I owe my collection of fairly inexpensive readily available books to wasps. I HATE wasps. They terrify me. But, until the 1800s, paper was made from rags. Then the paper demand surpassed the availability of rags. Someone in the 1700s had noted that wasps' nests are made from a wood pulp and resemble paper. America had a massive amount of trees - boom! The modern paper industry was born.
This book was fascinating. I enjoy histories of very specific items and I love paper. This provided both a history of paper manufacturing and the reasons for the demand for paper. In many ways it was also a mini history of the world since paper has played a role in many momentous events.
One point the author made was that while we talk about how technology changes society, really society usually changes and creates a demand for new technology. I'm not sure I buy that, but it was interesting thinking events from that angle.
This book made me appreciate paper even more. It was crazy reading about the intensive work that used to go into it and still does in places like Japan where paper is still handmade for artists. It also made me like deckled edges even more - they mimic the look of handmade paper.
Oddly, while I was reading this, my husband read something about how recycling paper doesn't actually help the environment and this touches on that as well. The chemicals that are used to remove ink are bad for the environment and it takes a lot of energy. Making new paper is so efficient that many companies make more energy than they need and sell the energy to utility companies. Organic material is needed in landfills to help break other items down. Paper companies stick to their own tree farms now and except for China, don't cut down old growth anymore. Recycling does help provide material for things like cardboard and packaging material, but it's not good for making more paper.
I learned a ton from this and had a lot of fun reading it.