The Library of Alexandria: Centre of Learning in the Ancient World

An excellent book on a great age of learning.

Fine I got this a long time ago.

A joy to read, contains different essay style chapters from different scholars, excellent for both the scholar and the enthusiast

This book is a collection of essays, mainly put together by classical historians in Australia.It is aimed at both academic and general readers, but probably the emphasis remains on the former. However, it remains an accessible and enjoyable book and it covers a lot of ground.Not all the essays will be of interest to non-specialists, although the standout pieces are really excellent (such as the lovely opening piece which takes you on a 'tour' of the city as a whole and the library as things stood during the time of the Emperor Augustus, just as BC turned to AD).Those in search of a more coherent narrative account might do better with Luciano Canfora's "The Vanished Library".However, this book is well worthwhile.

The 'vanished' Library of Alexandria was one of the greatest cultural achievements of the ancient world. Comprising many thousands of scrolls of Egyptian, Greek, Hebrew and Mesopotamian learning, it drew the greatest scholars of its time, and its loss has been lamented ever since. The nine essays in this book examine various aspects of the founding and functioning of the Library, and are fascinating for the general reader as much as for the scholar.This said, the essays will be of varying interest to any reader. I am not especially bothered about the methods of transmission of Aristotle's scientific works, or whether medical doctors held especial prestige within the Library. I am, on the other hand, very interested in the Mesopotamian antecedents of the Alexandrian library, and in a sort of travellers' guide to Ancient Alexandria, as well as in the legacy left by the institution, and all of these are more than amply covered here. And who can resist the charms of the final piece in the book, where John O. Ward considers the legacy left by Alexandria to the greatest medieval library that never existed, the one in Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, which manages to be equally enlightening for both the fictional and the historical foundations.

A wonderful book which gives a good insight into the ancient world but why oh why did the authors consider that a street plan of Alexandria was the only illustration required? I found the book unputdownable and it is well worth five stars I have give it although clear maps, showing the places where the various characters came from, would have made it even better; especially as none of my atlases show the whole area on one page.Vivien Lyell

I like how the m author covered the history of the Library. A fascinating read

love it