Mark Kurlansky

Kurlansky offers a definitive history of paper and the astonishing ways it has shaped today's world.

Paging Through History

Paper

Lance Willett

Superb, as usual from this author. Maybe a bit less focused than Salt or Cod, but the subject is wider and touches on the spoken and written word, alphabets and language, printing, technology, and more. I love the detail, Kurlansky makes learning history fun and engaging.

Pierke Bosschieter

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.

Paper Paging Through History

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