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The Pharaoh's Treasure: The Origin of Paper and the Rise of Western Civilization
A thought-provoking history of papyrus paper—from its origins in Egypt to its spread throughout the world—revealing how it helped usher in a new era of human history.
Throughout our entire history, humans have always searched for new ways to share information. This innate compulsion led to the origin of writing on the rock walls of caves and coffin lids or carving on tablets. But it was with the advent of papyrus paper when the ability to record and transmit information exploded, allowing for an exchanging of ideas from the banks of the Nile throughout the Mediterranean—and the civilized world—for the first time in human history.
In The Pharaoh’s Treasure , John Gaudet looks at this pivotal transition to papyrus paper, which would become the most commonly used information medium in the world for more than 4,000 years. Far from fragile, papyrus paper is an especially durable writing surface; papyrus books and documents in ancient and medieval times had a usable life of hundreds of years, and this durability has allowed items like the famous Nag Hammadi codices from the third and fourth century to survive.
The story of this material that was prized by both scholars and kings reveals how papyrus paper is more than a relic of our ancient past, but a key to understanding how ideas and information shaped humanity in the ancient and early modern world.
Throughout our entire history, humans have always searched for new ways to share information. This innate compulsion led to the origin of writing on the rock walls of caves and coffin lids or carving on tablets. But it was with the advent of papyrus paper when the ability to record and transmit information exploded, allowing for an exchanging of ideas from the banks of the Nile throughout the Mediterranean—and the civilized world—for the first time in human history.
In The Pharaoh’s Treasure , John Gaudet looks at this pivotal transition to papyrus paper, which would become the most commonly used information medium in the world for more than 4,000 years. Far from fragile, papyrus paper is an especially durable writing surface; papyrus books and documents in ancient and medieval times had a usable life of hundreds of years, and this durability has allowed items like the famous Nag Hammadi codices from the third and fourth century to survive.
The story of this material that was prized by both scholars and kings reveals how papyrus paper is more than a relic of our ancient past, but a key to understanding how ideas and information shaped humanity in the ancient and early modern world.
392 pages, Hardcover
Published October 2, 2018
2 people are currently reading
161 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 12, 2018
It is a great historical book about the importance of paper. I, a book lover, found this story very interesting.
Thank you Netgalley for this nice read.
Thank you Netgalley for this nice read.
May 14, 2023
A very much needed study on one of the world's most underappreciated inventions, paper. The author traces the origins of papyrus from the ancient Egyptians through the Rennaissance. We also get a lesson in Egyptian antiquities and their place in the greater scheme of things. Overall, a very entertaining book and well worth the time.
July 30, 2019
I have always been fascinated by anything to do with Ancient Egypt, and this book was no exception! I enjoyed learning more about an aspect I knew little about, but that was so vital to their history and the knowledge that we have today!
February 7, 2019
Fancy a fascinating dip into some non-fiction history? Here’s a subject you might not have sought out, but one that might capture your fascination. I read the title and the description and simply decided I wanted to know more. It’s not a text I need for research, but like so many good books, it is one that when read will inform everything I ever look at hereafter. It is the history of paper, and with it the written word.
It’s a subject that’s always hovered on the edge of what I do, since the day I wrote about Caesar’s ‘paperwork’ and then panicked about the fact that the Romans didn’t have paper. But did they? Now that’s a question that this book will address. It is informative and interesting, yet despite everything for me the most important value it has is that it has defined the word ‘paper’ and I will cite it forever in my author notes for books.
The book begins with ancient Egypt, as you might guess from the title. The Pharaoh’s Treasure? *Said in a worryingly Rolf Harris voice*: ‘Can you guess what it is yet?’ Well, without wanting to spoil the book for you, said treasure is the oldest paper ever found, in a box, in a tomb. We move from there to the first written record. No surprises that this is also Egypt, the records of one of the pharaoh Khufu’s administrators. Typical of humanity that the earliest writing found was not left by a playwright or a comedian, but a bureaucrat, eh? Still, an astounding discovery.
There is a lot of focus on the importance of the written word. In Egypt this means the book of the dead and all the burial texts. The Eighteenth to Twentieth centuries unearthed ever increasing numbers of important texts in Egypt. The vital part paper had in the Egyptian world is clear, and the book moves from there into the Judeo-Christian world and the same value that is applied to paper and written records there.
