The Library of Alexandria: The History and Legacy of the Ancient World's Most Famous Library

By: Charles River Editors

Narrated by: Maria Chester

Length: 1 hr and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

"When I wrote 'The Alexandria Link,' I discovered that we are only aware of about 10 percent of the knowledge of the ancient world. In the ancient world, most of the knowledge was destroyed." (Steve Berry)

In the modern world, libraries are taken for granted by most people, perhaps because their presence is ubiquitous. Every school has a library, large libraries can be found in every major city, and even most small towns have public libraries. However, the omnipresent nature of libraries is a fairly recent historical phenomenon because libraries were still few and far between before the 19th century. For centuries in the Western world, during what is known as the Middle Ages, written knowledge was guarded closely and hidden away in private repositories, usually by the religious classes.

The lack of libraries in the West has helped contribute to the popular imagination of the ancient Library at Alexandria and all the myths and legends that have come to be associated with it, but the Library of Alexandria deserves its reputation. Before the Middle Ages, Greek scholars carefully collected and inventoried books and other written materials in the Library of Alexandria, which truly made it a sort of precursor to all modern libraries. In fact the Library of Alexandria proved to be one of the greatest institutions created in the ancient world because it influenced the minds of countless people in profound ways for centuries.

©2012 Charles River Editors (P)2015 Charles River Editors

Review

Informative audiobook about the library of Alexandria, a great place to start if your interested in the subject. The narrator sounded like a computer reading a text file which made it difficult to get into the book more.

Great Synopsis

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Very interesting look at the famous library. The narration seemed choppy and almost robotic computer generated reading. Narrator Maria Chester has read a number of books, and gives clear, crisp smooth delivery.

Waste of time

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Doing more than skim the surface and presenting common knowledge.

Would you ever listen to anything by Charles River Editors again?

No

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Maria Chester?

Not sure

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment

Any additional comments?

I want a refund

This is not the thesis you were looking for.

If you were expecting a decent college level thesis, this is not it. I'm sure that is would be adequate for freshman high school, but the writing is sloppy and boring. Combine that with a soporific narrator who seems to be reading it for the first time, and this is what you get. The author seems to have done this at the last minute and tried hard to make the word quota. The narrator has halts frequently and inappropriately. Not worth the minimal cost to purchase.