Portable magic : a history of books and their readers /
Material type: TextPublisher: New York : Alfred A. Knopf, [2022]Description: 337 pages ; 22 cmContent type:- text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9781524749095
- 1524749095
- 9780593081839
- 0593081838
- 002.09 23/eng/20220521
Item type | Current library | Home library | Collection | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Standard Loan | Coeur d'Alene Library Adult Nonfiction | Coeur d'Alene Library | Book | 002.09 SMITH (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 50610023402576 | |||
Standard Loan | Hayden Library Adult Nonfiction | Hayden Library | Book | 002.09/SMITH (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 50610024145760 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
A history of one of humankind's most resilient and influential technologies over the past millennium--the book. Revelatory and entertaining in equal measure, Portable Magic will charm and challenge literature lovers of all kinds as it illuminates the transformative power and eternal appeal of the written word.
Stephen King once said that books are "a uniquely portable magic." Here, Emma Smith takes readers on a literary adventure that spans centuries and circles the globe to uncover the reasons behind our obsession with this captivating object.
From disrupting the Western myth that the Gutenberg Press was the original printing project, to the decorative gift books that radicalized women to join the anti-slavery movement, to paperbacks being weaponized during World War II, to a book made entirely of plastic-wrapped slices of American cheese, Portable Magic explores how, when, and why books became so iconic. It's not just the content within a book that compels; it's the physical material itself, what Smith calls "bookhood": the smell, the feel of the pages, the margins to scribble in, the illustrations on the jacket, its solid heft. Every book is designed to influence our reading experience--to enchant, enrage, delight, and disturb us--and our longstanding love affair with books in turn has had direct, momentous consequences across time.
"Originally published in by Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Random House UK., in London in 2022."
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Introduction: Magic books -- Beginnings: East, West and Gutenberg -- Queen Victoria in the trenches -- Christmas, gift books and abolition -- Shelfies: Anne, Marilyn and Madame de Pompadour -- Silent Spring and the making of a classic -- The Titanic and book traffic -- Religions of the book -- 10 May 1933: burning books -- Library books, camp, and malicious damage -- Censored books: '237 goddams, 58 bastards, 31 Chrissakes, and 1 fart' -- Mein Kampf : freedom to publish? -- Talismanic books -- Skin in the game: book-binding and African-American poetry -- Choose Your Own Adventure: readers' work -- The empire writes back -- What is a book? -- Epilogue: Books and transformation.
"Most of what we say about books is really about the words inside them: the rosy nostalgic glow for childhood reading, the lifetime companionship of a much-loved novel. But books are things as well as words, objects in our lives as well as worlds in our heads. And just as we crack their spines, loosen their leaves and write in their margins, so they disrupt and disorder us in turn. All books are, as Stephen King put it, 'a uniquely portable magic'. Here, Emma Smith shows us why"--
Table of contents provided by Syndetics
- Introduction: Magic books (p. 1)
- 1 Beginnings: East, West, and Gutenberg (p. 21)
- 2 Queen Victoria in the trenches (p. 38)
- 3 Christmas, gift books, and abolition (p. 55)
- 4 Shelfies: Anne, Marilyn, and Madame de Pompadour (p. 73)
- 5 Silent Spring and the making of a classic (p. 90)
- 6 The Titanic and book traffic (p. 105)
- 7 Religions of the book (p. 121)
- 8 May 10, 1933: burning books (p. 135)
- 9 Library books, camp, and malicious damage (p. 152)
- 10 Censored books: "237 goddams, 58 bastards, 31 Chrissakes, and 1 fart" (p. 169)
- 11 Mew Kampf: freedom to publish? (p. 189)
- 12 Talismanic books (p. 205)
- 13 Skin in the game: bookbinding and African American poetry (p. 224)
- 14 Choose Your Own Adventure: readers' work (p. 243)
- 15 The empire writes back (p. 261)
- 16 What is a book? (p. 276)
- Epilogue: Books and transformation (p. 294)
- Notes (p. 299)
- Acknowledgments (p. 313)
- Index (p. 315)
Excerpt provided by Syndetics
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Library Journal Review
From exploding the myth that Gutenberg's press was the world's first printing venture to clarifying the role books played in encouraging women to join the abolitionist movement and battling World War II, Smith's narrative aims to show how, when, and why books became so important. An interesting aside: Oxford Shakespeare scholar Smith took her title from Stephen King.Publishers Weekly Review
"All books are magic. All books have agency and power in the real world," writes Shakespeare scholar Smith (This Is Shakespeare) in this entertaining history. With a focus on "bookhood," which includes "the impact of touch, smell, and hearing, on the experience of books," Smith makes a colorful case that a book's form contains as much "magic" as its content. In a chapter on how a book becomes a classic, she points to Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. The paperback of Carson's environmental manifesto made it available to a wide audience--the 40th anniversary edition, published in a "handsome" hardcover Library of America volume, confirmed it as a classic designed to last. A section on the popularity of paperbacks details how they were sent to soldiers during wartime, and a chapter on book burnings points out that the act is "powerfully symbolic and practically almost entirely ineffectual," plus reveals that through the destruction of unsold inventory, publishers themselves are the largest destroyers of books. With wit and verve, Smith concludes that a book becomes a book "in the hands of its readers... a book that is not handled and read is not really a book at all." Readers should make space on their shelves for this dazzling and provocative study. (Nov.)Kirkus Book Review
A critical look at trends in printing and book production as they relate to world history. Smith, a professor of Shakespeare studies at Oxford and author of This Is Shakespeare, begins by examining various motivations for the mass distribution of books. These have ranged from the nefarious desires of European powers to further their imperialist, colonial agendas and disseminate propaganda to the radical desires of abolitionist societies to spread anti-slavery messages to women--and raise money for abolitionist causes--through the distribution of abolitionist texts disguised as the predecessors of Christmas-themed women's literature. The development of the paperback, writes Smith, was directly related to the free distribution of Armed Services Editions to Americans serving abroad in the years during and after World War II. These cheaply stapled but durable books popularized such titles as The Great Gatsby, which, though now iconic, was not widely read before its inclusion in the Armed Services collection. This initiative led to printing methods that assured the affordability of texts like Silent Spring, and that book's widespread distribution helped spur the modern environmental movement. Smith also overturns common myths about literary history, most notably the idea that Gutenberg created the first printing press. "Chinese and Korean pioneers of print predated Gutenberg by centuries," writes the author, "and the relatively low cost of bamboo-fiber paper in East Asia meant that early print was a less elite technology in these regions. Chinese print technology developed movable type." The author's trenchant analysis, attention to detail, and conversational tone combine to make a page-turning historical study. At times, though, the rapid narrative pace becomes frustrating, as the author skips rapidly through trends--e.g., abolitionist book sales--that warrant more space. Nonetheless, Smith's work is a delight for bibliophiles, historians, and curious readers craving an unconventional piece of nonfiction. A fascinating material history of the book told through a geopolitical lens. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.Author notes provided by Syndetics
Emma Smith is Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Oxford University and the author of This Is Shakespeare. She lives in Oxford, England.There are no comments on this title.