André Maurois speaks of books and of libraries

"Our civilization is the sum of the knowledge and memories accumulated by the generations that have gone before us. Wc can only partake of it if we are able to make contact with ideas of these past generations. The only way to do this — and so become a 'cultured' person — is by reading", says famous French writer André Maurois in this issue of the Courier.

"Nothing can take the place of reading — no lecture or image on a screen has the same power to enlighten. Pictures are a most valuable means of illustrating a written text, but they hardly enable us to form general ideas. Films, like the spoken word, flow by and arc lost to us. Books abide, as life-long companions."

Learn more on his vision of books and libraries in this issue.

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Discover more issues on books in the UNESCO Courier.