An exploration of Maimonides, the medieval philosopher, physician, and religious thinker, author of "The Guide of the Perplexed", from one of the world's foremost bibliophiles. Moses ben Maimon, or Maimonides (1138-1204), was born in Cordoba, Spain...

Alberto Manguel, in a style both charming and erudite, examines how literary characters live with us from childhood on. Throughout the years, they change their identities and emerge from behind their stories to teach us about the complexities of love...

A best-selling author and world-renowned bibliophile meditates on his vast personal library and champions the vital role of all libraries. In June 2015 Alberto Manguel prepared to leave his centuries-old village home in France's Loire Valley and ree...

Alberto Manguel praises the Hungarian writer Laszlo Foldenyi as "one of the most brilliant essayists of our time". Foldenyi's extraordinary Melancholy, with its profusion of literary, ecclesiastical, artistic, and historical insights, gives proof to...

Curiosity has been seen through the ages as the impulse that drives our knowledge forward and the temptation that leads us toward dangerous and forbidden waters. The question "Why?" has appeared under a multiplicity of guises and in vastly different...

Acclaimed for the gemlike perfection of her short stories, Liliana Heker has repeatedly received major literary awards in her native Argentina. Her work has some of the dark humor of Saki or Roald Dahl, and her versatility and range have earned her a...

In this major collection of his essays, Alberto Manguel, whom George Steiner has called "the Casanova of reading", argues that the activity of reading, in its broadest sense, defines our species. "We come into the world intent on finding narrative in...