Hirschler's analysis of the catalogue is painstaking and impressively thorough. It offers significant new understandings of many facets of book culture and libraries as institutions in medieval Damascus. Yet, this is not all Hirschler offers. He also includes an edition of the catalogue text and a meticulously annotated translation. Hirschler's work is a significant and, we anticipate, a long-lasting contribution ... Read moreto the field.
MEM Best Book Prize Committee The way historiographical considerations are framed as well as the monographic and editorial contribution, both in print and digital format, are an eloquent illustration of Konrad Hirschler's talent.
Renaud Soler, Universite Paris-Sorbonne, Arabica So far no work with this profile and of this quality has been undertaken on libraries in the Islamic lands. This volume is a must for those interested in any aspect of book culture.
Berat Acil, Istanbul Sehir University, Divan - Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies Konrad Hirschler's Medieval Damascus offers a unique insight... Scholars of Middle Eastern literacy and literature will be trawling Medieval Damascus for some time to come. And from a wider perspective, because Damascus's old libraries were thoroughly dispersed and destroyed, this book at last allows us to see what kind of people called medieval Damascus their home.
Peter Webb, Times Literary Supplement This is a tour de force of ferocious codex dissection, relentless bibliographical probing, and imaginative reconstructive storytelling. The trajectory of an urban public library whose holdings shed light on the intellectual milieu of thirteenth-century Damascus comes to light through Hirschler's sensible and comparative lens. Our knowledge of medieval Arabic book culture, library culture and reading culture is significantly enriched.
Li Guo, University of Notre Dame Konrad Hirschler's Medieval Damascus offers a unique insight...Scholars of Middle Eastern literacy and literature will be trawling Medieval Damascus for some time to come. And from a wider perspective, because Damascus's old libraries were thoroughly dispersed and destroyed, this book at last allows us to see what kind of people called medieval Damascus their home.
Peter Webb, Times Literary Supplement Provides a unique insight into the pre-print world of books in the Middle East.
Stephan Conermann, Sehepunkte 16/7-8 Show Less