…one of the least likely and most wonderful books I have ever read. Least likely: Where to start? It's a vanishingly rare pleasure, given the commercial constraints of modern publishing, to handle 600 smoothly weighty pages in which the printed text winds its way seamlessly among more than 200 glorious, often full-color illustrations. And in producing such a gorgeous object, Christopher de Hamel's publisher has had the courage of his convictions, because its physical and visual delights mirror its commercially unlikely subject matter…De Hamel thinks of these encounters as "interviews," and—as with all the best interviewers—he takes his place as a character in his own narrative. He is voraciously completist, recording impressions of each journey, place, building and reading room, as well as every recoverable detail of each manuscript's creation, content and existence as a physical object through time and space…All are fascinating, all speak of the world in which they were made, and all are tangibly, movingly human…[Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts ], like the volumes that are its subject, is a book of wonders.
The New York Times Book Review - Helen Castor
★ 08/07/2017
Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts is one of the least likely and most wonderful books I have ever read. Least likely: Where to start? It’s a vanishingly rare pleasure, given the commercial constraints of modern publishing, to handle 600 smoothly weighty pages in which the printed text winds its way seamlessly among more than 200 glorious, often full-color illustrations. And in producing such a gorgeous object, Christopher de Hamel’s publisher has had the courage of his convictions, because its physical and visual delights mirror its commercially unlikely subject matter…[De Hamel] is voraciously completist, recording impressions of each journey, place, building and reading room, as well as every coverage detail of each manuscript’s creation, content and existence as a physical object through time and space… On this archival odyssey, I lost count of the things I learned…[Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts ], like the volumes that are its subject, is a book of wonders.” - The New York Times Book Review Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts is miles away from academic dry-as-dust scholarship. You’ll love learning from it. Little wonder that in Britain this extraordinary book has already won both the Wolfson History Prize and the Duff Cooper nonfiction prize.” –Washington Post The New Yorker - Tom Stoppard “Deeply edifying and hugely entertaining… [De Hamel’s] curiosity and enthusiasm are infectious and his dedicated sleuth-work and educated guesses are invigorating. When not awed by the sheer scope of his expertise or absorbed by his concerted efforts to decipher script or dissect scripture, we are diverted by his light flourishes and witty evaluations.” –Weekly Standard Helen Hazen, The American Scholar Commonweal Magazine Publishers Weekly , starred reviewBooklist , starred reviewKirkus Reviews, starred review Fiammetta Rocco, Economist '1843' Ian Thomson, Observer Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts is, like each one of the 12 treasures it celebrates, a book of marvels." – John Banville, Financial Times Jonathan Sumption, Spectator – Neil MacGregor – Economist – Peter Thonemann, Sunday Times A History of the World in 100 Objects and the wonderful The Hare with Amber Eyes ." - Kirsty Ward, Newsnight - Christopher Howse, Daily Telegraph The Name of the Rose in elegance and excitement. They are also much funnier." - Diarmaid MacCulloch [Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts ] is de Hamel’s masterpiece, and has come at the end of a long and distinguished career. De Hamel writes in his introduction of his desire to communicate “the thrill of bringing a well-informed but non-specialist reader into intimate contact with major medieval manuscripts.” He does it brilliantly, and in full color. This would have to be my book of the year. - Jon M. Sweeney, American Magazine
★ 09/15/2017
★ 2017-07-03