There is some fairly in-depth discussion of the manufacture of papyrus (yes, we get the word paper from it, as the book reminds us), and on its production, which reached an almost industrial scale in later Egypt. We move on from there into Greece and particularly Rome. This is, of course, my specialist subject. Anyone who studies Rome will know that their culture were the first to become almost obsessively bureaucratic, and Rome moves the written word to the next level. Apparently (according to Pliny who lists the different grades of Roman paper) there was even a type of Roman packing paper!
The book then moves on to examine the new value of paper and the written word for fiction, text books, theatre, and on to libraries, the vast trade in writing, in ink, in pens and so forth. The existence of the Great Library. We move on into the Byzantine world, where bureaucracy reaches a peak perhaps unseen in the history of man, and then to the Roman Church, where it’s value and use is blindingly clear.
Then there was something that brought a massive surprise to me. Something that probably made more impact than anything else in the book. The history of paper and the written word changed immeasurably, following the events of a specific battle in the 8th century. I’m not going to spoil that one for you, and I’m not even going to mention the battle or its long-reaching effect. You’ll have to read the book for that.
There is some final rounding up of the data and conclusions, but that’s it. And if you don’t read the book for anything else, I hope you’re intrigued enough about the battle to go for it. It’s a very specifically-aimed book and will be of little direct actual use to most folk, but as a fascinating piece of historical research with some startling conclusions, it is well worth the time. Recommended.
It’s a subject that’s always hovered on the edge of what I do, since the day I wrote about Caesar’s ‘paperwork’ and then panicked about the fact that the Romans didn’t have paper. But did they? Now that’s a question that this book will address. It is informative and interesting, yet despite everything for me the most important value it has is that it has defined the word ‘paper’ and I will cite it forever in my author notes for books.
The book begins with ancient Egypt, as you might guess from the title. The Pharaoh’s Treasure? *Said in a worryingly Rolf Harris voice*: ‘Can you guess what it is yet?’ Well, without wanting to spoil the book for you, said treasure is the oldest paper ever found, in a box, in a tomb. We move from there to the first written record. No surprises that this is also Egypt, the records of one of the pharaoh Khufu’s administrators. Typical of humanity that the earliest writing found was not left by a playwright or a comedian, but a bureaucrat, eh? Still, an astounding discovery.
There is a lot of focus on the importance of the written word. In Egypt this means the book of the dead and all the burial texts. The Eighteenth to Twentieth centuries unearthed ever increasing numbers of important texts in Egypt. The vital part paper had in the Egyptian world is clear, and the book moves from there into the Judeo-Christian world and the same value that is applied to paper and written records there.
There is some fairly in-depth discussion of the manufacture of papyrus (yes, we get the word paper from it, as the book reminds us), and on its production, which reached an almost industrial scale in later Egypt. We move on from there into Greece and particularly Rome. This is, of course, my specialist subject. Anyone who studies Rome will know that their culture were the first to become almost obsessively bureaucratic, and Rome moves the written word to the next level. Apparently (according to Pliny who lists the different grades of Roman paper) there was even a type of Roman packing paper!
The book then moves on to examine the new value of paper and the written word for fiction, text books, theatre, and on to libraries, the vast trade in writing, in ink, in pens and so forth. The existence of the Great Library. We move on into the Byzantine world, where bureaucracy reaches a peak perhaps unseen in the history of man, and then to the Roman Church, where it’s value and use is blindingly clear.
Then there was something that brought a massive surprise to me. Something that probably made more impact than anything else in the book. The history of paper and the written word changed immeasurably, following the events of a specific battle in the 8th century. I’m not going to spoil that one for you, and I’m not even going to mention the battle or its long-reaching effect. You’ll have to read the book for that.
There is some final rounding up of the data and conclusions, but that’s it. And if you don’t read the book for anything else, I hope you’re intrigued enough about the battle to go for it. It’s a very specifically-aimed book and will be of little direct actual use to most folk, but as a fascinating piece of historical research with some startling conclusions, it is well worth the time. Recommended.
February 21, 2019
The premise of this book is what caught my eye, and I should have stopped there. While the history he presents isn't uninteresting, his writing style leaves something to be desired. It wasn't so much a "rise" of civilization as a "guide to how papyrus was cultivated..." There was a major disconnect between what the book was trying to be and where it was actually successful.
