Skip to content
Back to books
The Wall and the Books cover
Book

The Wall and the Books

Jorge Luis Borges
1 mention · 1 episode · 1 podcast
How to use this page
Every mention links back into the exact moment in an episode.
Click “Mentioned at …” to copy the timestamp.
Guests and podcasts are cross-linked so you can follow the thread.
Search another book

Mentions across episodes

Jump to mention

Borges discusses the first emperor of China, Shi Huangdi, who built the Great Wall and abolished history by burning books.

Sentiment: Deep Dive
Trigger: destruction of history
For: Readers interested in history and literature
Key quote: And he kind of goes mad towards the end of his life trying to discover a cure for immortality, which again is like something from a Boghez story.
The host mentions Borges' essay to illustrate the connection between the construction of the Great Wall and the destruction of books by the first emperor of China. This duality highlights the tyrannical nature of Shi Huangdi and serves as a commentary on the importance of history and memory.