This book gives a history of libraries and archives that have been damaged or destroyed from ancient times to today. It is obviously not a complete history, but it tells the story of some of the most notable losses. It also reports on a couple of cases of personal papers or memoirs that were deliberately destroyed to prevent publication and/or protect reputations. Or in the case of governmental archives, to cover up the actions of colonial/government workers. The famous case of the Library of Alexandria is included. Although its destruction has variously been blamed on the Roman army, early Christians, and Muslims in the 7th century, Ovenden believes these are myths and that the library most likely disappeared due to slow decline, underfunding, and neglect.

A number of libraries were deliberately attacked and destroyed over the years, in attempts to suppress a religion or a specific culture. All the stories are heartbreaking to me, because of the loss of knowledge and history. And unfortunately it still continues today. Serbia's deliberate destruction of the National Library of Bosnia occurred only 30 years ago.

Ovenden also addresses the move to the digital world, and how much of current social discussion takes place online. He is greatly concerned about the loss of history for future research if what is online is not preserved. So much of it is currently under the control of a few large tech companies, whose purpose is to make money, not to preserve information for the future. Ovenden feels that libraries and archives need much better funding so that they can carry out the task of preserving this information for the future. At the end, he makes a plea to "the holders of power" to adequately fund libraries and archives.

I thought the book was interesting and very well written. Highly recommended. ( )

The author of Book Burning does a great job of analyzing the intentional destruction of knowledge over the centuries and makes great arguments for the archiving and digital preservation of social media. Written by the principal librarian of Oxford University's the Bodleian libraries, Ovenden reflects on how libraries and archives reflect the culture, history and society that people live in and when knowledge is destroyed, with it goes the foundations of that society. ( )

I really enjoyed this book charting the history of libraries and archives, and going through some examples of libraries and archives and the knowledge held within them being threatened or destroyed. A fascinating book, and plenty of food for thought. ( )

As a librarian, I really enjoyed reading this and learning about how librarians in the past have fought against the destruction of knowledge and records for the greater good. I did learn quite a bit from reading this, and appreciate Ovenden's voice as an authority on the subject. If you're somebody who wants to learn more about the history of the destruction of knowledge, and how there will always be people fighting against it, this is a truly enlightening Non-Fiction read.

I give it three stars simply because it took me so long to finish, and I wish it was a tad more engaging in parts. Most of the earlier chapters were up my alley in terms of interests and historical periods, but later chapters lost me a bit. ( )

Another book on a serious topic that left me feeling hopeful. I guess it’s the stories of people risking their lives to save books and pieces of paper.

Of all the stories the Sarajevo library bombing bothered me the most. (I love the Olympics, and the Sarajevo Olympics was one of the first ones I really remember watching. The bombing of the city when I was in high school hit me really hard and remains one that shaped my political thinking.)