Michael F. Suarez, S. J., and H. R. Woudhuysen, Editors: The Book: A Global History

摘要

Attempting to commandeer a great study of one of Earth’s most wonderful artifacts demands respect. To the tall and international order of The Book: A Global History, edited by Fr. Michael F. Suarez, S. J., and H. R. Woudhuysen, which aims to be ‘‘ambitious in its scope and innovative in its reach’’ (xi), this required enlisting 58 scholars writing from 15 nations, with every contributor offering a dynamic, enriching work. While some books on books focus on production histories, on language, and on the progenitors of modern book formats, The Book seeks to cover as many topics on the book as it can. Again, commandeer is, I find, the appropriate word for helming what appears to be a project that will be recognized for years to come. Fr. Suarez and Woudhuysen, humble in their introduction, realize the challenge of their compilation. Covering a span from ‘‘the earliest pictograms of the mid 4th millennium to recent developments in electronic books,’’ The Book is a saga venerable enough to feature in any future book-history.