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

Name: On Paper: The Everything of Its Two-Thousand-Year History
Author: Nicholas A. Basbanes
ISBN: 9780385350440

Nicholas A. Basbanes

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

Nicholas A. Basbanes

awards won

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On Paper won the Best Book of the Year award from Mother Jones, Bloomberg News, National Post, and 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 unimaginable; 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.

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