You Could Look It Up - The Reference Shelf From Ancient Babylon to Wikipedia
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| Verlag | Bloomsbury Trade |
| Auflage | 2016 |
| Seiten | 464 |
| Format | 16,6 x 34,4 x 3,6 cm |
| Rough cut | |
| Gewicht | 857 g |
| Artikeltyp | Englisches Buch |
| ISBN-10 | 080277752X |
| EAN | 9780802777522 |
| Bestell-Nr | 80277752EA |
An illuminating exploration of reference books through time and across cultures, from the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi to Wikipedia.
"Knowledge is of two kinds," said Samuel Johnson in 1775. "We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it." Today we think of Wikipedia as the source of all information, the ultimate reference. Yet it is just the latest in a long line of aggregated knowledge--reference works that have shaped the way we've seen the world for centuries.
You Could Look It Up chronicles the captivating stories behind these great works and their contents, and the way they have influenced each other. From The Code of Hammurabi, the earliest known compendium of laws in ancient Babylon almost two millennia before Christ to Pliny's Natural History; from the 11th-century Domesday Book recording land holdings in England to Abraham Ortelius's first atlas of the world; from Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language to The Whole Earth Catalog to Google, Jack Lynch illuminates the human stories and accomplishment behind each, as well as its enduring impact on civiliz ation. In the process, he offers new insight into the value of knowledge.
Rezension:
Lively and erudite . . . Lynch offers a reference book of reference books, a magical volume of infinite regress . . . You Could Look It Up can serve as a reminder of our enduring and impudent desire to keep the chaotic universe in some kind of neat and serviceable order. Alberto Manguel (Editor's Choice) The New York Times Book Review
