Is the Book History?
A revised edition of David Pearson’s exceptional book
By Rebecca Rego Barry
Books as History
By David Pearson
The British Library & Oak Knoll Press
208 pages
paperbound
extensive color illustrations
$29.95
“What do books offer us, beyond words, and how do their physical formats and design characteristics contribute to their overall impact? Where do we draw the line between the book as a text and the book as an object, something which cannot be entirely replicated by transferring the content to another medium?”
David Pearson, Director of Libraries, Archives, and Guildhall Art Gallery at the City of London, presents this set of questions and then explores the various ways that physical books speak to those who will listen—through the way they are printed, illustrated, bound, annotated, altered, or defaced. It is a topic of obvious importance to historians, curators, librarians, and book collectors, but also one that is becoming ever more crucial to a wider audience of people concerned with the idea of ‘libraries without books,’ and physical books versus e-books. Pearson persuades us that it is time to separate books from texts, and let them go their merry ways.
Read the rest of the review here: http://www.finebooksmagazine.com/issue/201108/history-1.phtml#.TjkyLT82B8c.blogger