In addition, the major negative for me is that a Fulbright Scholar and PhD trained ecologist routinely utilized Wikipedia as a credible source for quotes, data and images. NO! JUST NO! It shows a lack of research, a lack of foresight/depth to his topic, and a lack of ethics. To put it mildly, the author was lazy and couldn't be bothered to provide the breadth of research that he should have...
Skip it. In fact if I could give it zero stars, I would... Can I do that?
In addition, the major negative for me is that a Fulbright Scholar and PhD trained ecologist routinely utilized Wikipedia as a credible source for quotes, data and images. NO! JUST NO! It shows a lack of research, a lack of foresight/depth to his topic, and a lack of ethics. To put it mildly, the author was lazy and couldn't be bothered to provide the breadth of research that he should have...
Skip it. In fact if I could give it zero stars, I would... Can I do that?
January 7, 2019
This is an important book, but extremely hard to classify. It is history, archaeology, biology, chemistry, architecture, botany, mystery, spying, library science, geography, greed, farming, soil technology and more. He takes the story of papyrus from Pharoic Egypt to the modern era. Mr. Gaudet writes in an enjoyable, informative narrative that moves through time and space and thoroughly covers his subject without the blah, blah, blah, of some writers. It is heck of a nice read.
April 6, 2023
Gaudet tells the story of papyrus as the history of writing on this form of "paper." Actually, he tells lots of stories, and in a highly engaging manner. The Nile Valley had a special ecology that fostered this versatile plant, used for crafting woven mats, building boats, even homes, and eventually writing materials that would transform the transmission of knowledge. He considers the Egyptian monopoly on the production of papyrus paper as a kind of "cartel." Part of the history is how the book "industry" evolved from endless copying of the Egyptian "Book of the Dead." Light weight papyrus scrolls are seen as a great technological advance as they can be carried around with greater ease than a stack of inscribed clay tablets. Gaudet interweaves this ancient history with the way Egyptian writing was gradually decrypted and recovered by Egyptologists so the ancient scrolls could be read and interpreted. He also delves into the story of the charred scrolls at Herculaneum, the source of great anticipation, dashed when most of the scrolls examined appeared to be authored by a rather dull Epicurean named Philodemus, but there are more scrolls yet to be analyzed with new technology. Then he goes into the history of the Hebrew Bible along with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the writing of the New Testament along with the discovery of the Nag Hammadi codices, and then the story of how scrolls gave way to the codex first used by early Christians. The codex is a technological advance allowing readers to skip around the text rapidly, rather than reading sequentially. I think this is sometimes called searchability or discoverability...Gaudet projects our modern mentally on the ancient world, envisioning the spread of manuscripts written on papyrus as akin to our contemporary use of social media to spread ideas. Highly portable, packable, and searchable, papyrus codices in this telling facilitated the spread of Christianity. It's a very personal retelling, and he seems almost upset when he relates how papyrus swamps were eventually torn out and replaced by agricultural fields. Papyrus plantings were only reintroduced recently for modern day tourists. And Gaudet seems genuinely sad when he relates the decline of papyrus as it is replaced in the late Middle Ages first by parchment, and later by rag paper invented in China and transmitted through the Middle East. The author is careful not to offend fundamentalists, probably a large constituency for his writing, so the wording is such that it does not exclude literal readings of scripture. At the same time, he is honest about the enormous volume of forgeries that were routinely produced in the early history of writing. This narrative is decidedly not a scholarly book in the traditional sense, but rather a way of reimagining the evolving material culture behind our Western literary traditions. There are references to the scholarly research on the subject for those interested in a higher level of stringent accuracy. I have been reading some of them for information, but frankly they are not as much fun...
April 12, 2025
Interesting history of paper. I have read lots about the printing press as being the key element in cultural advancement, but you couldn’t have the press without the paper. The ancient Egyptians couldn’t have created their extensive building work without the papyrus paper for spreadsheets (the first spreadsheets were used to track materials, manpower, payments, etc to create the Great Pyramid!). Inexpensive, flexible, easily transportable light-weight papyrus paper was also critical to Rome’s extensive bureaucracies with the ability to record everything in duplicate and triplicate; the writing and dissemination of the first novel (a fantasy piece written 2000-1650 BC about a hero on a sea journey who battles a monster); as well as diaries, love letters, and everything else we take for granted in our paper-eating culture.
