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The Paper Trail
The Paper Trail tells the story of how a simple Chinese product has for two millennia allowed knowledge, ideas and religions to spread at an unprecedented rate around the world. Alexander Monro traces this groundbreaking invention's voyage, beginning with the Buddhist translators responsible for its spread across China and Japan, and follows it westward along the Silk Road, where it eventually became the surface of the Quran. Once paper reached Europe, it became indispensable to the scholars who manufactured the Renaissance and Reformation from their desks. As Monro uncovers, paper created a world in which free thinking could flourish, and brought disciplines from science to music into a new age.
384 pages, Paperback
First published August 29, 2013
25 people are currently reading
553 people want to read
About the author
Alexander Monro
166 books3 followersAlexander Monro primus was a Scottish surgeon and anatomist. His father, the surgeon John Monro, had been a prime mover in the foundation of the Edinburgh Medical School and had arranged Alexander's education in the hope that his son might become the first Professor of Anatomy in the new university medical school. After medical studies in Edinburgh, London, Paris and Leiden, Alexander Monro returned to Edinburgh, and pursued a career as a surgeon and anatomy teacher. With the support of his father and the patronage of the Edinburgh Lord Provost George Drummond, Alexander Monro was appointed foundation Professor of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh. His lectures, delivered in English, rather than the conventional Latin, proved popular with students and his qualities as a teacher contributed to the success and reputation of the Edinburgh medical school. He is known as Alexander Monro primus to distinguish him from his son Alexander Monro secundus and his grandson Alexander Monro tertius, who both followed him in the chair of anatomy. These three Monros between them held the Edinburgh University Chair of Anatomy for 126 years.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 19, 2018
Reviewed for The Bibliophibian.
Possibly I shouldn’t have been surprised by how much of the history of papermaking and paper usage is focused on China and the surrounding countries, but I was still somehow surprised — and I definitely hadn’t known about the key role Buddhist sutras players in popularising paper there. I did enjoy that the book didn’t just focus in narrowly on paper-making, but discussed its usage, the people who used it, and explained the contexts. It’s one of those books that might seem to be a microhistory, but in the end tells you a lot about various different things.
Of course, in later chapters it discusses the Reformation and the rise of literacy in the population, and the invention of the novel. But a lot of it isn’t about the West, which is… actually, probably a good thing for a complacent Westerner like me to run into. Paper was already established, understood and used fully well before we started printing Bibles and novels on it. It’s obvious, when you say it like that.
I found Munro’s style pretty compelling and definitely clear, and I enjoyed the fact that he didn’t hurry to the more familiar parts of paper’s history.
Possibly I shouldn’t have been surprised by how much of the history of papermaking and paper usage is focused on China and the surrounding countries, but I was still somehow surprised — and I definitely hadn’t known about the key role Buddhist sutras players in popularising paper there. I did enjoy that the book didn’t just focus in narrowly on paper-making, but discussed its usage, the people who used it, and explained the contexts. It’s one of those books that might seem to be a microhistory, but in the end tells you a lot about various different things.
Of course, in later chapters it discusses the Reformation and the rise of literacy in the population, and the invention of the novel. But a lot of it isn’t about the West, which is… actually, probably a good thing for a complacent Westerner like me to run into. Paper was already established, understood and used fully well before we started printing Bibles and novels on it. It’s obvious, when you say it like that.
I found Munro’s style pretty compelling and definitely clear, and I enjoyed the fact that he didn’t hurry to the more familiar parts of paper’s history.
April 7, 2019
This book is beautifully written, and a pleasure to read. Apart from that, it has some oddities. In theory, it is a history of paper; but really it’s more a history of the changing cultural milieus of paper, with digressions about famous people who have used paper, rather than a history of the actual technologies of papermaking. The first half of the book is spent on China; after that point, China disappears, not really to return again, as the author follows paper through the Islamic Middle Ages, Rennaissance and Reformation Europe, and - constantly accelerating - to the invention of the novel and of freedom of the press.
