On Paper: The Everything of Its Two-Thousand-Year History

By Nicholas A. Basbanes

Book Overview

A Best Book of the Year: Mother Jones * Bloomberg News * National Post * Kirkus In these pages, Nicholas Basbanes--the consummate bibliophile's bibliophile--shows how paper has been civilization's constant companion. It preserves our history and gives record to our very finest literary, cultural, and scientific accomplishments. Since its invention in China nearly two millennia ago, the technology of paper has spread throughout the inhabited world. With deep knowledge and care, Basbanes traces paper's trail from the earliest handmade sheets to the modern-day mills. Paper, yoked to politics, has played a crucial role in the unfolding of landmark events, from the American Revolution to Daniel Ellsberg's Pentagon Papers to the aftermath of 9/11. Without paper, modern hygienic practice would be unimaginab≤ as currency, people will do almost anything to possess it; and, as a tool of expression, it is inextricable from human culture. Lavishly researched, compellingly written, this masterful guide illuminates paper's endless possibilities.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307279642
• ISBN13: 9780307279644
• Release Date: July 2014
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

If it resembles paper, it is in the book.

I have a great time reading about all things paper. I had a slow start as the first sentence in the first chapter talks about the city of Cambulac (Beijing). However, because it was quoting the travels of Marco Polo, I had to look up the city. You will need a good historical background or a good dictionary. You just have to have a good background in a wide range of subjects to pick up all the nuances. We start long before paper and go through its two-thousand-year history, and conclude with how paper is a reference concerning “911”. The chapters overlap chronologically with different inferences on paper use. In the Chapter named “Goddess by the Stream,” we get a picture of the paper balloon bombs the J-a-p-a-n-e-s-e sent through the jet stream to the U.S. in WWII. There is a lot of general information on papermaking, which brings me back to the papermaking classes I had in elementary school. With the advent of electronics, many of the paper functions have been usurped. I wonder if someday it may not meet the same fate as papyrus. In any event, the book is worth re-reading and keeping as a reference. Speaking of reference, this book has a fantastic and extensive bibliography.