All the Beauty in the World

By Patrick Bringley,

Book cover of All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me

Book description

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…

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Why read it?

1 author picked All the Beauty in the World as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

In this poignant memoir, a young man, grieving after his brother’s death, trades a coveted position at The New Yorker for a ten-year stint as a museum guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Usually, I’m not a big reader of memoirs. However, Patrick Bringley’s insider look at the Met, its staff, and the artworks he grew to love brought me to tears. You see, for me, museums are cathedrals, and cathedrals are museums. Both provide soul-healing peace and a belief in greatness beyond my humble existence. 

Bringley’s reading of the audiobook felt as satisfying as roaming a great museum’s…

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