Perhaps most disappointingly, the citations are uneven. A few of the later chapters are relatively well footnoted, but many of the chapters, on Chinese, Central Asian, and Islamic literary cultures, aren’t. To find sources on these topics, one has to sift through the bibliography and guess. That’s frustrating; the book repeatedly left me engaged and wanting to know more but with no references to support a deeper dive. But, again, the writing itself is lovely and interesting, and likely to satisfy readers who take an aesthetic pleasure in the sweep of history and the diversity of human cultures.
Perhaps most disappointingly, the citations are uneven. A few of the later chapters are relatively well footnoted, but many of the chapters, on Chinese, Central Asian, and Islamic literary cultures, aren’t. To find sources on these topics, one has to sift through the bibliography and guess. That’s frustrating; the book repeatedly left me engaged and wanting to know more but with no references to support a deeper dive. But, again, the writing itself is lovely and interesting, and likely to satisfy readers who take an aesthetic pleasure in the sweep of history and the diversity of human cultures.
December 13, 2014
It is highly unlikely that you are reading this review on a piece of paper held in your hand. And yet, it was the invention of paper that enabled mass communication and exchange of information quickly and effectively. Now we have the internet rapidly replacing the likes of the daily newpaper, but we must cast a thought back to where it all began. First produced over 2000 years ago in China, paper very quickly replaced bamboo as a writing surface and from then on was unstoppable in its spread. Although, it was not till over 1000 years later that paper made its way in a westerly direction to what is now Iran, Iraq, then Turkey to Europe.
The movement and development of paper has been integral to the history of these regions over the last 2000 years. As a form of storing religious texts, whether they be Buddhist as in the early centuries of paper use in China, the Koran or the Bible; as a means of distributing religious messages amongst the populace as seen in the work of Martin Luther in the 1500s looking for an alternative to the Catholic church, or as fuel to the French Revolution in the late 18th century, paper has been at the centre of it all..
Even New Zealand's very own Treaty of Waitangi has two pages in this book devoted to it. Apparently the Treaty was a very rare type of document in British imperial history, in that it was a bilingual document - Maori and English - drawn up for both sides to sign. Which is what happened. Although as we now know, the two versions actually had two different meanings. However it is considered remarkable for its time, as it attempted to come to a political settlement without going to war. The author also points out that when the Treaty was signed in 1840, the Maori had only had maybe 20 years of exposure to the written word, their entire means of communicating and passing on history up to that time being oral in nature. Is it any wonder they are such marvellous story tellers?
This research undertaken for this book is enormous, and how much the author has put in is mind boggling. The author has studied Chinese and lived for a time in Beijing, so it is hardly surprising that half of this book is about the invention, development and spread of paper in China, Eastern and Central Asia - the first 1000 years. I am not entirely sure how one makes 1000 years of paper making interesting and riveting, and at times I found myself nodding off. The seond 1000 years is easier to digest as it has much more relevance to history that we already know about. Nevertheless, I wouldn't say this book is an 'easy' read. The detail and minutiae of his subject is at times overwhelming, to the extent that I felt the thread of many of his stories was getting lost.
There has been a trend in recent years for non-fiction writers to undertake histories of items/inventions that have been crucial to the development of the world we know and live in, and write about it in a way that makes it accessible to the average reader. For example "E=mc2" by David Bodanis takes Albert Einstein's famous equation and explains it in such a way the most unmathematical persons in the world could understand. This book is not on the same accessible level as the likes of "E=mc2".
My biggest criticism - the almost total lack of illustrations. In a book of 368 pages there are only seventeen illustrations. I don't understand how a book about paper and it's place in modern history can only have seventeen, low quality illustrations. There is whole chapter devoted to the Renaissance and the use of paper in the creation of some of the beautiful art works from that time. Any illustrations from this time? No. Any pictures of some of the beautifully and crafted Bibles of the Middle Ages? No. Or the copies of the Koran produced by the Islamic Caliphate? No. I kept wanting to see pictures of what the author was writing about. Disappointing for a book with so much research and information in it.
