This book on paper contains an incredible amount of valuable information. Its only drawback is that it was incredibly tedious for me to navigate through the book, which is unusual for a Kurlansky book. "But there is one truly unique human trait: people record their deeds, their emotions, their thoughts, and their ideas....they have an impulse to record almost everything that enters their minds and to save it for future generations. And it is this urge that lead to the invention of paper." (page 15 of 409)