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A Splendor of Letters: The Permanence of Books in an Impermanent World

by Nicholas A. Basbanes

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A concluding volume on the culture of books

$17.20 USD
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Paperback New English

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A concluding volume on the culture of books

Nicholas A. Basbanes closes his trilogy on books and bibliophiles with a broad look at the people, places, and cultural life surrounding the written word. Positioned within literary criticism and books-about-books writing, A Splendor of Letters treats books not simply as texts but as enduring objects of attention, collecting, and conversation. Its emphasis on book culture makes it a natural companion to Basbanes’s earlier volumes, A Gentle Madness and Patience & Fortitude.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in book history and bibliophiles
  • Fans of literary culture and books about books
  • Those seeking a companion to Basbanes’s earlier trilogy volumes

Themes

Book cultureBibliophiliaLiterary historyThe enduring place of books

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

In A Splendor of Letters, Nicholas A. Basbanes continues the lively, richly anecdotal exploration of book people, places, and culture he began in 1995 with A Gentle Madness (a finalist that year for the National Book Critics Circle Award) and expanded in 2001 with Patience & Fortitude, a companion work that prompted the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and biographer David McCullough to proclaim him "the leading authority of books about books." In this beautifully packaged edition, Basbanes brings to a close his wonderful trilogy on the remarkable world of books and bibliophiles.

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