One of the ancient texts contains the first known story problem (2000 BC): “Seven houses contain seven cats. Each cat kills seven mice. Each mouse had eaten seven ears of grain. Each ear of grain would have produced seven hekats of wheat. What is the total of all of these?” Story problems were used to plague students over 4,000 years ago.
Interestingly, because papyrus was so light weight it enabled the first rapid communication system: carrier pigeons. The Egyptians use them to deliver military communications, and the Greeks later used them to announce the results of the Olympic games to the various city-states in near live time. Who would have thought?
There were other writing surfaces, of course, but stone walls and monuments aren’t transportable; clay tablets are heavy and fragile; parchment and vellum require too many animals and prep time and can be too easily erased (scraped off). Paper is where it’s at, and for a long time, Egypt had a monopoly because that’s where the papyrus grew.
One of the ancient texts contains the first known story problem (2000 BC): “Seven houses contain seven cats. Each cat kills seven mice. Each mouse had eaten seven ears of grain. Each ear of grain would have produced seven hekats of wheat. What is the total of all of these?” Story problems were used to plague students over 4,000 years ago.
Interestingly, because papyrus was so light weight it enabled the first rapid communication system: carrier pigeons. The Egyptians use them to deliver military communications, and the Greeks later used them to announce the results of the Olympic games to the various city-states in near live time. Who would have thought?
There were other writing surfaces, of course, but stone walls and monuments aren’t transportable; clay tablets are heavy and fragile; parchment and vellum require too many animals and prep time and can be too easily erased (scraped off). Paper is where it’s at, and for a long time, Egypt had a monopoly because that’s where the papyrus grew.
July 10, 2022
This is certainly an informative book. The author explains the rise and eventual fall of papyrus paper over the course of its several thousand years of useful life. It's clear that he has dedicated a lot of time and effort to parsing out the history of this extremely important product, and it was worth my time to learn about.
I have two issues with the book, however.
First, it is overall pretty dry. I guess this one's on me, though. It's definitely an academic work, but when I bought it I thought it was going to be aimed at a more general reader (there I go, judging a book by its cover). But that's not actually the case; it had a more "textbook" feel to it than what I expected. Fair enough; I've read many such books. But it certainly could have been written in a more engaging style.
The second issue is more substantial: the editing and proofreading left a lot to be desired. I'm not talking about one missing period or the use of a comma where a semicolon might have been the better choice. The book is rife with errors to the extent that it made the experience of reading worse. There were a ton of capitalization and punctuation errors, several misspelled words (e.g., "decieving"--I don't even know how this got past spellcheck), and even one paragraph that had a flat-out factual error. It was so bad that, to be honest, I have my doubts that large chunks of the book were even reviewed by anyone other than the author himself. Normally I wouldn't comment on something this pedantic, but it's the worst example I've ever seen in a bonafide published book.
Without the egregious editing (or lack thereof), it's a solid three stars.
I have two issues with the book, however.
First, it is overall pretty dry. I guess this one's on me, though. It's definitely an academic work, but when I bought it I thought it was going to be aimed at a more general reader (there I go, judging a book by its cover). But that's not actually the case; it had a more "textbook" feel to it than what I expected. Fair enough; I've read many such books. But it certainly could have been written in a more engaging style.
The second issue is more substantial: the editing and proofreading left a lot to be desired. I'm not talking about one missing period or the use of a comma where a semicolon might have been the better choice. The book is rife with errors to the extent that it made the experience of reading worse. There were a ton of capitalization and punctuation errors, several misspelled words (e.g., "decieving"--I don't even know how this got past spellcheck), and even one paragraph that had a flat-out factual error. It was so bad that, to be honest, I have my doubts that large chunks of the book were even reviewed by anyone other than the author himself. Normally I wouldn't comment on something this pedantic, but it's the worst example I've ever seen in a bonafide published book.
Without the egregious editing (or lack thereof), it's a solid three stars.
