Paper, Mark Kurlansky
Paper, Mark Kurlansky
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Paper
Paging Through History

Author: Mark Kurlansky

Narrator: Andrew Garman

Unabridged: 13 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 05/10/2016


Synopsis

From the New York Times best-selling author of Cod and Salt, a definitive history of paper and the astonishing ways it has shaped today’s world.

Paper is one of the simplest and most essential pieces of human technology. For the past two millennia, the ability to produce it in ever more efficient ways has supported the proliferation of literacy, media, religion, education, commerce, and art; it has formed the foundation of civilizations, promoting revolutions and restoring stability. By tracing paper’s evolution from antiquity to the present, with an emphasis on the contributions made in Asia and the Middle East, Mark Kurlansky challenges common assumptions about technology’s influence, affirming that paper is here to stay. Paper will be the commodity history that guides us forward in the twenty-first century and illuminates our times.

"[An] historical journey well worth the ride. [Kurlansky] has a deep instinct for telling detail, which he combines with a disarmingly fun narrative style."—Los Angeles Times

About Mark Kurlansky

Mark Kurlansky is the New York Times bestselling and James A. Beard Award–winning author of 1968: The Year That Rocked the World; Salt: A World History; The Basque History of the World; Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World; The White Man in the Tree (a collection of short stories); and several other books. Boogaloo on Second Avenue is his first novel. He lives in New York City.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Patty on April 13, 2016

I'm very into microhistories – books focused on a specific topic or single event – and Kurlansky is one of the best known authors of them, with his book Salt probably the best-known microhistory of them all. In this book, he takes on paper, which he defines very narrowly: "a very thin layer of rando......more

Goodreads review by Bob on June 01, 2016

I had very high hopes for Paper, but Kurlansky's book never fulfilled them. The book could never make up its mind whether it was about the manufacturing of paper or what paper is used for. Kurlansky fashions himself an expert on the history of technology, but seems to sell Asia short. This is the sec......more

Goodreads review by Jonathan on February 16, 2016

Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley. Some may consider it ironic that one would read a book about paper on an eBook reader. And it would probably be better not to, as studies tend to indicate that reading from a paper book results in more retention of information. But nev......more

Goodreads review by Joseph on November 04, 2019

This book was a real eye-opener. I didn't know that something as simple as paper could have such a long and fascinating history. The author traces the production of paper from ancient times to modern times. I was captivated by this book and a little disappointed it went so fast. Good books are like......more