The Swerve

For those who love audiobooks regardless of genre or subject, this illuminating history of the loss, preservation, and rediscovery of ancient books will be one of the year's memorable listening experiences. Written for a general audience, Stephen Greenblatt's narrative is a model of classical grace and clarity, and demonstrates how superior authorship can breathe life and immediacy into the most arcane of subjects. Narrated with equal grace and command by Edoardo Ballerini, the history of the book attains added dimension in audio. The listener cannot help but compare today's slim devices to the precarious history of books, handwritten, preserved often in single copies in monasteries, many--most--lost or destroyed after centuries of war and neglect. Ballerini is a gifted reader, attuned to every nuance and inflection of the prose. You feel at every moment that his is the perfect rendering for this word, this sentence, this book. D.A.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

February 15, 2012
Roughly 600 years ago, book hunter Poggio Bracciolini happened upon a "lost" copy of "On the Nature of Things" ("De Rerum Natura"), a poem by Lucretius. It postulated that the world is made up of nature (atoms) and that religion is harmful and damaging to human life. Bracciolini had the manuscript copied and widely distributed. Some believe that this poem caused the world to swerve and change philosophical direction, thus beginning the Renaissance. VERDICT Whether one poem could be so influential is questionable. In addition to this overzealous history, book lovers are rewarded with brilliant descriptions of the history of books, libraries, and fascinating detail about manuscript production. Narrator Edoardo Ballerini's rather professorial presentation gives listeners the sense of participating in a one-sided lecture. ["Greenblatt's masterful account transcends (Bracciolini's) significant discovery," read the review of the National Book Award-winning Norton hc, "LJ" 6/15/11.--Ed.]--Susan Baird, formerly with Oak Lawn P.L., Chicago

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.