Table of Contents
   Acknowledgmentsp. viii
   Prefacep. ix
   In the Cradle of Librariesp. 1
   The Papyrus Regionp. 6
   Islam of the First Daysp. 42
   People of the Bookp. 73
   Asia before the Twentieth Centuryp. 80
   The Christian Westp. 112
   The New Biblioclastsp. 169
   Peace Damagesp. 238
   An Embarrassment of Modernityp. 267
   Flameproof Knowledgep. 282
   Epilogue: Return to Alexandriap. 292
   The Great Writers Are Unanimous: Delenda est bibliotheca!p. 300
   A Short History of the Census of Lost Books with a Legend to Bring It to a Close-The Hidden Libraryp. 316
   A Selective Chronologyp. 322
   Notesp. 328
   Bibliographyp. 343
   Indexp. 363