But if you have the time and want to know where paper, the development of script, binding, typography, the printing press, the concept of reading, the disbursement of knowledge sprang from, then you will get a lot out of reading this book.
The movement and development of paper has been integral to the history of these regions over the last 2000 years. As a form of storing religious texts, whether they be Buddhist as in the early centuries of paper use in China, the Koran or the Bible; as a means of distributing religious messages amongst the populace as seen in the work of Martin Luther in the 1500s looking for an alternative to the Catholic church, or as fuel to the French Revolution in the late 18th century, paper has been at the centre of it all..
Even New Zealand's very own Treaty of Waitangi has two pages in this book devoted to it. Apparently the Treaty was a very rare type of document in British imperial history, in that it was a bilingual document - Maori and English - drawn up for both sides to sign. Which is what happened. Although as we now know, the two versions actually had two different meanings. However it is considered remarkable for its time, as it attempted to come to a political settlement without going to war. The author also points out that when the Treaty was signed in 1840, the Maori had only had maybe 20 years of exposure to the written word, their entire means of communicating and passing on history up to that time being oral in nature. Is it any wonder they are such marvellous story tellers?
This research undertaken for this book is enormous, and how much the author has put in is mind boggling. The author has studied Chinese and lived for a time in Beijing, so it is hardly surprising that half of this book is about the invention, development and spread of paper in China, Eastern and Central Asia - the first 1000 years. I am not entirely sure how one makes 1000 years of paper making interesting and riveting, and at times I found myself nodding off. The seond 1000 years is easier to digest as it has much more relevance to history that we already know about. Nevertheless, I wouldn't say this book is an 'easy' read. The detail and minutiae of his subject is at times overwhelming, to the extent that I felt the thread of many of his stories was getting lost.
There has been a trend in recent years for non-fiction writers to undertake histories of items/inventions that have been crucial to the development of the world we know and live in, and write about it in a way that makes it accessible to the average reader. For example "E=mc2" by David Bodanis takes Albert Einstein's famous equation and explains it in such a way the most unmathematical persons in the world could understand. This book is not on the same accessible level as the likes of "E=mc2".
My biggest criticism - the almost total lack of illustrations. In a book of 368 pages there are only seventeen illustrations. I don't understand how a book about paper and it's place in modern history can only have seventeen, low quality illustrations. There is whole chapter devoted to the Renaissance and the use of paper in the creation of some of the beautiful art works from that time. Any illustrations from this time? No. Any pictures of some of the beautifully and crafted Bibles of the Middle Ages? No. Or the copies of the Koran produced by the Islamic Caliphate? No. I kept wanting to see pictures of what the author was writing about. Disappointing for a book with so much research and information in it.
But if you have the time and want to know where paper, the development of script, binding, typography, the printing press, the concept of reading, the disbursement of knowledge sprang from, then you will get a lot out of reading this book.
November 28, 2015
Als ich neulich von Plänen las, an Grundschulen keine Schreibschrift mehr zu lehren, fragte ich mich, wie Kinder ohne die Zusammenarbeit von Auge, Hand und Gehirn zukünftig ihre Muttersprache lernen sollen. Zurzeit kann ich mir noch nicht vorstellen, selbst nicht mehr zügig mit der Hand längere Texte zu Papier zu bringen. Das Zusammenwirken von Vorstellung, Sprache, Schrift und einem Material, auf das man schreibt, vermittelt Alexander Monro in seinem wunderbaren Buch "Papier". Wäre im 2. Jahrhundert n. Chr. In China nicht die Papierherstellung entwickelt worden, gäbe es heute keine chinesische und japanische Kalligraphie; denn eine getuschte Schrift erfordert eine Papieroberfläche, die Tusche im exakten Maß aufnehmen kann, ohne sich dabei zu stark vollzusaugen. Ohne Papier keine Geldscheine, keine Erlasse einer Verwaltungsbürokratie, keine Verbreitung von Religionen, Reformideen, privaten Briefen und keine demokratischen Wahlen.
