What do you think?
Rate this book
De papel. En torno a sus dos mil años de historia
De papel. Todo sobre sus dos mil años de historia es resultado del interés de Nicholas Basbanes por estudiar el impacto que el papel ha tenido en la transformación cultural de la humanidad. Su investigación llevó al autor por todo el mundo y a través de dos milenios de historia para desentrañar relatos sorprendentes sobre un objeto que bien podríamos calificar como baladí y cuya importancia capital en nuestra vida no podemos ignorar.
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 15, 2013
95 people are currently reading
1741 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas A. Basbanes
25 books162 followersNicholas A. Basbanes is an award-winning investigative journalist and was literary editor of the Worcester Sunday Telegram. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and Smithsonian, and he is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship. Basbanes lives in North Grafton, Massachusetts.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
September 28, 2013
It's taken me a while to become a Nicholas Basbanes fan, but I think it's finally happened. He's written many books about books, a subject I like to read and think about. But so often, I'll start one of his books and I react to it as I do to Ken Burns' documentaries. They are lovely and worthwhile, but very...relaxing. I often find myself drifting off while watching.
And so it was with Basbanes until the most recent two books of his I've read. This book on paper was a surprise -- I mean, the important thing is what's ON the paper, right? Not the paper itself? But On Paper shook up my ideas about paper. It opens with a few chapters about paper making, which will appeal to some readers, but I skimmed quickly through this section. More interesting to me were chapters about printing currency (and counterfeiting), how the National Security Agency disposes of its classified paper, and how the availability of paper, rather than parchment, allowed science and arts to advance to new areas. For instance, architecture was rather limited before paper allowed designers to copy their plans and distribute them to all involved in the building of a structure. And the discussion of Leonardo da Vinci's work makes you realize that paper was such an important aspect of his work, that he would have been a very different artist/engineer without it.
This is the sort of book I love to read -- one in which I learn to see something in a whole new way, get answers to questions I never knew I had, and come away with a new set of questions.
And so it was with Basbanes until the most recent two books of his I've read. This book on paper was a surprise -- I mean, the important thing is what's ON the paper, right? Not the paper itself? But On Paper shook up my ideas about paper. It opens with a few chapters about paper making, which will appeal to some readers, but I skimmed quickly through this section. More interesting to me were chapters about printing currency (and counterfeiting), how the National Security Agency disposes of its classified paper, and how the availability of paper, rather than parchment, allowed science and arts to advance to new areas. For instance, architecture was rather limited before paper allowed designers to copy their plans and distribute them to all involved in the building of a structure. And the discussion of Leonardo da Vinci's work makes you realize that paper was such an important aspect of his work, that he would have been a very different artist/engineer without it.
This is the sort of book I love to read -- one in which I learn to see something in a whole new way, get answers to questions I never knew I had, and come away with a new set of questions.
January 4, 2014
Arcane yet current
At a time when the death knell of the physical book is touted everywhere Basbanes steps forward and writes a laudatory (physical) book about paper. He traces the beginnings of paper to China and how it migrates to Japan and throughout the East finally landing in Europe. Along the way each culture makes paper their own designed for their own uses, incorporating their own innovations. Paper has been used in many forms of communication, in worship by writing prayers on bits of it and placing them on an altar, to keep commercial records, to run governments and wars, to design houses and cities, to make currency, to smoke tobacco and other substances, to make stamps, and finally to the share knowledge and, most joyfully, for the pure pleasure of reading a good story.
Basbanes makes the story of paper as close to exciting as such a subject can be. I was especially intrigued with the innovations that are being incorporated into making currency for various nations. I had no idea paper could be so versatile as to include bits of encoding that would help to authenticate valid money from forgeries. He tells the story of the rise of sanitary and medical uses for paper. Best of all he delves into the future of books and libraries. Along the way Basbanes taps into the specialized knowledge of various experts about aspects concerning paper and this is his genius. He introduces us to isolated paper makers in China who might be the last generation to make paper by hand; we tour modern, specialized paper makers and explore the history of their companies and by extension the history of paper. Interspersed with all this history is an exploration of papers place in our future. Fascinating stuff.
