The book: a cover-to-cover exploration of the most powerful object of our time

Part 1. The page : A clean sheet: the invention of papyrus

Hidebound: the grisly invention of parchment

Pulp fictions: the ambiguous origins of paper in China

From Silk Road to paper trail: paper goes global.

Part 2. The text : Stroke of genius: arrival of writing

The prints and the pauper: Johannes Gutenberg and the invention of movable type

Out of sorts: typesetting meets the Industrial Revolution.

Part 3. Illustrations : Saints and Scriveners: the rise of the illuminated manuscript

Ex Oriente Lux: woodcut comes to the West

Etching a sketch: copperplate printing and the Renaissance

Better imaging through chemistry: lithography, photography, and modern book printing.

Part 4. Form : Books before the book: papyrus scrolls and wax tablets

Joining the folds: the invention of the codex

Ties that bind: binding the paged book

Size matters: the invention of the modern book.