The Book
A Cover-to-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time
13 June 2025
Territory Rights — Worldwide.
Description
“Everybody who has ever read a book will benefit from the way Keith Houston explores the most powerful object of our time. And everybody who has read it will agree that reports of the book’s death have been greatly exaggerated.”—Erik Spiekermann, typograp
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 civilisations, 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. Sure to delight book lovers of all stripes with its lush, full-colour illustrations, The Book gives us the momentous and surprising history behind humanity’s most important—and universal—information technology.
Reviews
"A lovingly designed and illustrated deep history of the book." — John Williams, The New York Times
"Mr. Houston savors evocative detail... As befits its subject, The Book is pleasingly designed—with an offbeat self-consciousness about its sturdy appearance—and Mr. Houston’s unapologetic nerdiness is matched by a jaunty style... Mr. Houston is an" — Henry Hitchings
"Keith Houston's deft history of the object wraps civilizations into the telling, propelling us through the evolution of writing, printing, binding and illustrations with gusto." — Nature
"This witty and mischievous tome traces the evolution from papyrus to paperback in 448 pages. It’s an optimistic ode to one of mankind’s greatest inventions, which continues to thrive even against the onslaught of e-readers." — The Monocle Minute
Also By: Keith Houston 
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Empire of the Sum: The Rise and Reign of the Pocket Calculator
Paperback, 2025
The hidden history of the pocket calculator—a device that ushered in modern mathematics, helped build the atomic bomb and went with us to the moon—and the mathematicians, designers and inventors...
Empire of the Sum: The Rise and Reign of the Pocket Calculator
Hardback, 2023
The hidden history of the pocket calculator—a device that ushered in modern mathematics, helped build the atomic bomb and went with us to the moon—and the mathematicians, designers and inventors...
Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and Other Typographical Marks
Paperback, 2014
“An absolutely fascinating blend of history, design, sociology, and cultural poetics—highly recommended.”—Maria Popova, Brain Pickings
Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and Other Typographical Marks
E Book, 2013
“An absolutely fascinating blend of history, design, sociology, and cultural poetics—highly recommended.”—Maria Popova, Brain Pickings
Ebook
9780393244809
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£23.99
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