This review is based on an advance reader's copy provided by the publisher.
(Disclaimer included as required by the FTC.)
At a time when the death knell of the physical book is touted everywhere Basbanes steps forward and writes a laudatory (physical) book about paper. He traces the beginnings of paper to China and how it migrates to Japan and throughout the East finally landing in Europe. Along the way each culture makes paper their own designed for their own uses, incorporating their own innovations. Paper has been used in many forms of communication, in worship by writing prayers on bits of it and placing them on an altar, to keep commercial records, to run governments and wars, to design houses and cities, to make currency, to smoke tobacco and other substances, to make stamps, and finally to the share knowledge and, most joyfully, for the pure pleasure of reading a good story.
Basbanes makes the story of paper as close to exciting as such a subject can be. I was especially intrigued with the innovations that are being incorporated into making currency for various nations. I had no idea paper could be so versatile as to include bits of encoding that would help to authenticate valid money from forgeries. He tells the story of the rise of sanitary and medical uses for paper. Best of all he delves into the future of books and libraries. Along the way Basbanes taps into the specialized knowledge of various experts about aspects concerning paper and this is his genius. He introduces us to isolated paper makers in China who might be the last generation to make paper by hand; we tour modern, specialized paper makers and explore the history of their companies and by extension the history of paper. Interspersed with all this history is an exploration of papers place in our future. Fascinating stuff.
This review is based on an advance reader's copy provided by the publisher.
(Disclaimer included as required by the FTC.)
November 17, 2013
Received as a winner in a Goodreads drawing. Started on 11-9-13. Finished on 11-17-13. When I signed up to try to win this book, I thought it might be interesting. Well, it was exceptionally interesting. Everything you wanted to know about paper from its Chinese beginnings to types of handmade paper; to the notebooks of Da Vinci, Beethoven, and Edison; to wallpaper, toilet paper, passports, money, postage stamps, cigarette paper (who knew that Zig-Zag was a French company?); to origami and its art and engineering functions, and the "paper rain' of 9/11. And lots more info about other uses for that most common item---paper. After reading this book, you will never overlook the paper you contact everyday.
December 23, 2015
You might not know it, but we are currently living in the golden age of non-fiction. Seriously. I realize that this may come as news to the many excellent and underpaid authors who struggle to secure a good living from writing about our world, in long form. However, for more topics than it would occur to you to look for, there are authors who have immersed themselves in it for a year or more, and come back with a book to tell you what they found. I have read excellent books on the pigeon, the rat, dust, bees, clouds, traffic, and so many other topics. Each one took me only a few dozen hours to read, but it took the person who wrote them thousands of hours to create (I'm guessing), and it's buried in a sea of other excellent choices. This doesn't happen in the early or the declining years of a field. This is what it means to live in something's Golden Age. It's the Golden Age of non-fiction, right now, and you're living in it.
As an example: this book, on paper. My favorite factoid from this book is that the NSA, yes, that NSA, is a major producer of recycled paper. It turns out that pulping and recycling paper is as secure (perhaps more secure) than burning it, and much more secure than shredding. The East German secret police learned, to their sorrow, that just because you've shredded something doesn't mean a sufficiently motivated populace with high-tech scanning and computing technology can't reconstruct it.
We see the company that creates the paper used in U.S. currency, and learn that they produce the paper for several other countries' currency as well. We learn that both mud tablets (used for cuneiform) and papyrus each lasted about as long as the dominant writing medium, as paper has by now. We learn about the process of the young nation of America learning to make its own paper, instead of importing the stuff from England or elsewhere. We learn about the notebooks of Da Vinci, Beethoven (who used them to communicate with others later in life, so that we have a one-sided record of his conversations), Babbage, and Edison.
