*Starred Review* The only surprising thing about this fine set is that the topic hasn’t been tackled before by the Oxford Companion series. At a time in our history when the very future of the book is so often called into question, Oxford, as usual, produces what will likely be—for the foreseeable future—the final word on the subject, and in such a concise format. According to the introduction, this is a set that “seeks to represent in a single work the world of the book as it is known at the close of the first decade of the 21st century.” Admitting that “‘the book’ . . . is not really an adequate emblem of many material manifestations of text,” the editors point out that “the idea that bibliography and book history are not inimical . . . but mutually enriching and deeply interrelated undertakings has been one of this project’s primary foundations.” The work is divided into two parts. The first, a series of 51 essays, opens with an overview of various topics (“Paper,” “Children’s Books”) before settling on 32 essays on the history of books in various regions (“The History of the Book in Italy,” “The History of the Book in Korea”). “History of the Book in America” is the longest essay at 18 pages; “Technologies of Print” (15 pages) is the longest of the nongeographic entries. All include bibliographies. Following the essays are more than 5,000 alphabetically arranged shorter entries. Although not all of these have bibliographies, many do—even the 39-word entry Lubok (a Russian broadside). Cross-references are duly noted to sections of the essays as well as to other entries. Virtually anything dealing with the book industry is covered, ranging from the paper used and the printing process to terminology (Private presses); people (Greenaway, Kate); publications (Kirkus Reviews); libraries (Wales, National Library of); and publishers (Phaidon Verlag and, yes, Oxford University Press). Entries vary from a few sentences to some 2 1/2 pages (Scientific books and journals). The set is liberally illustrated with about 170 illustrations throughout. Oxford has gone out of its way to make the work as accessible as possible. It opens with a “Thematic Index of Entries” and a 2-page “Notes to the Reader,” which illustrates how entries are arranged and forms of transliteration used. The set concludes with an index, which the introduction notes is “not a common feature of Oxford Companions, but the scope of this project and the mix of long essays and short entries . . . suggested the need for additional guidance for readers.” Highly recommended for academic and large public libraries. --Ken Black
Review
"'The Oxford Companion to the Book' is a monument to mankind's most effective means of communication, one that is infinitely portable, transmissible and treasurable, intimate and tactile in ways that none of its rivals can attain Suarez and Woudhuysen are great exploders of conventional bibliographic wisdom." --Wall Street Journal
"[This] could occupy those of us interested in books and book history quite happily for the foreseeable future the OCB has been designed for both ready-reference and systematic study, made possible by a detailed system of cross-referencing, thematic indexing, and an extensive general index It's awe-inspiring." --Fine Books & Collections
"Entries on every aspect of this exceptionally rich and diverse subject richly illustrated."--Pricy-Spicy.com
"At a time in our history when the very future of the book is so often called into question, Oxford, as usual, produces what will likely be -- for the foreseeable future -- the final word on the subject, and in such a concise formatEL Highly recommended for academic and large public libraries." --Booklist, starred review
It provides a global approach to the world of the book and is, in every way, a monumental achievement. Highly recommended. --CHOICE
"'The Oxford Companion to the Book' is a monument to mankind's most effective means of communication, one that is infinitely portable, transmissible and treasurable, intimate and tactile in ways that none of its rivals can attain Suarez and Woudhuysen are great exploders of conventional bibliographic wisdom." --Wall Street Journal
"[This] could occupy those of us interested in books and book history quite happily for the foreseeable future the OCB has been designed for both ready-reference and systematic study, made possible by a detailed system of cross-referencing, thematic indexing, and an extensive general index It's awe-inspiring." --Fine Books & Collections
"Entries on every aspect of this exceptionally rich and diverse subject richly illustrated."--Pricy-Spicy.com
"At a time in our history when the very future of the book is so often called into question, Oxford, as usual, produces what will likely be -- for the foreseeable future -- the final word on the subject, and in such a concise formatEL Highly recommended for academic and large public libraries." --Booklist, starred review
It provides a global approach to the world of the book and is, in every way, a monumental achievement. Highly recommended. --CHOICE
About the Author
Michael F. Suarez, S.J. is University Professor, Director of the Rare Book School, and Hon. Curator of Special Collections at the University of Virginia. He is co-editor of The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain, Volume 5, 1695-1830 (2008) and co-general editor of The Collected Works of Gerard
Manley Hopkins, (OUP, 2006).
H. R. Woudhuysen is Professor of English at University College London. He has edited The Penguin Book of Renaissance Verse (1992), with David Norbrook, Love's Labour's Lost (1998) and, with Katherine Duncan-Jones, Shakespeare's Poems (2007) for the Arden Shakespeare third series.
