On Paper

Starred review from August 5, 2013
Journalist and unapologetic bibliophile Basbanes (A Splendor of Letters) sets out to explore the nature of paper and returns with an absolutely fascinating tale. Told in an engaging, accessible manner, his coverage of the topic is a wide-ranging, freewheeling, authoritative look at one of society’s most ubiquitous products, from its origins in China nearly two millennia ago through its methodical spread across the world. Basbanes digs into the means by which paper is made and recycled, manufactured and repackaged, created for mass consumption and manipulated as art. He examines the implications of its cultural uses—in historical documents, architectural drawings, government paperwork, currency—and in doing so reveals how many roles, directly and indirectly, paper plays in our lives. Basbanes leaves no page unturned, and finishes with a poignant story of how a paper trail keeps the legacy of 9/11 fresh and has led to the further identification of some victims. Through interviews, personal visits, and extensive research, he has created an engrossing, essential book that no book lover should be without. The wealth of information Basbanes includes barely scratches the surface, but it whets the appetite and forces us to rethink how we view this versatile material. Agent: Glen Hartley, Writers Representatives

Starred review from September 1, 2013
Self-proclaimed bibliophile Basbanes (About the Author: Inside the Creative Process, 2010, etc.) proves a delightful and intrepid guide in this capacious history of paper. As the author quickly discovered, paper is more than merely a surface for print; it is an indispensible product with connections to war (paper cartridges changed 17th-century firearms), health (tissues, toilet paper and disposable bandages) and politics (printed documents were central to the Stamp Act, Watergate, and countless other laws and scandals). Just as we are "awash in a world of paper," Basbanes writes, "we are awash in a world of paper cliches": "a house of cards," a "paper thin margin," "a tissue of lies," "pulp fiction," etc. Identity is confirmed by showing one's "papers," and we ascertain truth by comparing whatever is "on paper" to reality. Basbanes' research took him around the world: to China, where papermaking first began nearly 2,000 years ago; Japan, where artisans still practice traditional methods; and across America, including the Crane Paper mill, manufacturers of paper for all American currency, the Kimberly-Clark company, which took their World War I overstock of cotton surgical dressings and invented Kotex, and publishing-stock maker P.H. Glatfelter, which is countering the rise of the e-book by providing paper for postage stamps, Hallmark cards and tea bags. Central to Basbanes' history are people--artists, crafters, curators, librarians, origami makers, writers and recipients of letters--and surprising revelations. In 14th-century Europe, for example, the invention of the spinning wheel led to an increase in linen production, which led to an increase in rags, which lowered the price of paper, which caused Johannes Gutenberg to see that investing in mechanical printing would be a good idea. Only several hundred years later was paper more cheaply made from wood pulp. As his impressive bibliography and notes section suggest, Basbanes has investigated seemingly every detail of paper's 2,000-year history. A lively tale told with wit and vigor.

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May 15, 2013

Having given us a much-loved trilogy of books about books, Basbanes offers a thoroughgoing chronicle about the stuff books are traditionally made of: paper. He starts with its invention in China 1800 years ago and moves up to a visit to the National Security Agency, where 100 million secret documents have been recycled as pizza boxes. Irresistible.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2013

Like silk and gunpowder, paper was invented by the ancient Chinese. In this peripatetic account of all things paper, from the ancients to the present, journalist Basbanes (Every Book Its Reader) follows paper's trail as it slowly reached the West by way of the Silk Road, arriving in Europe almost 1,000 years after its invention (it didn't get to England until 1494). But Basbanes isn't just interested in paper's conventional and specialized history. His aim is to show how the material has penetrated all aspects of our lives (books, stamps, money, blueprints, packaging, and so on). Each episodic chapter takes the author on visits to the people who paper our lives, from industrial titans to craftspeople rediscovering ancient modes of making paper to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at ground zero tasked with preserving a record of that single day. VERDICT An unhurried book that will be enjoyed not only by bibliophiles, librarians, and archivists but by many readers engaged by the study of the past and present.--Stewart Desmond, New York

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.