If I have any quibble with the book, it is that the last chapter is on the enormous amounts (and variety) of paper found in the vicinity of the Twin Towers after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. I'm not saying it wasn't worth a chapter, as it was a unique look at how much paper is still, in the 21st century, being used, and how many ways it can be used. It was an odd and melancholy way to end the book, though.
Because, as it turns out, paper's future at this point looks pretty bright. My own personal surreptitious counting of paper books vs. e-readers, on the public bus system of Austin, seems to suggest that the e-readers have been nearly eliminated by the cellphone, but the presence of paper books has, if anything, increased in the last couple years. Figures from national book publishers in 2015 tell a similar story.
It's the Golden Age of non-fiction, right now, and you're living in it. It doesn't mean, that it will last forever, necessarily. So, take advantage of it.
As an example: this book, on paper. My favorite factoid from this book is that the NSA, yes, that NSA, is a major producer of recycled paper. It turns out that pulping and recycling paper is as secure (perhaps more secure) than burning it, and much more secure than shredding. The East German secret police learned, to their sorrow, that just because you've shredded something doesn't mean a sufficiently motivated populace with high-tech scanning and computing technology can't reconstruct it.
We see the company that creates the paper used in U.S. currency, and learn that they produce the paper for several other countries' currency as well. We learn that both mud tablets (used for cuneiform) and papyrus each lasted about as long as the dominant writing medium, as paper has by now. We learn about the process of the young nation of America learning to make its own paper, instead of importing the stuff from England or elsewhere. We learn about the notebooks of Da Vinci, Beethoven (who used them to communicate with others later in life, so that we have a one-sided record of his conversations), Babbage, and Edison.
If I have any quibble with the book, it is that the last chapter is on the enormous amounts (and variety) of paper found in the vicinity of the Twin Towers after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. I'm not saying it wasn't worth a chapter, as it was a unique look at how much paper is still, in the 21st century, being used, and how many ways it can be used. It was an odd and melancholy way to end the book, though.
Because, as it turns out, paper's future at this point looks pretty bright. My own personal surreptitious counting of paper books vs. e-readers, on the public bus system of Austin, seems to suggest that the e-readers have been nearly eliminated by the cellphone, but the presence of paper books has, if anything, increased in the last couple years. Figures from national book publishers in 2015 tell a similar story.
It's the Golden Age of non-fiction, right now, and you're living in it. It doesn't mean, that it will last forever, necessarily. So, take advantage of it.
April 25, 2015
A beautiful book both in how it is written and how it feels in your hands. Appropriately for a book "On Paper" the paper this book is printed on is smooth and soft in your hand. Even the paper itself emphasizes just how much we that for granted what we assume about how book paper is supposed to feel.
While there are admittedly slow and fact heavy portions, this book is so much more than expected. While it covers the basics - where paper was invented, how it is made, and its invaluable role in society - there are also so many things about paper we take for granted. Consider what you would miss the most in a truly paperless society... toilet paper.
Even more surprising was how the book, especially in its last chapters, put paper into such a personal context that it brought me to tears.
Don't be fooled by it's commonplace appearance. This book is a gem.
While there are admittedly slow and fact heavy portions, this book is so much more than expected. While it covers the basics - where paper was invented, how it is made, and its invaluable role in society - there are also so many things about paper we take for granted. Consider what you would miss the most in a truly paperless society... toilet paper.
Even more surprising was how the book, especially in its last chapters, put paper into such a personal context that it brought me to tears.
Don't be fooled by it's commonplace appearance. This book is a gem.
January 26, 2022
Some people say we live in a paperless society or that we’re on the verge of one. It’s certainly true that a lot of the things we used paper for in the past can now be done without it. Just look at emails.
But, as you’ll see in these blinks, paper is no dinosaur on its way to extinction. Its long history and many uses show the unique qualities of paper and why it’s here to stay.
Since its development thousands of years ago, paper has changed human life. It allowed us to pass on information, changed our relationship with money, improved our hygiene and let our cities flourish. Paper is so versatile there are art forms based on it alone. Digital technology is advancing at exponential rates, but paper is here to stay.
