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Title: A World of Letters: Yale University Press, 1908-2008
ISBN: 0300115989
Author:
Nicholas A. Basbanes
Publicate Date: 2008-10-21
Publish: 2008-10-21
List Price: $26.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $9.70
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $12.60
Amazon Merchant Price: $17.16
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| Customer Review: |
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1: A Short But Excellent History Of A Priceless Institution
I am a dedicated bibliophile who likes nothing better than to spend hours in bookstores, but the words "university press" evoke in me the image of those ponderous textbooks you stand in line for on the first day of the semester, spend as little time reading as you can get away with, then pass on to some other unlucky soul with a sigh of relief. Nicholas A. Basbanes, who can always be counted on to write beautifully and passionately about books and libraries, has here opened my eyes to the great contributions and legacy of the Yale University Press, which celebrated its one hundredth birthday in 2008.
There is a wealth of fascinating information in this slim volume of some 200 pages. I knew the name Clarence Day from his hilarious "Life With Father", but I never realized he was one of the founders of the Yale University Press. Numerous other famous and infamous names, from Eugene O'Neill to Stalin, are associated with the Press, but what I found most enjoyable in Basbanes' history are his stories of the decades long scholarly dedication it takes to produce 47 volumes of Benjamin Franklin's papers, or 48 volumes of the collected correspondence of Horace Walpole. Most of us will never need to consult such collections, but what a gift to the world it is that so many worked so hard to ensure that if we need to do so, they will be available.
As in any Basbanes work, one of the chief charms of A World of Letters is the chance to become vicariously acquainted with fascinating individuals like Wilmarth Sheldon Lewis, who devoted a large part of his personal fortune to making sure I and the rest of the world can study Horace Walpole whenever we want; or Chester Kerr and John G. Ryden, directors of the Press who were willing to be creative and publish authors who would have been overlooked or subjects that no one else considered worthwhile. Basbanes' descriptions of some of the Press' more controversial publishing projects are also intriguing and demonstrate its willingness to step outside the box, like the controversial publications of the Vinland Map or of the Annals of Communism series.
The last segmnent of the book is one of the most important. Here Basbanes discusses the Press' participation in digital publishing. I have read with dismay stories of declining book purchases by our libraries and shuddered to see banks of computer terminals taking the place of bookcases, but Basbanes here reminds us of the wonderful potential digital access has for the scholarly world. While I hope I will always opt for paging through a book over staring at a screen, Basbanes makes it clear that literacy and scholarship have been enhanced more than they have been weakened by the digital revolution.
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2: Hail Yale
A good buy for those with affection for Yale, book publishing, and/or libraries.
After a somewhat slow start, this volume picks up when its talented author is able to interview people with direct ties to the Yale University Press. Such interviews save this anniversary effort from being merely a dry listing of past editors and forgotten volumes.
Nicholas A. Basbanes wisely keeps this fond institutional history short while using the opportunity to bring readers up to speed on the current condition of university presses in general. While clearly supportive of their continued need for an educated society, he provokes thought on their future viability, especially given the introduction of e-books and other computer related means to scatter information.
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