less

A photographic homage to the library as a monument to art and conspicuous consumption of bishops, gentlemen and kings. It remains unclear why and how the twenty-three libraries illustrated and celebrated as "the most beautiful" were selected. A number of neglected worthy candidates come to mind (e.g. the reading room of the British Museum/Library or the Royal Library in Copenhagen). Is beauty really a function of age? At least some modern libraries should have been included and the glaring show more absence of even a single Asian one is puzzling. The paucity of humans in the pictures reveals a common desire of librarians to protect these precious spaces from visitors. I find the New York Public Library reading room looks much better with actual readers at the desks. The rows of empty desks pictured look sad. Overall, a good present for bibliophiles. show less

This is a magnificent book that I not so much read, but worked my way through in small pieces. The photographs in here are simply gorgeous and depict libraries that were created in a time when knowledge was important and books were revered. This has certainly given me a huge list of places to visit when I finally manage to travel overseas (still have not left Australian shores and I am almost 45!). The friend who gave this to me had given me the calendar the year before and I drooled even show more more when I unwrapped this! Highly recommended to bibliophiles everywhere! show less