Book : Index, A History Of The A Bookish Adventure From...

-Titulo Original : Index, A History Of The A Bookish Adventure From Medieval Manuscripts To The Digital Age

-Fabricante :

W. W. Norton & Company

-Descripcion Original:

A New York Times Notable Book and Editors Choice Book A TIME, Washington Post, and New Yorker Best Book of 2022 Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by Literary Hub and Goodreads A playful history of the humble index and its outsized effect on our reading lives. Most of us give little thought to the back of the book it’s just where you go to look things up. But as Dennis Duncan reveals in this delightful and witty history, hiding in plain sight is an unlikely realm of ambition and obsession, sparring and politicking, pleasure and play. In the pages of the index, we might find Butchers, to be avoided, or Cows that sh-te Fire, or even catch Calvin in his chamber with a Nonne. Here, for the first time, is the secret world of the index: an unsung but extraordinary everyday tool, with an illustrious but little-known past. Charting its curious path from the monasteries and universities of thirteenth-century Europe to Silicon Valley in the twenty-first, Duncan uncovers how it has saved heretics from the stake, kept politicians from high office, and made us all into the readers we are today. We follow it through German print shops and Enlightenment coffee houses, novelists’ living rooms and university laboratories, encountering emperors and popes, philosophers and prime ministers, poets, librarians and of course indexers along the way. Revealing its vast role in our evolving literary and intellectual culture, Duncan shows that, for all our anxieties about the Age of Search, we are all index-rakers at heart and we have been for eight hundred years. 40 illustrations Review Smart, playful….Duncan has written such a generous book, attentive to the varieties of the reading experience. Jennifer Szalai, New York Times Erudite, eminently readable and wittily titled…[U]shers the reader smoothly, even soothingly, along a fascinating, immensely pleasurable journey through previously uncharted terrain. Margalit Fox, New York Times Book Review An adventure, and bookish in the most appealing sense…From ancient Egypt to Silicon Valley, Duncan is an ideal tour guide: witty, engaging, knowledgeable and a fount of diverting anecdotes. Steven Moore, Washington Post Gracefully learned, often witty and enlightening. Ben Yagoda, Wall Street Journal Engaging…Duncan draws rich parallels to anxieties surrounding our own age of search and makes an impassioned case for the continued relevance of the human-crafted index. The New Yorker Lively….Duncans enthusiasms are contagious. Alexandra Horowitz, Atlantic Entertaining and erudite…In an unexpectedly high-spirited book on indexes, the fun continues to the very last page. Barbara Spindel, Christian Science Monitor A learned and playful study, by British academic Dennis Duncan, of a textual machinery so successful it’s become almost invisible. Brian Dillon, 4Columns A decidedly fun history…Dennis Duncan’s enthusiasm for the subject matter shines through the many witticisms and illustrations as he shows how something so seemingly small has been so vital to western literature. Erica Ezeifedi, BookRiot Dennis Duncan’s history from Socrates to software along with Paula Clarke Bain’s peerless index, is witty and personable throughout, and also serves as a sneak attack on the search engine. It’s safe to say that you will never take an index for granted again. Mary Norris, author of Between You & Me and Greek to Me Enlightening and entertaining…Duncan mixes humor and scholarship to brilliant effect in this accessible deep dive. Publishers Weekly (starred review) Sparkles with geeky wit and shines with an infectious enthusiasm…Always erudite, frequently funny, and often surprising a treat for lovers of the book qua book. Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Backmatter has never enjoyed such a spotlight; sure to amuse bibliophiles and casual readers alike. Library Journal (starred review) [A] witty and wide-ranging study…[Duncan] i