2024 the best and most beautiful things in the world review

Price: $28.99 - $15.90
(as of Oct 23, 2024 17:30:15 UTC - Details)

A best book of the year from New York Public Library, NPR, the Financial Times, Book Riot, and the Sunday Times (London).

A fascinating, revelatory portrait of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its treasures by a former New Yorker staffer who spent a decade as a museum guard.

Millions of people climb the grand marble staircase to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art every year. But only a select few have unrestricted access to every nook and cranny. They’re the guards who roam unobtrusively in dark blue suits, keeping a watchful eye on the two million square foot treasure house. Caught up in his glamorous fledgling career at The New Yorker, Patrick Bringley never thought he’d be one of them. Then his older brother was diagnosed with fatal cancer and he found himself needing to escape the mundane clamor of daily life. So he quit The New Yorker and sought solace in the most beautiful place he knew.

To his surprise and the reader’s delight, this temporary refuge becomes Bringley’s home away from home for a decade. We follow him as he guards delicate treasures from Egypt to Rome, strolls the labyrinths beneath the galleries, wears out nine pairs of company shoes, and marvels at the beautiful works in his care. Bringley enters the museum as a ghost, silent and almost invisible, but soon finds his voice and his tribe: the artworks and their creators and the lively subculture of museum guards—a gorgeous mosaic of artists, musicians, blue-collar stalwarts, immigrants, cutups, and dreamers. As his bonds with his colleagues and the art grow, he comes to understand how fortunate he is to be walled off in this little world, and how much it resembles the best aspects of the larger world to which he gradually, gratefully returns.

In the tradition of classic workplace memoirs like Lab Girl and Working Stiff, All The Beauty in the World is a surprising, inspiring portrait of a great museum, its hidden treasures, and the people who make it tick, by one of its most intimate observers.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster; Later prt. edition (February 14, 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1982163305
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1982163303
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1 x 9 inches
Reviewer: NYC customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Simple yet profound
Review: This is a beautiful book. It makes the reader think about art and abut life and about the interaction of the two. There is no dense, academic writing about art, just simple and often profound descriptions of some of the works in the MET. Additionally, the behind-the-scenes descriptions of the Met are interesting.If you like art and the Metropolitan Museum, read this!

Reviewer: Book Addict
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Interesting back story
Review: This is an interesting behind the scenes view of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. I have been there many times and still don't know where everything is. Well-written and lots of little details for those of us who are curious (nosey).The book was purchased as used. It was in pretty good shape but someone should have wiped down the dust jacket which was a little grody. And several dog-eared pages. Otherwise, in good shape. I have used this seller several times before and will continue to do so. Thanks!

Reviewer: Ann Carol
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Brilliant read by a down to earth author
Review: This book is on my favorites list in red. Patrick Bringley opens his soul to share his life of a guard the Met. I'm sure I was in his watchful eye on a visit or more. For years, I have spoken to many gallery guards, to hear their story, and wondered how they endure such long stretches of time with visitors walking by with no acknowledgement or greeting. His family history is moving and poignent his knowledge astounding. Reading my Kindle version and poking for information increased my reading time by 2 or 3 times. In a week's time, I will attend a talk by the author. What a pleasure that will be. Don't miss meeting him on Kindle or book.

Reviewer: P. J. Shelhamer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Please read!
Review: What a wonderful book that shares the healing quality of art. It is well written. I have even purchased two copies so that I could share it!

Reviewer: Anne R.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Inspiring Personal Story About the Healing Power of Art
Review: The author of this book decided to step back from his job for a time after the untimely death of his brother. Instead, he applied for and was accepted as a museum guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I found his observations of the people and the art work that he experienced during his time at the Met very uplifting and felt that he confirmed the importance of great art to the spiritual well being of us all.

Reviewer: me
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Beautifully described
Review: For a young writer, he described the Met well and the characters that came and went in the museum. I don't think I will pass a museum guard the same after reading this book. I can't wait to go to the Met now with a slightly different perspective.

Reviewer: A Reader in a Major City
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: I'm falling all over myself to recommend this one
Review: Bringley nails the eerie and false feeling of being a rising young thing at The New Yorker and then realizing he hadn't read a single book by either of the two famous authors he had just introduced to one another. After his brother's tragic, young death he decides he's had it, and he leaves that so-called dream job to do something far more mundane... being a security guard, albeit in a place of great beauty. I have shared Bringley's feelings, having rubbed shoulders myself with famous authors about whom, if I'm honest, I really didn't give a fig. Meeting stars isn't important to me, but engaging with their work is, and this book is ALL about engaging with the work! I've been burbling like a kid telling my friends to read it, and that word-of-mouth is what really makes a book sell (they call it buzz, and I'm honored to be part of said buzz).

Reviewer: Nancy in New Jersey
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: great beginning but loses momentum
Review: For people who love art museums, this is an interesting read, especially the first half. It provides great insights about the experiences of security guards and tells a sad but insightful personal story. However the second half of the book lost focus. Even though there were still some enjoyable discussions of various rooms and artworks, it felt more like an art history lesson than a compelling analysis of the author’s experience.

Reviewer: Pam Albert
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I felt this creation we so well written. It takes one into so many different worlds on a cognitive, emotional and educational level.

Reviewer: Angela E. Galloway
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: A gift from a dear friend, I had no idea how invaluable would be this little gem - I bought it for my other friends, too! If you love art, the benefit of seeing over the long-term, as did the author, gives those of us whose time in front of an oeuvre is more limited, a refresher guide on learning to see. Through his eyes, and, I should add, his own experience of loss, we find a means to activate real appreciation. Since early days of art history exploration, and many years of making art, I had succumbed to the "Been there; seen that," syndrome. If I ever forget again, I will pick up my Museum Guide's extra-well-written work.

Reviewer: Carol A. O'Connor
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: As a museum volunteer and frequent international museum visitor, I found this book to be an amazing insight into how to see a work of art and allow the smallest detail to impact your life in a profound way. It is also a book of love, loss, heartache and healing - and an homage to the great Met and the amazing people who watch over the magnificent works that make it great. Quite a lot in one book that will stay with you and change your visits to a museum for rest of your life.

Reviewer: Booky
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Ein Buch über Kunst? Über ein Museum? Über Trauer? Über Schönheit?Für mich ein Buch zum langsamen, aufmerksamen Lesen und zum Nachdenken über das Leben.Eine ungewöhnliches und inspirierendes Werk. Leider wird es auf Deutsch wie ein Esoterikratgeber vermarktet. Die Originalausgabe in Englisch ist zu bevorzugen.

Reviewer: Cliente Amazon
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: El narrador combina situaciones de su vida y explicaciones de grandes obras de arte con una sensibilidad maravillosa.Aprendes de arte y de la vida, sin dejar de tener una sonrisa y un cariño por todas las personas que aparecen.Un islote de dolor belleza y bondad.