Synopses & Reviews
Nineteen original essays make up this indispensable guide for anyone who is interested in the past and future of books and the publishing industry. This book is intended as both a celebration of the value and importance of reading and a spirited defense against the many gloomy voices in our so-called electronic age that say the book will soon be obsolete. The essays explore how books shape and nourish our lives; why readers turn to books in the era of cyberspace; whether the book has a future; and the many issues that concern academic publishers who are trying to preserve the book.
Synopsis
A celebration of the value and importance of books and a spirited defense against the many gloomy voices in our so-called electronic age that say the printed book as we know it will soon be obsolete.
About the Author
Dale Salwak is Professor of English at Citrus College, California.
Table of Contents
Preface *
Part I: Contemporary Trends * The Pleasure of Reading--Joseph Epstein * Other Worlds to Inhabit--John Bayley * Casaabon's Syndrome, Or Reader Rampant--Ferdinand Mount * Books in My Life--G. Thomas Tanselle *
Part II: Books of Our Own * Hooked...--Nina King * Mountains and Caverns--Alan Sillitoe * Obsessed by Thomas Mann--Jeffrey Meyers * Encountering Philip Larkin--Dale Salwak * Devouring of the Printed Page--Ann Thwaite * Discovering
Jane Eyre --Catherine Peters * The Radiant Way and After--Margaret Drabble * Reading My Father--Mary Gordon * Into Terra Nova: A Crossing with Books--Laura L. Nagy * Sine Qua Non--Frances H. Bachelder * The Performer and the Reader--Michael Ellis *
Part III: Future Concerns * Literature without Books?--Laurence Lerner * The Sad Demise of the Personal Library--James Shapiro * The Future of the Academic Book--Gill Davies * The End of the Book? Some Perspectives of Media Change--Elizabeth L. Eisenstein * Related Works * Index
Preface * Part I: Contemporary Trends * The Pleasure of Reading--Joseph Epstein * Other Worlds to Inhabit--John Bayley * Casaabon's Syndrome, Or Reader Rampant--Ferdinand Mount * Books in My Life--G. Thomas Tanselle * Part II: Books of Our Own * Hooked...--Nina King * Mountains and Caverns--Alan Sillitoe * Obsessed by Thomas Mann--Jeffrey Meyers * Encountering Philip Larkin--Dale Salwak * Devouring of the Printed Page--Ann Thwaite * Discovering Jane Eyre --Catherine Peters * The Radiant Way and After--Margaret Drabble * Reading My Father--Mary Gordon * Into Terra Nova: A Crossing with Books--Laura L. Nagy * Sine Qua Non--Frances H. Bachelder * The Performer and the Reader--Michael Ellis * Part III: Future Concerns * Literature without Books?--Laurence Lerner * The Sad Demise of the Personal Library--James Shapiro * The Future of the Academic Book--Gill Davies * The End of the Book? Some Perspectives of Media Change--Elizabeth L. Eisenstein * Related Works * Index