Ein historisches Sachbuch zum Thema Papier erschien mir zunächst ein sehr trockenes Thema zu sein. Alexander Munro belehrte mich jedoch zügig eines Besseren, indem er die Frage verfolgte, wem die Erfindung des Papiers nutzte und welche Motive die Menschen damals antrieben. Der Unterschied zwischen Wissen und Begreifen ist mir lange nicht mehr so deutlich geworden wie hier. Zum Beispiel wird hier sehr anschaulich vermittelt, wie Form und Größe eines Beschreibstoffes unmittelbar aus Bewegungsablauf und Körperhaltung eines Schreibers resultieren. Munro informiert weniger darüber, was die Menschen "hatten" , sondern darüber, wie sich die Entwicklung einer Technologie gesellschaftlich und politisch auswirkte. So betont er, dass die Chinesen das Papier zwar erfanden, die Japaner jedoch die Technologie kultivierten und das Ergebnis wertschätzten.
Monro erzählt aus dem China der Tang-Dynastie, über die Bedeutung des Korans als Buch in einer noch immer mündlich überlieferten Religion, aus Europa zur Zeit der Erfindung des Buchdrucks, über Papier und Druck als Voraussetzung von Reformbestrebungen, über die Verkündung der Pressefreiheit in Frankreich 1789 und von der Alphabetisierung aller Bevölkerungsschichten in Europa. Die Freiheit, Kritik zu üben, niederzuschreiben und zu verbreiten sieht Monro als bedeutendste Wirkung dieser Erfindung aus dem Alten China. Der Autor entwickelt die Geschichte des Buches von seinem Dasein als aufwendig von Hand gefertigtem und entsprechend kostspieligem Besitz bis hin zur maschinell hergestellten preiswerten Massenware, die jedem zugänglich war. Theoretisch hätte sich durch die Verfügbarkeit von Büchern für alle Bevölkerungsschichten das Lesen vom Vorlesen des Lehrers oder Haushaltsvorstands zum individuellen Lesen im stillen Kämmerlein entwickeln können - wenn die Kosten für Licht/Kerze und Heizmaterial dem bis ins 20. Jahrhundert nicht entgegengestanden hätten.
"Papier. Wie eine chinesische Erfindung die Welt revolutionierte" ist ein ausgezeichnet recherchiertes, elegant formuliertes und gekonnt übersetztes Sachbuch. Nachdem mir kurz zuvor einige mittelmäßige Übersetzungen aus dem Englischen in die Hände gefallen sind, schätze ich hier besonders die treffende Übersetzung in gutes Deutsch. Einige Kleinigkeiten hätten aus einem ausgezeichneten Buch ein perfektes Buch gemacht: biografische Angaben zur Übersetzerin, ein Lesebändchen, um in den umfangreichen Quellenangaben zu schmökern und der Druck der Abbildungen auf Hochglanzseiten.
Ein historisches Sachbuch zum Thema Papier erschien mir zunächst ein sehr trockenes Thema zu sein. Alexander Munro belehrte mich jedoch zügig eines Besseren, indem er die Frage verfolgte, wem die Erfindung des Papiers nutzte und welche Motive die Menschen damals antrieben. Der Unterschied zwischen Wissen und Begreifen ist mir lange nicht mehr so deutlich geworden wie hier. Zum Beispiel wird hier sehr anschaulich vermittelt, wie Form und Größe eines Beschreibstoffes unmittelbar aus Bewegungsablauf und Körperhaltung eines Schreibers resultieren. Munro informiert weniger darüber, was die Menschen "hatten" , sondern darüber, wie sich die Entwicklung einer Technologie gesellschaftlich und politisch auswirkte. So betont er, dass die Chinesen das Papier zwar erfanden, die Japaner jedoch die Technologie kultivierten und das Ergebnis wertschätzten.
