Sophia C. reviewed on 11/1/2010 + 289 more book reviews

The Case for Books: Past, Present, and Future isnt so much about Kindles or Nooks replacing paper books, but is instead focused on higher-order concepts such as changes in the technology of communication throughout history. Robert Darnton has worn many hats in the world of print, including that of reporter, professor of the history of books at Princeton, academic and trade editor and publisher, and most recently, director of Harvard University Library. As a retrospectively assembled collection of essays written for other occasions, there is considerable overlap, especially in the ones that discuss Google Book Search. They are curiously divided in sections going backwards from Future to Present to Past, and in my opinion get progressively more interesting. Darntons bent is academic and far from anti-digital media. I would recommend this volume to those interested in academic publishing and an introduction to the field of the history of books.

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