All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me
4.5 | 4,075 ratings
Price: 12.03
Last update: 02-02-2026
Product details
- Publisher : Simon & Schuster
- Publication date : October 29, 2024
- Language : English
- Print length : 240 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1982163313
- ISBN-13 : 978-1982163310
- Item Weight : 7.2 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.38 inches
- Best Sellers Rank:#3,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Museum Studies & Museology (Books)
- Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions
- Memoirs (Books)
- Customer Reviews:4.54.5 out of 5 stars(4,058)
Top reviews from the United States
- Jenni DymanA beautiful bookInspiring book. About art and life and the diversity of human existence and endeavor all intertwined. I recommend reading a little at a time to absorb its beauty and meaning. No need to worry about losing the plot. Always a pleasure to return and resume and know the way.
- K. GodardVisit The MetA memoir describing grief and joy - and life in general - as seen through artwork at The Met. It was good, had interesting observations, and was full of the relationships of Met guards to each other and the viewing public. He sometimes points out tiny details about artworks - you can really start to see details when you have years of eight- or twelve-hour days in the galleries. Absolute best thing about the Kindle version is the links to various artworks Bringley studies in his time there - follow all of them, and it feels like you're making a visit.
- Amazon CustomerA fabulous bookBrinkley brings the joy (and the healing power)of experiencing great art so poignantly that it’s exquisitely painful. The pathos, agony, and devotion of great artists and the diverse motives, understanding, and backgrounds of those who come to experience art are laid out in a way that must touch every reader profoundly. Loved reading this in digital form because the accompanying illustrations were right at hand. I have a new list to guide my next visit to New York and the Museum.
- TumbleweedA perceptive and beautifully written workI wasn’t sure early on if I would stay with this as it was intricately detailed in descriptions of artists and their works — many of whom I’m not familiar with. But I found myself becoming absorbed in the beautifully written descriptions of the emotions, perspectives, interpretations, and reckonings of the author in his experiences. It was an insightful and optimistic journey through history, art, but most of all, through both the messiness and the beauty of being fully human and living life.
- Anderson3For the lover of beauty, art, and life.How lovely is this book? You know how it is when you walk into a church and feel that quiet, subdued feeling of reverence? This is how the writing of this book feels. The author writes about art with such grace and reverence.
The stories are rich in the revelation of art as he experienced it while working for ten years as a guard in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
He writes, as well, about his own personal life, its better times and its sorrows. He includes stories of his interactions with the other guards. I will never see a museum guard in the same way after reading this book. He tells of the comments and reactions of the museum visitors, and his role in keeping some of them from touching the art, and seeing that they behave. The book includes drawings of some of the art and a list of artworks referenced in the text.
If you have not visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this book will give you glimpses into the world of beauty living there. If you can get to New York then please see this museum. It is fabulous.
During each of my dozen or so visits, each time I have thought how wonderful it would be to work in such an other-worldly and yet worldly place. Now living far from the museum, I can enjoy visiting it through Patrick Bringley's book. - GailinterestingI enjoyed as I have been in art museums all over the world and have often wondered about the people who stand guard.
The author uses wonderful vocabulary and gives delightful insight into the life of a guard. - Kristina FuriInspiring and IntrospectiveIn ‘All the Beauty In the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me’ former guard Patrick Bringley leads the reader on a literary journey through the days and rhythms of his ten years of being a security guard at the Met. During this time Patrick becomes a dad, loses a family member, and helps thousands of patrons both young and old to enjoy the famous museum.
I’m nosy as heck. I love asking why and it comes as no surprise that behind the scenes books are like catnip for me. I’ve never visited the Met myself, but I assure you it is scrawled on a page of a long lost journal under a heading of ‘bucket list.’ Hailing from my art history hyperfixation phase, the desire to learn about not just the art in the Met, but the Met itself has never quite been sated.
This book is short, well-written, intriguing and full of wisdom and quotes that I copied into my commonplace journal. I might even go as far to say that this book is worth curling up under a blanket and being cozy. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ - Margaret EhrlichA Marvelous Read!This book transported me to the wonderful world of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I have been there many times over the years. I have come alone, with one or the other of my children or with my husband. I have enjoyed every visit. This beautifully written book has given me an even deeper appreciation of this marvelous institution and the amazing art to be found there.