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He has been called "the poet laureate of technology" and a writer who is "erudite, witty, thoughtful, and accessible." Now Henry Petroski turns to the subject of books and bookshelves, and wonders whether it was inevitable that books would come to be arranged vertically as they are today on horizontal shelves. As we learn how the ancient scroll became the codex became the volume we are used to, we explore the ways in which the housing of books evolved. Petroski takes us into the pre-Gutenberg world, where books were so scarce they were chained to lecterns for security. He explains how the printing press not only changes the way books were made and shelved, but also increased their availability and transformed book readers into books owners and collectors. He shows us that for a time books were shelved with their spinesin, and it was not until after the arrival of the modern bookcase that she spines facedout. In delightful digressions, Petroski lets Seneca have his say on "the evils of book collecting"; examines the famed collection of Samuel Pepys (only three thousand titles: old discarded to make room for new); and discusses bookselling, book buying, and book collecting through the centuries. Richly illustrated and wonderfully written, this is the ultimate book on the book: how it came to be and how we have come to keep it.… (more)
User reviews
Unlike many texts of this kind, he's careful not to generalise too much from his examples, and there are proper references and a bibliography, so you can follow up anything that looks particularly interesting. You will need to do some reference-chasing if you want to reproduce any of the book-storage systems he describes in your own library, as his editors evidently wouldn't let him put in any detailed scale plans or anything more than the most general dimensions. Probably just as well: I doubt if I could really fit Trinity College library into my living room...
As several others have pointed out, Petroski does have a tendency to repeat himself and to regale us with dullish anecdotes about his own adventures in libraries, but unless you read the whole thing through at a sitting, these foibles of age aren't really going to spoil your enjoyment of the book. Probably something to borrow rather than buy, but well worth dipping into.
Petroski includes interesting anecdotes and helpful illustrations to liven up this sometimes dry subject area. While not a gripping book, it definitely succeeds as a thoughtful study full of interesting nuggets of history. It's obvious that obsessive book lovers throughout the ages have put a lot of thought into storing their collections.
If you're not particularly interested in why books were once shelved spine in, or how library layouts have changed over the years, then this book will probably not hold your interest. Personally, I have fond and vivid memories of libraries, especially the one from my childhood. This book definitely has me looking at libraries in a whole new light - I'll never be able to walk into one again without studying the way it's laid out.
3 Stars
If you're interested in books and the history of their development, this is a very good book. In rereading this book, I've just been pulled back into the details and fascinating history behind the everpresent bookshelf.
I'll admit there's a few lag points in the middle where the author belabors his
I read carefully through opening chapters, got captivated by St. Jerome, then read mostly captions of the many fascinating illustrations and
was surprised not to see John Muir's book
His search for "the perfect bookend" could end with my Grandmother Bell - she crocheted a beautiful rectangle around a brick.
Well, no. Petroski takes the reader on a an adventure through the reading history
Truly an intriguing romp for bibliophiles and historians. A must for anybody in library science. Well-cited, though with that new style of endnotes that makes me gag. A bib and index, along with an appendix on shelving systems. An endlessly diverting book.
This book focuses on the history of the bookshelf and bookcase. Who knew that for years all books were designed to lay flat on their backs and not standing up? Eventually someone said "hey
Petroski's research is amazing. This book contains tons of etches, sketches, patents, etc. of all kinds of things bookshelf related.
Though at times I found myself bored with it. But I think that was do to the exhaustive nature of this work.
Without a doubt, this is one for anyone interested in the history of books or printing.
But I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining read.
It's fascinating, but not entertaining.
The Book on the Book Shelf is an interesting look at the evolution of book shelves from Alexandria all the way to modern libraries with all sorts of digital tools and equipment to keep track of, sort, and shelve tens of thousands of books. I must admit I was incredulous that such a book existed, or would be widely read, yet, I secretly yearned to find out what it is all about. This may not seem exciting, but the first page put me on a thrilling ride through history. I have said this before about trees, and I gleefully repeat myself, I will never again look at my bookshelves as mere furniture. As Petroski writes, “One evening, while reading in my study, I looked up from my book and saw my bookshelves in a new and different light. Instead of being just places on which to store books, the shelves themselves intrigued me as artifacts in their own right” (ix). This is the first sentence of the preface, and I immediately closed the book, and looked at my shelves. I realized each had a story to tell, and each held remembrances of all the decades we had spent together.
Petroski tells us “over 50,000 books are published each year in America alone” (5). I wish I didn’t know this fact. Now I will never catch up! Every time I visit friends or family, I find time to slip away and examine their shelves. I believe a lot can be learned by examining a library. One time, to my horror, I visited a “friend-of-a-friend’s house and could not find a single book—except for some cookbooks in the kitchen. I was stunned! How awful that must be to live without books. I believe it was Cicero who wrote, “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” Petroski writes, “The bookshelf, like the book, has become an integral part of civilization as we know it, its presence in a home practically defining what it means to be civilized, educated, and refined. Indeed, the presence of bookshelves greatly influences our behavior” (4). I must admit I take on a reverential calm when I am among my books or merely walking down the hall.
Petroski has chapters on scrolls and manuscripts, printing and binding, and of course stories of the medieval monks bent over an illuminated manuscript. He explains how books became chained to the library tables. He also includes dozens of intriguing drawings of medieval scholars reading at desks with a variety of solutions to storing books in the background.
I think Henry Petroski has tapped a much ignored vein, which, once let loose, will start a renewed interest in bookshelves as much more than mere furniture. The Book on the Book Shelf belongs in every library along with Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Sears Subject Headings, and an O.E.D. 5 stars.
--Jim, 3/30/17
The book explains how precious written scrolls, folios, and books have been throughout
I will never again take for granted the ease with which we are able to store books today after having read this.
Petroski doesn't quite take either approach. What he does instead is more idiosyncratic and conversational than the methodical discussion I anticipated, though, and makes for an engaging read.
Petroski isn't as comprehensive nor as methodical as either approach I'd anticipated. He's quite meticulous, though, if idiosyncratic in what particular facets of book culture he chooses to follow up. This is what makes the book conversational, though. There's a wealth of detail in this book, and Petroski skillfully brings the reader along for it.
Petroski essentially is looking at the origin of the typical book on his shelf, not any Platonic conception of book. While I'm as interested in what I didn't get from his tour, as I am in what he discussed, I don't deny I thoroughly enjoyed the story he told. Essentially, he's whetted my interest in parchment scrolls and papyri, in the Eastern European or Mesopotamian history of books and publishing, as well as Chinese and African.
//
On Books
• earliest books handwritten and handbound; consequently, there is no standard edition
• as such, each book is extremely valuable (monasteries loaned them out for a year to be copied, but collections numbered in the dozens or perhaps scores)
• for centuries (?!) hand-written books were chained to a rod from the spine; thus the opposite edge of the text bock (facing out) is the "fore edge"
• printed books before modern era (1450 - 1550 CE) known as incunabula ("from the cradle"), anglicised as incunables or simply fifteeners
• automated binding machine not until mid 1600s
• unbound books gathered in quires or "signatures" (after letter at bottom aiding in assembly into volume)
• quire's top page blank to protect title page; when bound, it could be folded over fore edge to show title of book (bastard title, fly title, half-title)
• spacing between words was an advent of mechanical printing
• typically books bound by the buyer not the printer; many books would be bound together by the buyer (unofficial omnibuses)
• spines used to label book only late in evolution; first on flyleaf, covers
On Shelving
• books often shelved horizontally, the space saving & convenience of vertical shelving relevant only after books collections grew beyond a dozen or so
• common for book storage were chests, armaria, presses (with lids or doors); open shelves predominant only after unchained and upright (and then in rooms with secure doors)
• library practice asserts new books will begin to be difficult to shelve once a shelf reaches 84% capacity
• book lists in frames posted on end of bookshelf row
On Libraries
• carrels (common to academic and public libraries) originated in monastery cathedrals
• after collections outgrew armaria, lecterns arranged in rooms for reading (with chained books); first without shelves, later adding shelves below and then above lectern
• lectern arrangement provided more room, more light
• back-to-back lecterns eventually became stall system (in Britain: shelves perp to walls & windows btwn)
• on Continent, shelves backed against walls and high windows above shelves,
• later, library included gallery for double-height walls, with windows at ends of hall, or skylights / clerestories
• reading rooms separate from stacks
//
B&W diagrams and reproductions throughout
Still, there was quite a lot to think about! I still struggle with the idea that books were stored with the spine in for so many centuries. All the reasons for storing books any way but spine out are just so nonsensical to me. It's hard to believe the space-saving way took so long to catch on!
I thought the Ramelli wheel was genius and it would not be impractical to set a desk beside for scholarly use.
I also did not realize that books weren’t purchased bound in the 17th c. No wonder books were so valued and difficult for the average laborer to afford very many.
Some of the stories about the different ways elite people treated books were pretty disgusting (Humphrey Davy ripping out pages as he read, using books as placemats, etc.). Such a waste to treat books badly---I was always taught to be careful with my books and was grounded from them if I didn't.