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.
