Q&A: Steve Berry
By Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L. -- Library Journal, 1/15/2007
Georgia lawyer Steve Berry launched his thriller-writing career in 2003 with the best-selling The Amber Room, about the fabled work of art that disappeared during World War II. His fifth novel, The Alexandria Link (see review, p. 86), brings back his hero Cotton Malone from The Templar Legacy to rescue his kidnapped son and uncover the hiding place of another lost treasure, the ancient Library of Alexandria.
What was the Library of Alexandria, and what happened to it?
It was the grandest collection of knowledge in the ancient world: part university, laboratory, research institute, and zoo. Founded in the fourth century B.C.E., the library, which consisted of an impressive complex of buildings and gardens (situated in two separate locations), endured for 600 years; was staffed by Greek scientists, philosophers, artists, writers, and scholars; and contained a vast collection of over 500,000 scrolls and papyri. If any book was found aboard a ship that visited Alexandria, city law required it to be taken to the library and copied. And all that disappeared. Without a trace. Not a single piece of that library has ever been found. What could be more fascinating? The perfect subject for a thriller.
What inspired you to write about the Library?
I've had an interest in the Library of Alexandria for years. Libraries themselves are fascinating. I currently serve as chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Camden County (GA) Library, so the institutions have a near and dear place in my heart.
What aspects of history do you think would be changed if we still had the ancient knowledge?
It's unimaginable. There were so many manuscripts, by so many learned people, many of whom became the “fathers of their respective fields.” Human knowledge was set back centuries when all that eventually vanished. Here's an example: the atomic theory was actually first conceived at the library 2000 years ago, but it would be centuries before it was “rediscovered” by another inquisitive mind. Where would human technology be today if that first spark had not been extinguished? The Alexandria Link deals with another interesting possibility regarding one particular manuscript, which we know was in the library from references in other surviving texts. What if it survived? And its resurfacing literally changed everything.
Do you think libraries still have a place in our digital age?
No question. Even ancient peoples recognized the logic and convenience of having knowledge assimilated and organized. That's even more true today, and our technology allows us to organize even better. And we must learn from history. The Library of Alexandria represented one of the first and last attempts of the ancient age to organize knowledge. After its demise, it was not until the Middle Ages, 800 years later, that humanity again managed to duplicate the endeavor. We don't want to repeat that mistake.
What's next for Cotton Malone?
I'm writing the 2008 book now, which will take Cassiopeia and Cotton into central Asia in search of another ancient artifact, one that has intrigued me for many years.