But, as you’ll see in these blinks, paper is no dinosaur on its way to extinction. Its long history and many uses show the unique qualities of paper and why it’s here to stay.
Since its development thousands of years ago, paper has changed human life. It allowed us to pass on information, changed our relationship with money, improved our hygiene and let our cities flourish. Paper is so versatile there are art forms based on it alone. Digital technology is advancing at exponential rates, but paper is here to stay.
July 22, 2017
Generally a history of paper and its development but even more a book about the idea of it and how we use it. Basbanes convincingly shows its flexibility and indispensability.
August 27, 2013
You have to love an author whose favorite scene from the movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer" involves a chess prodigy and a piece of paper!
Nicholas Basbanes' book about the history, uses and importance of paper includes plenty of bits of trivia like this, as well as indepth looks at the invention of paper, its uses down through the ages and its future going forward. It took me awhile to figure out that the book's focus is split between the making of paper and the usage of paper. Because the author is interested in the uses of paper, his possible subject matter was obviously limitless, which explains the wide-ranging nature of the book. "If there's a common thread to be discerned in this strategy," Mr. Basbanes writes, "it is what Graham Greene sagely called, in one of his novels, "the human factor."
Mr. Basbanes visits papermakers, interviews executives at successful paper companies such as Crane, Marcal and Avery, and describes the making of such specialty paper as that used for minting money, an increasingly complex job due to the sophistication of counterfeiters. He delves into the arts, examining the manuscripts of Beethoven, the canvases of Whistler, and the diaries of Da Vinci, and discusses the exacting art of architectural blueprints. He even devotes a chapter to origami and how the intricate folding of paper has advanced the science of launching space telescopes. (Who knew that there were paper-folding algorithms!)
Depending on your interests, you might find some sections more interesting than others. Mr. Basbanes spends a lot of time with the early colonists of the New World and the American revolutionists and how paper (or the lack of it) figured into their world. He makes a foray into Nazi concentration camps, the Nuremberg trials and the Pentagon Papers. He closes the book with a moving look at the terrorist attacks of 9/11, both the showers of paper mixed in with the rubble and the missing persons posters grieving families papered the city with.
The only omission I noted was any meaningful discussion of the environmental and human cost of toxin-spewing paper mills. I recently read "When We Were the Kennedys," a memoir by a woman raised in Mexico, Maine, who suspects that working at a paper mill sent her father to an early grave. Even she doesn't want to look that closely at the possibility, though. I guess that's someone else's book to write.
Nicholas Basbanes' book about the history, uses and importance of paper includes plenty of bits of trivia like this, as well as indepth looks at the invention of paper, its uses down through the ages and its future going forward. It took me awhile to figure out that the book's focus is split between the making of paper and the usage of paper. Because the author is interested in the uses of paper, his possible subject matter was obviously limitless, which explains the wide-ranging nature of the book. "If there's a common thread to be discerned in this strategy," Mr. Basbanes writes, "it is what Graham Greene sagely called, in one of his novels, "the human factor."
Mr. Basbanes visits papermakers, interviews executives at successful paper companies such as Crane, Marcal and Avery, and describes the making of such specialty paper as that used for minting money, an increasingly complex job due to the sophistication of counterfeiters. He delves into the arts, examining the manuscripts of Beethoven, the canvases of Whistler, and the diaries of Da Vinci, and discusses the exacting art of architectural blueprints. He even devotes a chapter to origami and how the intricate folding of paper has advanced the science of launching space telescopes. (Who knew that there were paper-folding algorithms!)
Depending on your interests, you might find some sections more interesting than others. Mr. Basbanes spends a lot of time with the early colonists of the New World and the American revolutionists and how paper (or the lack of it) figured into their world. He makes a foray into Nazi concentration camps, the Nuremberg trials and the Pentagon Papers. He closes the book with a moving look at the terrorist attacks of 9/11, both the showers of paper mixed in with the rubble and the missing persons posters grieving families papered the city with.