Monro erzählt aus dem China der Tang-Dynastie, über die Bedeutung des Korans als Buch in einer noch immer mündlich überlieferten Religion, aus Europa zur Zeit der Erfindung des Buchdrucks, über Papier und Druck als Voraussetzung von Reformbestrebungen, über die Verkündung der Pressefreiheit in Frankreich 1789 und von der Alphabetisierung aller Bevölkerungsschichten in Europa. Die Freiheit, Kritik zu üben, niederzuschreiben und zu verbreiten sieht Monro als bedeutendste Wirkung dieser Erfindung aus dem Alten China. Der Autor entwickelt die Geschichte des Buches von seinem Dasein als aufwendig von Hand gefertigtem und entsprechend kostspieligem Besitz bis hin zur maschinell hergestellten preiswerten Massenware, die jedem zugänglich war. Theoretisch hätte sich durch die Verfügbarkeit von Büchern für alle Bevölkerungsschichten das Lesen vom Vorlesen des Lehrers oder Haushaltsvorstands zum individuellen Lesen im stillen Kämmerlein entwickeln können - wenn die Kosten für Licht/Kerze und Heizmaterial dem bis ins 20. Jahrhundert nicht entgegengestanden hätten.
"Papier. Wie eine chinesische Erfindung die Welt revolutionierte" ist ein ausgezeichnet recherchiertes, elegant formuliertes und gekonnt übersetztes Sachbuch. Nachdem mir kurz zuvor einige mittelmäßige Übersetzungen aus dem Englischen in die Hände gefallen sind, schätze ich hier besonders die treffende Übersetzung in gutes Deutsch. Einige Kleinigkeiten hätten aus einem ausgezeichneten Buch ein perfektes Buch gemacht: biografische Angaben zur Übersetzerin, ein Lesebändchen, um in den umfangreichen Quellenangaben zu schmökern und der Druck der Abbildungen auf Hochglanzseiten.
September 5, 2015
This is a very readable and well-written book on a subject that might at first sight seem boring, but isn't: the history of paper, its invention, uses, development and spread from China through the Islamic world to Europe and beyond. The parts on China are the best, with an excellent chapter on the Tang poet Bai Juyi. What I missed are illustrations. There are only a few. The author lovingly describes Manichaeist illustrated manuscripts, but in order to see what they look like you have to turn elsewhere. But in the end that doesn't matter: Alexander Monro clearly loves his subject and has written a long love letter to it that I never tired of reading.
May 21, 2021
136 - 2021
September 5, 2025
This book was a little bit dry at points but I guess I should have expected that from a book about the history of paper. It was never going to be an action packed adventure.
That being said, it does an excellent job of taking us through the early development of writing and the eventual inclusion of paper in that process. We then learn about the way this revolutionary, but seemingly so commonplace (to us), invention spread throughout the world shaping and being shaped by events like the growth of Christianity and Islam, the reformation, the Renaissance, the French Revolution, and more.
That being said, it does an excellent job of taking us through the early development of writing and the eventual inclusion of paper in that process. We then learn about the way this revolutionary, but seemingly so commonplace (to us), invention spread throughout the world shaping and being shaped by events like the growth of Christianity and Islam, the reformation, the Renaissance, the French Revolution, and more.
August 9, 2016
Good:
* Seems to be quite comprehensive.
Bad:
* Very boring, it feels like reading a collection of facts.
* Seems to be quite comprehensive.
Bad:
* Very boring, it feels like reading a collection of facts.
October 1, 2021
It's a curious book this one from Mr. Monro. The title sets itself up as a history of paper, yet perhaps the history of the value of paper, or the use of paper as allied to the printing press and / literacy probably wouldn't have been quite as catchy.
It is also part history of china, history of islam, history of printing, history of the renaissance with many many tangential anecdotes that drift in one direction then another.
It is quite evident from the author bio how much this is yet another historical passion project non fiction book that struggles to martial the enthusiasm for every last curious nugget of information into a manageable and coherent flow. The first half spends much of the time exploring the minutiae of Chinese history and the development of Buddhist thought and it's spread, whilst in the latter half the book flies through the renaissance and the development of printing taking a fairly sporadic fly-by of various developments - as illustrations of what paper has allowed a culture to provide.
On the paper process itself there is very little, which whilst less interesting than discussing political intrigue, literacy, religious fervour, grand artistic output and so forth is still rather critical to a history of paper one would have thought. I'd have liked, even if it was just one chapter discussing the process of paper-making, the plants used, and some of the technological developments, in a little more detail than "and oh and then there was the Hollander which also sped things up" in a fly away line. But that is not the book written here.
Still, for all my concerns about the flow, and the inability with which I could keep focussed on some chapters in terms of what Munro wanted to drive it, it is undoubtedly a thoroughly comprehensive piece of research, jam-packed with revelations or fascinating curios that will always make a book like this worth reading.
It may drive you to then wish to focus on specialist areas elsewhere, like early chinese religin, the Renaissance, early islamic scholarship or printing for example which is no bad thing in and of itself at all, but trying to summarise what this book is about succintly is a challenge. I think the author, certainly not the first and won't be the last, has an admirable thirst for scope and unleashing all those mined notes and artefacts produced from what I presume is lengthy research, but it could have done with a bit more ruthlessness in the editing process at times.
It is also part history of china, history of islam, history of printing, history of the renaissance with many many tangential anecdotes that drift in one direction then another.
It is quite evident from the author bio how much this is yet another historical passion project non fiction book that struggles to martial the enthusiasm for every last curious nugget of information into a manageable and coherent flow. The first half spends much of the time exploring the minutiae of Chinese history and the development of Buddhist thought and it's spread, whilst in the latter half the book flies through the renaissance and the development of printing taking a fairly sporadic fly-by of various developments - as illustrations of what paper has allowed a culture to provide.
On the paper process itself there is very little, which whilst less interesting than discussing political intrigue, literacy, religious fervour, grand artistic output and so forth is still rather critical to a history of paper one would have thought. I'd have liked, even if it was just one chapter discussing the process of paper-making, the plants used, and some of the technological developments, in a little more detail than "and oh and then there was the Hollander which also sped things up" in a fly away line. But that is not the book written here.
Still, for all my concerns about the flow, and the inability with which I could keep focussed on some chapters in terms of what Munro wanted to drive it, it is undoubtedly a thoroughly comprehensive piece of research, jam-packed with revelations or fascinating curios that will always make a book like this worth reading.
It may drive you to then wish to focus on specialist areas elsewhere, like early chinese religin, the Renaissance, early islamic scholarship or printing for example which is no bad thing in and of itself at all, but trying to summarise what this book is about succintly is a challenge. I think the author, certainly not the first and won't be the last, has an admirable thirst for scope and unleashing all those mined notes and artefacts produced from what I presume is lengthy research, but it could have done with a bit more ruthlessness in the editing process at times.
August 28, 2023
First published in 2014, 'The Paper Trail' explores the development and usage of paper over the last two millennia, although it would be true to say that it concentrates mainly on it's use for words. Much of the book wades through the history of the use of paper in the Far East and in the Middle East, with some explanation of mediums that it directly replaced over time such as Vellum, Parchment, Papyrus and Bamboo amongst others. The details of the background history of the far and middle east are just amazing, after being fed a diet of Western-centric history for so many years. Most enjoyable, a true eye-opener.
September 3, 2017
An often fascinating read tracing the history of written culture, really, across the world, and how paper emerged from China along the Silk Road to the Middle East and Europe. The discussion of paper's intertwined history with Buddhism, Islam, and the Protestant Reformation was also quite interesting. I would have loved a few more illustrations because they're pretty few and far between.
April 12, 2018
I enjoyed this book - a history of the impact of paper on history really. My only reservation was that it felt a little unbalanced between the early days of the invention of paper and developments and changes coming up to the present day. I would have liked more on art and design uses of paper. None of that spoiled my enjoyment of it.
November 16, 2022
Monro certainly has a passion for this book. His book starts off from China where paper was invented. As a Chinese I m impressed by his depth of knowledge in Chinese culture and poetry. However, the narrative on the poets may be too much and too long to be relevant. Readers may lose interest along the way. A 3 stars ratimg only.
May 1, 2019
Excellent history of both papermaking and the spread of the history of paper use throughout the Eastern world, starting in China and making its way through Asia and Europe. The Americas are mentioned but there is not a significant dive into the papermaking history there.
June 11, 2020
Not really what I expected- more about what was written on the paper than the paper itself. I learned a lot about the spread of Buddhism, but was more interested in the "history of science" about papermaking.
March 11, 2018
百科全書式的好書。本書原書名《紙的蹤跡》比較符合作者的寫作原意︰藉由紙張在世界的流傳路徑，描寫它在各地所帶起的各地文化變遷與改變，並構塑出今天的世界面貌。本書可以作為「世界文化史」的入門大作，每一章節都有值得細細品嚐的知識樂趣。
June 1, 2018
Better than Kurlansky’s Paper but only slightly better than Houston’s The Book. It’s a tough slog but worth it. It will also help you go to sleep night after night.
May 30, 2015
Firstly, I don't think there can be any doubt how I feel about the importance of paper - my to-read list is at over 2,000 books for myself, and I even have a shelf for my daughter - 20 months old who loves to 'read' too.
Naturally, I was very interested in reading this, but the execution of said topic fell short of my expectations. I knew of course that paper had been invented in China, but I was not expecting half the book to be devoted to paper in China and felt those chapters became redundant after a while. Had I looked at the author bio prior to reading though, I would've seen he studied Chinese and this it makes sense. Additionally the author has written about the history of Chinese dynasties, so his knowledge is extensive, as clearly shown. But I was not interested in China's history - only as it pertained to the development of paper.
All in all it's not a bad book. It's very well-researched and it's clear the author out a lot of effort into it. But it's very dense and slow; for the all the attention lavished on China and how paper was used there, I'd have liked to have seen the same attention given to Europe. Obviously paper did not exist there as early as in Asia and even the Middle East, but the work to come out of that continent has equally as important. As I mentioned in a comment, Shakespeare received a paltry 3.5 pages; unacceptable for the greatest writer of all time. I hope it's simply due to lack of script in his own hand and not because the author felt it not important.
Naturally, I was very interested in reading this, but the execution of said topic fell short of my expectations. I knew of course that paper had been invented in China, but I was not expecting half the book to be devoted to paper in China and felt those chapters became redundant after a while. Had I looked at the author bio prior to reading though, I would've seen he studied Chinese and this it makes sense. Additionally the author has written about the history of Chinese dynasties, so his knowledge is extensive, as clearly shown. But I was not interested in China's history - only as it pertained to the development of paper.
All in all it's not a bad book. It's very well-researched and it's clear the author out a lot of effort into it. But it's very dense and slow; for the all the attention lavished on China and how paper was used there, I'd have liked to have seen the same attention given to Europe. Obviously paper did not exist there as early as in Asia and even the Middle East, but the work to come out of that continent has equally as important. As I mentioned in a comment, Shakespeare received a paltry 3.5 pages; unacceptable for the greatest writer of all time. I hope it's simply due to lack of script in his own hand and not because the author felt it not important.
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July 8, 2016676 M752 2016
August 30, 2016
Yes, I read a book on the history of paper. Yes, it was dry. Not an impossible read and some of it was interesting.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews