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Title: Paper

Subtitle: Paging Through History

Author: Mark Kurlansky

Narrator: Andrew Garman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-10-16

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 157 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

From the New York Times best-selling author of Cod and Salt, a definitive history of paper and the astonishing ways it has shaped today's world.

Paper is one of the simplest and most essential pieces of human technology. For the past two millennia, the ability to produce it in ever more efficient ways has supported the proliferation of literacy, media, religion, education, commerce, and art; it has formed the foundation of civilizations, promoting revolutions and restoring stability. One has only to look at history's greatest press run, which produced 6.5 billion copies of Mao zhuxi yulu, Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (Zedong), which doesn't include editions in 37 foreign languages and in brailleto appreciate the range and influence of a single publication, in paper. Or take the fact that one of history's most revered artists, Leonardo da Vinci, left behind only 15 paintings but 4,000 works on paper. And though the colonies were at the time calling for a boycott of all British goods, the one exception they made speaks to the essentiality of the material; they penned the Declaration of Independence on British paper. Now, amid discussion of "going paperless" and as speculation about the effects of a digitally dependent society grows rampant, we've come to a world-historic juncture.

Thousands of years ago, Socrates and Plato warned that written language would be the end of "true knowledge", replacing the need to excise memory and think through complex questions. Similar arguments were made about the switch from handwritten to printed books, and today about the role of computer technology. By tracing paper's evolution from antiquity to the present, with an emphasis on the contributions made in Asia and the Middle East, Mark Kurlansky challenges common assumptions about technology's influence, affirming that paper is here to stay. Paper will be the commodity history that guides us forward in the 21st century and illuminates our times.

Members Reviews:

Flawed Recording Ruins a Fascinating History

Any additional comments?

I've read all of Kurlansky's books. All of them have been interesting and extremely enjoyable reads. Unfortunately Amazon has released a horribly flawed recording that skips and jumps, rendering the recording unlistenable. That this was allowed to be released in this condition is pathetic. I highly recommend the book. I can't recommend Amazon's shoddy release.

Quite disappointing

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A different reader would be a good start.

Would you be willing to try another book from Mark Kurlansky? Why or why not?

Probably not.

What didnt you like about Andrew Garmans performance?

The entire performance is quite aggressive. Wrong for a book of this type. He's clearly a talented performer but didn't hit it right for this book.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Paper?

I'd reorganize the entire book.

Any additional comments?

Some great content presented in an unsatisfying manner.

Very enjoyable

I almost didn't get this book because of the comments about a bad recording. Maybe they fixed whatever was wrong because I found nothing wrong with it at all.