Name: Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World
Price: 27.92 GBP
Availability: InStock
Author: Irene Vallejo
ISBN: 9780593318898

portada Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World

Type

Physical Book

Author

Irene Vallejo

Translated by

Charlotte Whittle

Publisher

Knopf Publishing Group

Language

English

Pages

464

Format

Hardcover

Dimensions

23.6 x 15.2 x 3.3 cm

Weight

0.74 kg.

ISBN13

9780593318898

Synopsis "Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World"

A rich exploration of the importance of books and libraries in the ancient world that highlights how humanity's obsession with the printed word has echoed throughout the ages - "Accessible and entertaining." --The Wall Street Journal Long before books were mass-produced, scrolls hand copied on reeds pulled from the Nile were the treasures of the ancient world. Emperors and Pharaohs were so determined to possess them that they dispatched emissaries to the edges of earth to bring them back. When Mark Antony wanted to impress Cleopatra, he knew that gold and priceless jewels would mean nothing to her. So, what did her give her? Books for her library--two hundred thousand, in fact. The long and eventful history of the written word shows that books have always been and will always be a precious--and precarious--vehicle for civilization. Papyrus is the story of the book's journey from oral tradition to scrolls to codices, and how that transition laid the very foundation of Western culture. Award-winning author Irene Vallejo evokes the great mosaic of literature in the ancient world from Greece's itinerant bards to Rome's multimillionaire philosophers, from opportunistic forgers to cruel teachers, erudite librarians to defiant women, all the while illuminating how ancient ideas about education, censorship, authority, and identity still resonate today. Crucially, Vallejo also draws connections to our own time, from the library in war-torn Sarajevo to Oxford's underground labyrinth, underscoring how words have persisted as our most valuable creations. Through nimble interpretations of the classics, playful and moving anecdotes about her own encounters with the written word, and fascinating stories from history, Vallejo weaves a marvelous tapestry of Western culture's foundations and identifies the humanist values that helped make us who we are today. At its heart a spirited love letter to language itself, Papyrus takes readers on a journey across the centuries to discover how a simple reed grown along the banks of the Nile would give birth to a rich and cherished culture.

Irene Vallejo

(Author)

View Author's Page

Irene Vallejo Moreu nació en Zaragoza, España, en 1979. Es Doctora en Filología Clásica por las universidades de Zaragoza y Florencia. Colabora con el periódico Heraldo de Aragón, de estos artículos han surgido los libros: El pasado que te espera y Alguien habló de nosotros.
En 2011 publicó su primera novela, La luz sepultada, y le siguió El silbido del arquero. Ha sido incluida en la antología de narradoras aragonesas Hablarán de nosotras, de 2016.

También ha escrito, en literatura infantil y juvenil, las obras: El inventor de viajes, ilustrada por José Luis Cano, y La leyenda de las mareas mansas, en colaboración con la pintora Lina Vila.

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