Remarkable books : the world's most beautiful and historic works

Remarkable books The world's most beautiful and historic works

Michael Collins, 1960-

Book - 2017

"A beautifully illustrated guide to more than 75 of the world's most celebrated, rare, and seminal books and handwritten manuscripts ever produced, with discussions of their purpose, features, and creators. From ancient masterpieces such as The Art of War, written on the leaves of bamboo, to the stunningly illustrated Birds of America, to Chairman Mao's Little Red Book, [this book] delves into the stories behind the most incredible tomes ever produced, offering an insight into their wider social and cultural context, and is chronologically ordered to demonstrate the synergies between the growth in human knowledge and the bookmaking process."--

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Subjects
Best books.
Books > History > Pictorial works.
Books and reading > History.
Illustrated works.
Genres
Illustrated works
Published
New York, New York : DK Publishing 2017.
Language
English
Main Author
Michael Collins, 1960- (contributor)
Other Authors
Alexandra Black (contributor), Thomas Cussans, John Farndon, Philip Parker, 1965-
Edition
First American edition
Item Description
Includes index.
Physical Description
256 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 31 cm
ISBN
9781465463623
  • 300 BCE to 999 CE
  • 1000 to 1449
  • 1450 to 1649
  • 1650 to 1899
  • 1900 onward.
Review by Library Journal Review

Collins (Pope Francis: A Photographic Story of the People's Pope) and contributors Alexandra Black (How Business Works), Thomas Cussans (contributor, History: The Definitive Visual Guide), John Fardon (Royal Literary fellow, Cambridge Univ.; Do Not Open), and Philip Parker (The Northmen's Fury: A History of the Viking World) highlight individual titles, organized by time period, that are remarkable for their place in history, their writing, and their physical presentation. A preface extols books and examines the history of the medium, from scroll to the present day. Articles cover the dimensions of the featured edition and when, where, and how it was produced. Entries on bound volumes (as opposed to scrolls) include a graphic of the selection compared with an "average" physical hand. (There are variations: John James Audubon's mammoth Birds of America is shown beside an entire person, while Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is compared to a child's hand.) Each section ends with a directory that showcases other notable works from the period. It isn't always clear why some books receive more attention than others, which may frustrate the most orderly, but overall, this work deftly examines literature in world history and vice versa. VERDICT With the breadth of subjects covered, this is a coffee-table book for the curious adult mind but accessible enough for younger readers, too.-Robert Mixner, Bartholomew Cty. P.L., Columbus, IN © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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