The Case for Books: Past, Present, and FutureBy Robert Darnton
PublicAffairs, 2009. 218 pgs. Nonfiction
This book is a compilation of essays and articles written by Darnton through the years all relating to books and reading. Several articles discuss the advent and repercussions of Google Books. Darnton likes Google Books, but fears the monopolistic tendencies of this information Goliath. My favorite essay was "The Importance of Being Bibliographical," which argues for the importance of detailed bibliographic description and comparison useful in certain endeavors in the history of literature. For example, William Shakespeare left no manuscripts and his works appear first in print in the early 17th century. When questions regarding the author's intent arise they must be settled by examining multiple copies of the first editions of the works to try and determine what was original and was intentionally or unintentionally altered as the works came off the hand presses sheet by sheet.
SML
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