July 27, 2021
I very seldom refuse to finish a book that I have started but, in this case, I made an exception: I stopped at page 60 and threw the damn thing away. Never have I read such a disorganized text, with no discernible sense of direction: technical details about the production of papyrus paper are mixed, often within the same paragraph, with extraneous ecological considerations, juicy anecdotes about 18th century Egyptologists, excerpts from The Book of the Dead etc. ad nauseam. A previous reviewer pointed out that a large proportion of the sources used consists in Wikipedia articles. It is certainly true and indicative of the laziness of the author who did not bother to look up more reliable sources; and while at it, he could have checked his facts:
p. 20: During a conference, the speaker mentions that a high altitude nuclear explosion would generate gamma radiation that would erase all magnetic records; in reply to a question, he explains that “the atmosphere protects us, only the electromagnetic radiation gets through” (As far as I know, gamma radiation IS electromagnetic radiation and, in the event, the erasure of our magnetic records would be the least of our worries);
p. 28: After leaving Alexandria port Prisse d’Avennes’s steamboat “called at Malta and Gibraltar en route to Marseille” (apparently, he thinks Marseille is on the Atlantic coast);
p. 56: “The naturalist Sylvia Sikes brought a sailboat to Lake Chad in 1969 in order to survey it, why wouldn’t the Egyptians have done the same thing in 6000 B.C.?” (why indeed?).
After that, I stopped reading.
p. 20: During a conference, the speaker mentions that a high altitude nuclear explosion would generate gamma radiation that would erase all magnetic records; in reply to a question, he explains that “the atmosphere protects us, only the electromagnetic radiation gets through” (As far as I know, gamma radiation IS electromagnetic radiation and, in the event, the erasure of our magnetic records would be the least of our worries);
p. 28: After leaving Alexandria port Prisse d’Avennes’s steamboat “called at Malta and Gibraltar en route to Marseille” (apparently, he thinks Marseille is on the Atlantic coast);
p. 56: “The naturalist Sylvia Sikes brought a sailboat to Lake Chad in 1969 in order to survey it, why wouldn’t the Egyptians have done the same thing in 6000 B.C.?” (why indeed?).
After that, I stopped reading.
October 22, 2018
Gaudet has written a delightfully interesting and informative book that covers everything papyrus in terms of paper. He covers topics such as the ancient locations of papyrus; it's various uses; the invention and evolution of papyrus paper; the business of manufacture and distribution of papyrus sheets from Egypt, across the Mediterranean region and beyond; and it's eventual eclipse by rag paper. The numerous historical stories about archaeological discoveries and daring "rescue" attempts are well told and make this book something other than a dry rendition of the evolution of the papyrus scroll. Of course, you can't have a book about papyrus paper and not mention the numerous ancient (and not so ancient) libraries that stored them. This book compliments the author's previous book [Papyrus: The Plant that Changed the World: From Ancient Egypt to Today's Water Wars] which deals more specifically with the papyrus plant; as well as Keith Houston's book [The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time] which deals with paper and the evolution of the book, but doesn't not spend too much time on papyrus paper specifically.
January 1, 2019
The History of the World is Told in the History of Papyrus
The Pharaoh's Treasure: The Origin of Paper and the Rise of Western Civilization by John Gaudet is an amazing journey through World History. Truly, the history of the world is encompassed within the history of papyrus - to learn specifically about the long and captivating career of papyrus is to learn about the rise of human communication, productivity, politics, and market economies all across the globe.
Following the amazing career of papyrus, Gaudet offers an exceptionally engaging narration covering the earliest ages of ancient Egypt to the succession of parchment, rag, and wood pulp paper products that bring an end to papyrus popularity by about 1,000 CE. Every imaginable facet of papyrus production, marketing, and use are comprehensively covered in an imaginative and compelling writing style that holds the reader's attention.
This is a 5-star read for fans of intriguing non-fiction, especially for those readers who enjoy a wide exploration of an incredibly important commodity beloved by humans all across the globe and shared like precious treasure down the countless generations.
The Pharaoh's Treasure: The Origin of Paper and the Rise of Western Civilization by John Gaudet is an amazing journey through World History. Truly, the history of the world is encompassed within the history of papyrus - to learn specifically about the long and captivating career of papyrus is to learn about the rise of human communication, productivity, politics, and market economies all across the globe.
Following the amazing career of papyrus, Gaudet offers an exceptionally engaging narration covering the earliest ages of ancient Egypt to the succession of parchment, rag, and wood pulp paper products that bring an end to papyrus popularity by about 1,000 CE. Every imaginable facet of papyrus production, marketing, and use are comprehensively covered in an imaginative and compelling writing style that holds the reader's attention.
This is a 5-star read for fans of intriguing non-fiction, especially for those readers who enjoy a wide exploration of an incredibly important commodity beloved by humans all across the globe and shared like precious treasure down the countless generations.
August 7, 2022
What a fabulous book! Granted, one would have to have an interest in books, paper, history, etc. However, for me, it was perfect. A wonderfully complete history of papyrus, the transition to and shortcomings of parchment. And then onto plant and rag papers. I also enjoyed the deep understandings and comparisons of these developments, the plus and minus when used in different cultures, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Arabic, and Chinese. These insights were very helpful to me.
I had read John Gaudet's previous book Papyrus. It was so well researched I thought this second book might have very little to offer. Wrong, I was wrong. You might have to be a book, or a paper person to enjoy this subject as much as did. However, the writing and the design of the book was excellent. I was very happy with the last part of the book, discussing modern applications and developments. On to my library shelf it goes, as a wonderful reference work, to check and review whenever needed.
If you have a section of books about books, you need to add this one, which will broaden your perspective.
I had read John Gaudet's previous book Papyrus. It was so well researched I thought this second book might have very little to offer. Wrong, I was wrong. You might have to be a book, or a paper person to enjoy this subject as much as did. However, the writing and the design of the book was excellent. I was very happy with the last part of the book, discussing modern applications and developments. On to my library shelf it goes, as a wonderful reference work, to check and review whenever needed.
If you have a section of books about books, you need to add this one, which will broaden your perspective.
June 13, 2019
History of paper! Perfect for a book lover like myself. I remember learning about the history in maybe 6th grade, then it was repeated in various art classes, then later college courses, but to own a book on the history is too marvelous! What I have always found funny (and really sad) was that so many libraries disposed of their magazine and newspaper collections way back in the 60's and 70's, only to find the film replacements not lasting as long and all those newspapers, on the market, still holding their own. I have books from the 18th century that are still holding well. Paper trumps every device I know of! Wonderfully written and researched.
I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.
I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.
October 22, 2022
I usually read fiction these days but I was caught up so I took a peek at my pre-approved titles and I found a non fiction title that I wanted to try. It's about the history of paper, specifically papyrus based paper. Apparently this is a first book because it is just all over the place. The author starts in the middle, jumps around, and I can't get a sense of what the history really is. There send to be an issue with papyrus vs other paper but it's just blurted out with no lead up. He also gets fairly chatty in place, which an editor should've cleaned up. This all adds up to a title that I wanted to enjoy but couldn't. I do think there's and interesting subject in there somewhere.
September 24, 2025
library hardbound. Interesting with respect to the history of papyrus paper production and use but more of a book to skim than a book to read because the author's rambling style and strained attempts to liken the use of paper to electronic means of communication are very annoying.
November 24, 2018
Anyone who loves books and paper will be intrigued by this well-written history about the importance of paper to civilization.
January 17, 2019
A readable book with thorough coverage of the topic, starting with Egyptian culture and development of papyrus all the way to the first books & libraries.
February 15, 2019
For anyone who has an interest in history. The depth and breadth of details is riveting.
December 18, 2018
I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.
I found this to be a really interesting and informative read. I will admit that I had never really given any thought as to how and why papyrus came to be used, and I liked learning about both how papyrus was produced and how the move from clay tablets to papyrus and then to what we would recognise as paper helped ideas to spread. I had assumed before reading this that papyrus was fragile, and I had assumed that the codices found at Nag Hammandi were written on vellum when in actual fact they were written on papyrus, and it was this use of papyrus that ensured that the codices survived, papyrus being far more durable than vellum.
If you are interested in the history of human communication, and how ideas and civilisation spread then I can definitely recommend this book.
I found this to be a really interesting and informative read. I will admit that I had never really given any thought as to how and why papyrus came to be used, and I liked learning about both how papyrus was produced and how the move from clay tablets to papyrus and then to what we would recognise as paper helped ideas to spread. I had assumed before reading this that papyrus was fragile, and I had assumed that the codices found at Nag Hammandi were written on vellum when in actual fact they were written on papyrus, and it was this use of papyrus that ensured that the codices survived, papyrus being far more durable than vellum.
If you are interested in the history of human communication, and how ideas and civilisation spread then I can definitely recommend this book.
February 6, 2019
This book was fascinating but a little dry for my taste. I enjoyed learning about some of the treasures that were included in the book.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews