El libro del amor

by Diane Ackerman

A celebration of love and its "many moods and majesties, from all the veils of flirtation, seduction, and marriage to the tempests of suspicions, jealousy, and heartache," The Book of Love gathers together some 200 contemporary and classic selections of fiction, poetry, personal essays, love letters, and memories. Included in this extravagant anthology are the works of Shakespeare, Baudelaire, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and William Blake. The perfect gift for those in love with love.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction

606 pages, Hardcover

First published January 17, 1998

About the author

Diane Ackerman has been the finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction in addition to many other awards and recognitions for her work, which include the bestsellers The Zookeeper’s Wife and A Natural History of the Senses.

The Zookeeper’s Wife, a little known true story of WWII, became a New York Times bestseller, and received the Orion Book Award, which honored it as, "a groundbreaking work of nonfiction." A movie of The Zookeeper’s Wife, starring Jessica Chastain and Daniel Brühl, releases in theaters March 31st, 2017 from Focus Features.

She lives with her husband Paul West in Ithaca, New York.

Reviews

[Abbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a present from a boyfriend back in college. The boyfriend is long gone but I held onto the book, which compiles hundreds of poems, fiction, essays, and letters, ranging from ancient Egypt to modern times, on the topic that occupies pretty much every human on earth.

That's Love, btw, if you didn't guess.

By its nature, it's a bit uneven. Some pieces are great, others are blah. But worth having around if you're a quotehound or a sentimental type.

[Pablo Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me ha encantado y eso que era una lectura obligatoria de la clase de inglés en mi instituto.

[Anubis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to get this book for a class. Admittedly, it was nice to have the collection of poetry in one place, but the excerpts from novels spanning literary history were frustrating. Completely taken out of context, these excerpts are only useful if you want to get an idea of the writer's style, not if you want to get an idea how writing about love evolved over time.

[Nash Tysmans]

This was a surprise gift that I received on the first day of school from a former professor. It was providential for its timing and I should really stop denying how much I like reading these kinds of anthologies.

The pieces I've read so far are beautiful. I'm looking forward to finishing it.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and literary love stories, poems, and essays.