Project Gutenberg 1998-05-01 Public domain in the USA. 229 Blades, William 1824 1890 The Enemies of Books Fire -- Water -- Gas and heat -- Dust and neglect -- Ignorance -- The bookworm -- Other vermin -- Bookbinders -- Collectors -- Conclusion: Reverence for old books Produced by Charles Keller, and David Widger "The Enemies of Books" by William Blades is a historical account written in the late 19th century. The book addresses the various threats that books face over time, including physical destruction by fire, water, neglect, and even human ignorance and bigotry. The author meticulously documents notable instances of library destruction and the carelessness that has harmed invaluable texts throughout history. The beginning of "The Enemies of Books" outlines the devastating impact of fire on libraries and manuscripts, citing examples from various historical periods, such as the burning of the Alexandria library and incidents during the Great Fire of London. Blades argues that such losses to humanity's literary treasures are incalculable. He illustrates how these calamities have not only affected written works but also shaped our understanding of cultural heritage. As he details notable events of destruction by fire, the text sets the foundation for a larger discussion on the preservation and vulnerability of books, highlighting the importance of safeguarding literary artifacts for posterity. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 69.1 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Books -- Conservation and restoration Book-worms Z Text Bibliomania Category: History - Other 188338 2025-07-01T09:02:02.339926 text/html 184589 2013-01-31T09:39:26 text/html; charset=us-ascii 137893 2025-07-01T09:02:07.038889 application/epub+zip 140312 2025-07-01T09:02:03.987898 application/epub+zip 140311 2025-07-01T09:02:02.941937 application/epub+zip 260600 2025-07-01T09:02:09.285936 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 249749 2025-07-01T09:02:06.410908 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 223800 2022-09-01T10:24:14.283768 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 164235 2023-10-01T08:28:35.168688 text/plain 15859 2025-07-01T09:02:09.451892 application/rdf+xml 12584 2025-07-01T09:02:03.429916 image/jpeg 3278 2025-07-01T09:02:03.184917 image/jpeg 135594 2025-07-01T09:02:02.354955 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia