Overview

The flood of information brought to us by advancing technology is often accompanied by a distressing sense of 'information overload', yet this experience is not unique to modern times. In fact, says Ann Blair in this intriguing book, the invention of the printing press and the ensuing abundance of books provoked sixteenth- and seventeenth-century European scholars to register complaints very similar to our own. The author examines methods of information management in ancient and medieval Europe as well as the Islamic world and China, then focuses particular attention on the organization, composition, and reception of Latin reference books in print in early modern Europe. She explores in detail the sophisticated and sometimes idiosyncratic techniques that scholars and readers developed in an era of new technology and exploding information.

Full Product Details

9780300112511

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Reviews

Fascinating. . . . If you like to know things, even in a world in which there is already too much to know, Blair''s book is a mini-library in itself. --Michael Dirda, The Washington Post --Michael Dirda The Washington Post

Selected as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2011 in the History, Geography and Area Studies category.--Choice Outstanding Academic Title: History, Geography & Area Studies Choice (06/06/2012)

Fascinating. . . . If you like to know things, even in a world in which there is already too much to know, Blair''s book is a mini-library in itself. --Michael Dirda, The Washington Post<br> --Michael Dirda The Washington Post

Author Information

Ann M. Blair is Henry Charles Lea Professor of History, Harvard University.

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