Tuesday, February 24, 2015

ISIS Burns 8000 Rare Books and Manuscripts

While the world was watching the Academy Awards ceremony, the people of Mosul were watching a different show. They were horrified to see ISIS members burn the Mosul public library. Among the many thousands of books it housed, more than 8,000 rare old books and manuscripts were burned.

Read the rest here.

When compared to their other barbarous crimes the book burning looks pretty trivial. But I have to admit that there is something deep inside me that reacts with visceral horror to the deliberate destruction of books, artifacts and cultural heirlooms.

No comments: