The Book cover art

The Book

A Cover-To-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time

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The Book

By: Keith Houston
Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman
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About this listen

We may love books, but do we know what lies behind them? In The Book, Keith Houston reveals that the paper, ink, thread, glue, and board from which a book is made tell as rich a story as the words on its pages - of civilizations, empires, human ingenuity, and madness. In an invitingly tactile history of this 2,000-year-old medium, Houston follows the development of writing, printing, the art of illustrations, and binding to show how we have moved from cuneiform tablets and papyrus scrolls to the hardcovers and paperbacks of today. The Book gives us the momentous and surprising history behind humanity's most important-and universal-information technology.

©2016 Keith Houston (P)2019 Tantor Crafts & Hobbies History History & Culture Literary History & Criticism World

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Critic reviews

“Erudite, playful, and illuminating . . . Houston is both witty and intensely detailed . . . A splendid, challenging mixture of information and fun.” (Kirkus Reviews)

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Profile Image for James Uscroft

The History Of Paint & Watching It Dry

Having expected and longed for a fascinating and thrilling history of how storage and transport of information with increasing speed and convenience radically transformed the world beyond all recognition before the Internet was even conceived, I couldn't possibly have been more disappointed. But if you're genuinely that interested in the history of the technology of books from the development of papyrus, parchment and paper to the printing press and different bindings, then it's good that you're spending some time away from your stamp collection and model train set.

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