Library History

A history of libraries and the people who built them, from the ancient world to the digital age “Engaging [and] ambitious” (The Washington Post) The history of the library is rich, varied, and stuffed full of incident. In The Library, historians Andrew Pettegree and Arthur...

In the Pacific, there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea birds abound. Karana is the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Hers is not only an unusual adventure of survival, but...

Echo London never wanted to be the curator of the People’s Library, a digital collection of human consciousness. But when she’s assigned as its head librarian, Echo is entrusted with humanity’s greatest minds and historical figures, all of whom have been recreated through controversial consciousness-capturing technology that lets visitors interact with the dead. But an anti-tech rebellion is stirring. When a rebel attack results in tragedy, a mysterious woman wearing an ancient death mask leaves behind cryptic final words for Echo: It all begins with nothing.

Where the Library Hides is Isabel Ibañez's stunning conclusion to the story that started in What the River Knows. A lush immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt filled with adventure, and a rivals-to-lovers romance like no other! "Ana Osorio and Ahmed Hamad are consistently excellent as they...

Gnosticism Explained: Ancient Secret Knowledge, The Gnostic Gospels, Dualism, Sophia, the Demiurge, and the Quest for Spiritual Awakening in Early Christianity What was Gnosticism, and why was it considered one of the most controversial movements in early Christian history? Gnosticism Explained takes readers deep into the hidden world of ancient secret knowledge, exploring the Gnostic gospels, the myth of Sophia, the mysterious Demiurge, and the radical idea that salvation comes through inner awakening rather than external authority. Drawing on historical research and the groundbreaking ...

NEWLY REVISED AND EXPANDED: Now with 29 complete texts and updated scholarship. In 1945, a farmer in Upper Egypt cracked open a sealed clay jar and found thirteen codices buried since 367 CE. Inside were gospels, cosmologies, hymns, and visions from a rival Christianity so sophisticated it nearly won. For a thousand years, everything we knew about these texts came from the people who destroyed them. Now you can read them yourself. Twenty-nine texts in clear, modern English. No archaic phrasing. No dense scholarly apparatus. Just the words, made readable. The Gospels: The Gospel of Thomas (...

Ancient wonder. A seductive rival. A discovery to die for. Darwin Lacroix drops everything—including his fiancée, Eyrún—to pursue a new lead on the lost Library of Alexandria. The trail begins in Rome, but it belongs to Tessa Santarossa—a brilliant Italian operator who plays by her own rules and never shows her full hand. What starts as a promising discovery turns into a dangerous race across a two-thousand-year-old path. Armed militants want the truth buried, and Tessa’s agenda is as elusive as the prize itself. Eyrún sees the threat immediately—and when the hunt turns violent...

Three years since they last saw each other. Two months to untangle their complicated past. One unforgettable Italian summer. Childhood best friends Cammie Lovett and West Jacobs haven’t spoken since their first kiss ended in disaster. Now, after getting rejected from her dream field school...

A new holiday story set in the Scottish Highlands to warm booklovers’ hearts by Jenny Colgan, New York Times bestselling author of Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop. Mirren Sutherland stumbled into a career as an antiquarian book hunter after finding a priceless antique book in her great...

Libraries are much more than mere collections of volumes. The best are magical, fabled places whose fame has become part of the cultural wealth they are designed to preserve. The Library is a celebration of books as objects, a celebration of the anthropology and physicality of books and bookish space, and an account of the human side of these hallowed spaces by a leading and passionate bibliophile.

The Revolutionary War is seen through the eyes of a British family to whom an American prisoner of war has been entrusted. Technically the young prisoner is in Uncle Lawrence's custody, but the children soon forge a forbidden friendship with him. He becomes the Reb and they his Redcoats.

"Its best passages treat knowledge not as treasure, but as burden: something that must be timed, guarded, doubted, and eventually released. I also found the book most compelling when it resisted the easy glamour of conspiracy. The Sisterhood is not simply a clever hidden order; it is an argument about history’s missing hands. The novel’s emotional current comes from its insistence that preservation is work, and that women have often done that work without signatures, monuments, or applause. The scale of the mythology can feel heavy, but that weight is also part of the book’s design. ...

Discover the secrets of our past and unlock a deeper understanding of human development. Immerse yourself in the legacies of ancient civilizations and uncover the interconnectedness and impact they still hold today. Gain a comprehensive overview of the most pivotal societies that have shaped human history. Experience the achievements, beliefs, and complexities of ancient cultures through captivating narratives. Delve into the advancements of ancient China, the diverse culture of the Persian Empire, and the enduring legacies of the Maurya and Byzantine Empires. Learn about the foundational ...

THE DEFINITIVE EDITION Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, the remarkable diary that has become a world classic—a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit. Updated for the 75th Anniversary of the Diary’s...

Mildred D. Taylor's Newbery Award-winning masterpiece with an introduction written and read by Jacqueline Woodson, just in time for its 40th Anniversary! Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, this is the story of one family's struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and...

#1 New York Times bestseller #1 Washington Post bestseller #1 Indie Bestseller USA Today Bestseller John Green, award-winning author and passionate advocate for global healthcare reform, tells a deeply human story illuminating the fight against the world’s deadliest infectious...

Have you ever wondered why some nations rise to immense wealth while others remain stagnant? The Wealth of Nations is the most influential book on economics ever written. Adam Smith, the "father of modern economics," changed history by challenging 18th-century mercantile systems. He proposed a revolutionary idea: a nation's wealth is measured not by hoarded gold, but by the trade, production, and commerce generated by its people.

Sometime around 295 BCE, the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt built a library that would become the intellectual center of the ancient world. For centuries, the Library of Alexandria housed hundreds of thousands of scrolls — the accumulated knowledge of Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and Babylonian civilizations. Works of science, philosophy, literature, medicine, and mathematics that existed nowhere else on Earth. Then it was gone. Not in a single dramatic fire — that's the myth. The real story is slower, uglier, and more instructive. The Library of Alexandria died the way most knowledge dies: ...

In this “superb history” (The Wall Street Journal), award-winning author Candace Fleming tells the extraordinary true story of Russia’s last royal family—and transports readers back to a time when both a bloodline and an empire came tumbling down. “Has all the elements of a fictional...

Red Hugh was a true champion for Irish liberty from Queen Elizabeth's constricting reign in the late 1580's and beyond. Hugh's capture, imprisonment, and escape from the Dublin Castle; his triumph over a blizzard and frostbite; his dramatic rescue of his family's castle; his conflict with the evil Captain Leeds; and his inexhaustible love for Ireland make this a wonderful book for the entire family.