The only omission I noted was any meaningful discussion of the environmental and human cost of toxin-spewing paper mills. I recently read "When We Were the Kennedys," a memoir by a woman raised in Mexico, Maine, who suspects that working at a paper mill sent her father to an early grave. Even she doesn't want to look that closely at the possibility, though. I guess that's someone else's book to write.
August 18, 2016
From money to toilet paper to packaging to books, paper is ubiquitous. If you think about it, Nicholas Basbanes could have written several volumes on the 2000 year history of paper. Instead, he chose a variety of topics ranging from traditional paper making techniques, to an overview of the paper industry (now and then), origami, books and libraries, to spy stuff and the blizzard of paper that followed the 9/11 destruction of the World Trade Center.
An essential product that most of us think little about, it's an obsession with some people. I suppose, because of this intense interest, his little history sometimes gets off into the weeds detailing rather dry historical facts, but by and large it is interesting and at times thought provoking. While talk of the paperless society has not and probably never will be a reality, the uses and importance of paper products has evolved over the years and will likely continue to do so. This book is worth a look if you think the subject matter is of interest to you.
An essential product that most of us think little about, it's an obsession with some people. I suppose, because of this intense interest, his little history sometimes gets off into the weeds detailing rather dry historical facts, but by and large it is interesting and at times thought provoking. While talk of the paperless society has not and probably never will be a reality, the uses and importance of paper products has evolved over the years and will likely continue to do so. This book is worth a look if you think the subject matter is of interest to you.
Read
January 27, 2014I really like paper. A lot. And I'm finding these interviews on paper a bit dull. Where's the chemistry and the physics?! The understanding. I know that's not his intention, so I don't fault him. I just really think that should have been covered a bit more thoroughly with a touch less on the people-y-ness. And I'd have welcomed it later in the book it's just a lot of this was far less interesting without the afforded scientific content.
I'm being picky I know but notice how much time I'm spending writing this review. Clearly it's a book that has my attention. That's impressive. Literally. It's just that it's becoming lower cost reward ratio.
More obnoxious self and future self reference to come.
Cheers!
Also what the hell would a spoiler be for this book?!
I'm being picky I know but notice how much time I'm spending writing this review. Clearly it's a book that has my attention. That's impressive. Literally. It's just that it's becoming lower cost reward ratio.
More obnoxious self and future self reference to come.
Cheers!
Also what the hell would a spoiler be for this book?!
November 20, 2013
This is a really dense book, almost too full of information at times. But it was immensely enjoyable - who would've thought that toilet paper and cigarette papers could be so interesting? The final sections that deal with the debris from the World Trade Center attack on 9/11 were very moving and made me appreciate the power of ephemeral paper.
September 9, 2014
Loved this book! My favorite parts were tucked in the middle - the discussion of Mincemeat Man and the paper necessary to authenticate his existence was fascinating and the part about Argo was well-written and amazing! Great book if you're looking for well-written non-fiction!
Read
November 23, 2013This is a loving treatment of all things paper, but frankly, it was too much detail for me despite my high tolerance for books exploring random topics in depth. I had to give up.
November 6, 2013
another excellent book by Mr. Basbanes
March 23, 2017
It's possible that this does not cover "everything in its 2,000-year history," but I sure can't think of anything else. Basbanes explores hand papermaking in the land of its birth to its rebirth in the craft movement in the U.S. He also covers paper money, forgery, espionage, cigarettes, modern hygiene practices, and origami.
This is well-written and engaging enough that it will appeal to many who are not quite paper fanatics.
I had the opportunity to take a class from Tim Barrett and to work with the Kimberly-Clark Corporation Archives. While not a fanatic, I am more than ordinarily appreciative of the history and structure of paper--and Basbanes.
This is well-written and engaging enough that it will appeal to many who are not quite paper fanatics.
I had the opportunity to take a class from Tim Barrett and to work with the Kimberly-Clark Corporation Archives. While not a fanatic, I am more than ordinarily appreciative of the history and structure of paper--and Basbanes.
