Review by Choice Review
What Is a Book? is an introduction to the material aspect of Western printed books from the 15th to the beginning of the 19th century. Though this is a well-worked topic, Dane (English, UCLA) offers a contribution that exhibits several exceptional strengths. First, he deals with the subject in a succinct way that readers will appreciate, especially if they have experienced the numbing minutiae sometimes encountered. This stylistic economy allows Dane to cover more material than others in a volume of this size. The overall result is a book that is introductory but by no means elementary--a dense read that is well worth the effort. A second strength is that Dane's approach is almost exclusively from the vista of early modern English literature. Other bibliographic strategies are available, of course, but his has a ready constituency in the contemporary academy. In this regard, much recommends it compared to its dominant predecessor, the transmission of classical texts--an approach now much in decline. Thus, What Is a Book? has an appeal beyond the narrowly bibliographic. Readers also will be pleased with Dane's discussion of books in digital format and will welcome the extensive bibliography. The subject matter may be old, but the treatment is very up-to-date. Those interested in post-1800 books, on the other hand, must look elsewhere. This book will be an excellent addition for collections supporting strong English literature departments and those interested in the history of the book. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through researchers/faculty. P. L. Holmer Southern Connecticut State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
The history and evolving terminology associated with the hand press period for printed books (from Gutenberg/Scheffer to the end of the 18th century) have been explored and defined in some sterling classics long in print because of their accessibility and ease with description. Dane (English, Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles; Out of Sorts: On Typography and Print Culture) is not a graceful writer and eschews concise descriptions-even of what a "book" is, insisting that he must coin a new phrase, "book-copy," so that we'll all understand. He goes through the expected components of his topic, from the page to binding elements to methods of descriptive bibliography, but has a rhetorical tic throughout by which he posits a circumstance only to dismiss it as invalid, e.g., "Whether Bradshaw's facts actually will speak for themselves (and the conventional answer today is that they will not)" and "I could say that I have selected a book at random, but that is not the case." Such prose will leave most readers' heads spinning. VERDICT Those new to this field should turn to the classics, including John Carter's graceful and concise ABC for Book Collectors and works by R.B. McKerrow, Fredson Bowers, and Philip Gaskell, not to mention Lucien Febvre and Henri-Jean Martin's The Coming of the Book: The Impact of Printing 1450-1800, translated by David Gerard. Dane calls it dated, but it's coherent and elegant.-Margaret Heilbrun, Library Journal (c) Copyright 2012. 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.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Library Journal Review