Before you go...
Check Out
The Bestselling Books of All Time
See the List

The Book on the Bookshelf

By Henry Petroski

By Henry Petroski

By Henry Petroski

By Henry Petroski

Best Seller
Paperback $16.95

Sep 12, 2000 | ISBN 9780375706394

Ebook $8.99

Dec 01, 2010 | ISBN 9780307773289

All Formats
+
    The Book on the Bookshelf by Henry Petroski
    Paperback $16.95
    Sep 12, 2000 | ISBN 9780375706394

    Also available from:

    See All Formats (1) +

    Paperback
    –

    • Paperback $16.95

      Sep 12, 2000 | ISBN 9780375706394

      Also available from:

    Ebook
    +

    • Ebook

      Dec 01, 2010 | ISBN 9780307773289

      Available from:

    Buy the Ebook:

    About The Book on the Bookshelf

    From the author of the highly praised The Pencil and The Evolution of Useful Things comes another captivating history of the seemingly mundane: the book and its storage.

    Most of us take for granted that our books are vertical on our shelves with the spines facing out, but Henry Petroski, inveterately curious engineer, didn’t.  As a result, readers are guided along the astonishing evolution from papyrus scrolls boxed at Alexandria to upright books shelved at the Library of Congress. Unimpeachably researched, enviably written, and charmed with anecdotes from Seneca to Samuel Pepys to a nineteenth-century bibliophile who had to climb over his books to get into bed, The Book on the Bookshelf is indispensable for anyone who loves books.

    About The Book on the Bookshelf

    From the author of the highly praised The Pencil and The Evolution of Useful Things comes another captivating history of the seemingly mundane: the book and its storage.

    Most of us take for granted that our books are vertical on our shelves with the spines facing out, but Henry Petroski, inveterately curious engineer, didn’t.  As a result, readers are guided along the astonishing evolution from papyrus scrolls boxed at Alexandria to upright books shelved at the Library of Congress. Unimpeachably researched, enviably written, and charmed with anecdotes from Seneca to Samuel Pepys to a nineteenth-century bibliophile who had to climb over his books to get into bed, The Book on the Bookshelf is indispensable for anyone who loves books.

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Also by Henry Petroski

    The Essential Engineer
    The Toothpick
    Pushing the Limits
    Small Things Considered
    Paperboy
    See all books by Henry Petroski

    Also by Henry Petroski

    The Essential Engineer
    The Toothpick
    Pushing the Limits
    Small Things Considered
    Paperboy
    See all books by Henry Petroski

    About Henry Petroski

    Henry Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University, where he also serves as chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The author of more than 15 books,… More about Henry Petroski

    About Henry Petroski

    Henry Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University, where he also serves as chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The author of more than 15 books,… More about Henry Petroski

    Product Details

    Category: Technology | Literary Criticism

    Paperback | $16.95
    Published by Vintage
    Sep 12, 2000 | 304 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780375706394

    Category: Technology | Literary Criticism

    Ebook | $8.99
    Published by Vintage
    Dec 01, 2010 | 304 Pages | ISBN 9780307773289

    People Who Read The Book on the Bookshelf Also Read

    ‹ ›
    A History of Canada in Ten Maps
    History
    President Lincoln Assassinated!!: the Firsthand Story of the Murder, Manhunt, Tr
    Photography
    Great Maps
    The Complete Idiot s Guide to Freemasonry, 2nd Edition
    John Adams: Revolutionary Writings 1775-1783 (LOA #214)
    Kings and Queens of England and Scotland
    John Kenneth Galbraith: The Affluent Society & Other Writings 1952-1967 (LOA #208)
    The Divine Comedy
    The Education of Henry Adams
    A Fair Country
    The Souls of Black Folk
    World War II
    Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859-1865
    Signs and Symbols
    A. J. Liebling: World War II Writings (LOA #181)
    Penguin History of Canada
    World Religions
    Benjamin Franklin: Autobiography, Poor Richard, and Later Writings (LOA #37b)
    Richard Henry Dana Jr.: Two Years Before the Mast & Other Voyages (LOA #161)
    DK Readers: The Story of Chocolate
    The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Mythology, 2nd Edition
    The Quiet American
    Washington Irving: Three Western Narratives (LOA #146)
    Reporting Civil Rights Vol. 2 (LOA #138)
    Reporting Civil Rights Vol. 1 (LOA #137)
    Alexander Hamilton: Writings (LOA #129)
    Reporting World War II: American Journalism 1938-1946
    Slave Narratives (LOA #114)
    Reporting Vietnam Vol. 1 (LOA #104)
    Reporting Vietnam Vol. 2 (LOA #105)
    James Baldwin: Collected Essays (LOA #98)
    William Bartram: Travels & Other Writings (LOA #84)
    Reporting World War II Vol. 2 (LOA #78)
    Dear Theo
    Reporting World War II Vol. 1 (LOA #77)
    Frederick Douglass: Autobiographies (LOA #68)
    Ulysses S. Grant: Memoirs and Selected Letters (LOA #50)
    The World of Rome
    W.E.B. Du Bois: Writings (LOA #34)
    O Albany!
    Desert Solitaire
    The Portable Renaissance Reader
    America and Americans

    Inspired by Your Browsing History

    Praise

    "For anyone interested in the craft of reading, [this book] is a compulsive necessity." —The New York Times Book Review

    "A fascinating history of two related common objects, impeccably documented and beautifully illustrated." —Civilization

    "After reading this book, you will not look at a book or a bookshelf in the same way." —Seattle Times

    "If ‘God is in the details,’ then those seeking God should read Petroski’s books." —Library Journal

    Back to Top

    Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

    Brightly

    Raise kids who love to read
    TASTE img

    TASTE

    An online magazine for today’s home cook

    LitFlash

    The eBooks you want at the lowest prices

    Read it Forward

    Read it first. Pass it on!