January 5, 2022
Very happy to have discovered this book, and this author. I expected it to be a straightforward history, and the beginning of the book indeed goes through our historical understanding of the craft of papermaking. But here the author is traveling to the regions, spending time with those who persist in the ancient art, and gives us his own impressions along the way. By the end of the book, it's like we're having coffee with an enthusiastic (and hyper-knowledgable) fan of paper, ancient and modern, and catching his enthusiasm. I will add that the last chapter moved me to tears, which was unexpected. Beautiful homage to a critical and largely unnoticed feature of recent human existence.
January 31, 2018
I adored most of this book. It was both funny and informative. It's crammed with fun factoids, and Basbanes is very good at creating context by means of a series of fascinating vignettes that build up to a whole.
It was a little slow to begin, so if you find yourself midway through the first chapter thinking that if you have to read one more description of a handmade paper workshop in rural Asia, just skip to the second chapter.
I put it down in the last chapter, though, because I wasn't ready to read about the September 11 material.
All in all, would highly recommend.
It was a little slow to begin, so if you find yourself midway through the first chapter thinking that if you have to read one more description of a handmade paper workshop in rural Asia, just skip to the second chapter.
I put it down in the last chapter, though, because I wasn't ready to read about the September 11 material.
All in all, would highly recommend.
August 24, 2017
Nicholas Basbanes' On Paper is both an incredibly well-researched book (going way beyond the usual associations we have with paper and paper making), but also a difficult book because of the density of the material. As you can see, it's been on my night table for several months, but that's how you should read it (unless you're totally into the history of paper usage), bit-by-bit, one chapter at a time, so you can both enjoy and digest the fascinating material presented.
June 28, 2018
Compared to Kurlansky's book about paper, which I also read this year, this book is a bit harder to read. It has a central theme, paper, but each chapter reads more like a separate essay or article and some of the topics are not as paper related as others. Still, each chapter was interesting, even the ones that were a bit more rambling. And, for paper enthusiasts this would be a fun read, with lots of random trivia on all sorts of tangentially related subjects, as well as about paper.
March 21, 2023
I found this book interesting but hard to come back to. I could see it more as a college student's research source than what my 2015 self attempted to use as entertainment during his first year of bachelor's degree life. Both Nicholas and Mark Kurlansky's "Paper" are quite long, for paper is apparently older than several well known countries and even empires. I may give it a re-read now that I am done with school. Perhaps it would behoove me to try this tome as an audio book.
March 9, 2020
Wonderful chapters and boring chapters. I have to assume that it depends on how interested one is in each topic. But you do not have to read any of the chapters so go for it Assuming you are inordinately fond of paper in some form or another. Which I am.
April 1, 2020
A slow read but fascinating recounting of the history of paper. I loved learning about rag collectors and artists and toilet paper and the paper that fell from the World Trade Center on September 11th. Marvelous read!
March 21, 2025
Easily one of the best written and most interesting books I have ever read. Every page was absorbing. I would give it 10 out of 5 if I could. If you have any interest in paper or books, then read this. A tour-de-force on paper, books and publishing. One for the bibliophiles, and everyone else!
July 3, 2017
It's a fascinating and unique topic but admittedly some chapters are very dry especially those on some US companies. I felt more emphasis on early history would have been better.
September 19, 2017
Cool details and anecdotes, some great endnotes, but overall the book didn't hang together all that well for me, the chapters becoming more and more episodic. I enjoyed it, but wouldn't recommend it.
April 30, 2018
very interesting
August 19, 2018
Lovely book for paper lovers like me!
April 27, 2020
Exhaustive but at times exhausting. Some chapters were fascinating, others very dry and several wandered way off topic. I did learn some very interesting things about paper.
August 31, 2020
Fascinating story about paper. There is so much information: history, production, use, all told in a wonderful manner by Basbanes.
October 12, 2020
A fascinating exploration! It covers way more than just the paper in books. Although there is some of that too.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews