The Book on the Bookshelf, Henry Petroski
The Book on the Bookshelf, Henry Petroski
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The Book on the Bookshelf

Author: Henry Petroski

Narrator: John Lescault

Unabridged: 8 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/17/2023

Synopsis

From the author of the highly praised The Pencil and The Evolution of Useful Things comes another captivating history of the seemingly mundane: the book and its storage.Most of us take for granted that our books are vertical on our shelves with the spines facing out, but Henry Petroski, inveterately curious engineer, didn’t. As a result, readers are guided along the astonishing evolution from papyrus scrolls boxed at Alexandria to upright books shelved at the Library of Congress. Petroski takes us into the pre-Gutenberg world, when books were so scarce they were chained to lecterns for security. He explains how the printing press not only changed the way books were made and shelved but also increased their availability and transformed book readers into book owners and collectors.In delightful digressions, Petroski lets Seneca have his say on “the evils of book collecting;” examines the famed collection of Samuel Pepys and his only three thousand titles—old discarded to make room for new; and discusses bookselling, book buying, and book collecting through the centuries.This is the ultimate book on the book: how it came to be and how we have come to keep it.

About Henry Petroski

Henry Petroski (1942–2023) wrote twenty nonfiction books detailing the industrial design history of common, everyday objects, such as pencils, paper clips, toothpicks, and books and bookshelves. His first book was made into the film When Engineering Fails. He was a professor emeritus at Duke University and a frequent lecturer and a columnist for the magazines American Scientist and Prism.

About John Lescault

John Lescault has been an audiobook narrator for over twenty-five years and has recorded more than three hundred titles, spanning works of fiction and nonfiction. He has also provided narration for NPR’s Performance Today, Nightline, and Deaf Mosaic. He has appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra as Beethoven and Dvorak at the Kennedy Center.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Emily on January 20, 2009

If there's one thing I'm taking away from Henry Petroski's The Book on the Bookshelf, it's the fact that no technology is so basic as to be self-evident. I always thought of the humble bookshelf as a foregone conclusion: faced with a bunch of narrow rectangular solids, it only makes sense to place t......more

Goodreads review by Jaci on April 25, 2011

I actually learned a lot about shelving, esp. about the desk area, filling up to the top, and THEN filling the shelves under the desk. Interesting. Which makes me think I've found my calling. p.4: "Indeed, the presence of bookshelves greatly influences our behavior." p.22: "Is an empty bookshelf an o......more

Goodreads review by Paul on February 14, 2012

I'd like to give this half a star less, but that is unfortunately not possible, so in the spirit of being generous, I'll give it three stars. This book could easily have been shortened by 15-20% had the editor been a bit more liberal with his red pen in eliminating some of the more boring personal an......more

Goodreads review by Gregsamsa on July 30, 2013

While parts of this book were very slow going, it is worth it for the way it illustrates one of the most wonderful things about learning about history: what you think is the "right" way something is done is just as historical as the "weird" way people in past eras did things. It is just good for you......more

Goodreads review by Mark on July 03, 2018

The book for one who loves books, engineering and the history that brings them together.......more

Quotes

“A fascinating history of two related common objects, impeccably documented.” Civilization

“For anyone interested in the craft of reading, [this book] is a compulsive necessity.” New York Times Book Review

“After reading this book, you will not look at a book or a bookshelf in the same way.” Seattle Times

“Petroski includes delightful glimpses of noteworthy book collectors of the past and how they organized their books. Well written…this book is not just for bibliophiles. Highly recommended.” Library Journal

“Admirers of Petroski’s earlier works will not be surprised by his exquisite research, or by the gusto with which he plunges into the dustiest of library bins.” Publishers Weekly

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