The History of the Book in 100 Books: The Complete Story, Hardcover Book, By: Roderick Cave

In The History of the Book in 100 Books, the author explores 100 books that have played a critical role in the creation and expansion of books and all that they bring -- literacy, numeracy, expansion of knowledge, religion, political theory, oppression, liberation, and much more. The book is ordered chronologically and divided thematically. Each of the 100 sections focuses on one book that represents a particular development in the evolution of books and in turn, world history and society. Abundant photographs inform and embellish. Here are some of the themes discussed: In the Beginning: first human scratches on cave walls, cuneiform tablets, papyrus books, the oldest table of prime numbers Eastern Approaches -- 1, 000 years before Europe, the Far East "publishes" books using paper and other writing surfaces in multiple -- in one case 11, 000 -- volumes The Great Classics -- the emergence of Aesop's Fables over 2, 000 years ago; the first cookbook, by Apicius, reveals the excesses of the Roman empire Medieval Worlds and the Book -- the illuminated Book of Kells survives Viking raids; Ptolemy puts the world on a map; the miraculous beauty of the Prayer Books and Books of Hours Light From the East -- the oldest printed book of all: Diamond Sutra; the first novel, Tale of Genji (written by a woman no less); the first book of astronomy and the first book of anatomy Wheels of Change -- a period of firsts: Gutenberg invents moveable type; the first blockbuster; the first joke book; the first printing in Africa; printing in Arabic; first printed music Print and Steam -- technology puts photography in books; newspapers publish fiction in instalments; enter Baedecker, the archetypical travel guide; celebrity cooking hits the page