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The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper: A New Statesman and Spectator Book of the Year Hardcover – 2 Nov. 2023
A NEW STATESMAN 'BEST BOOK OF 2023'
A SPECTATOR 'BOOK OF THE YEAR' 2023
A WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2023
'From plans for flying machines to philosophy - the remarkable joy of jotting things down' 'Book of the Day', Guardian
'A fine book on a fabulous subject' Daily Telegraph
'A fascinating study of notebooks through history ... beautifully written and a complete delight to dip in to or read from cover to cover' Alexander McCall Smith, Books of the Year, New Statesman
'Surprisingly revealing ... despite what Apple, Evernote and the like might try to tell us, the best cognitive tool available to us today was invented in the counting houses of Renaissance Florence' The Sunday Times
The first history of the notebook, a simple invention that changed the way the
world thinks.
We see notebooks everywhere we go. But where did this simple invention come from? How did they revolutionise our lives, and why are they such powerful tools for creativity? And how can using a notebook help you change the way you think?
In this wide-ranging story, Roland Allen reveals all the answers. Ranging from the bustling markets of medieval Florence to the quiet studies of our greatest thinkers, he follows a trail of dazzling ideas, revealing how the notebook became our most dependable and versatile tool for creative thinking. He tells the notebook stories of artists like Leonardo and Frida Kahlo, scientists from Isaac Newton to Marie Curie, and writers from Chaucer to Henry James. We watch Darwin developing his theory of evolution in tiny pocketbooks, see Agatha Christie plotting a hundred murders in scrappy exercise books, and learn how Bruce Chatwin unwittingly inspired the creation of the Moleskine.
On the way we meet a host of cooks, kings, sailors, fishermen, musicians, engineers, politicians, adventurers and mathematicians, who all used their notebooks as a space for thinking and to shape the modern world.
In an age of AI and digital overload, the humble notebook is more relevant than ever. Allen shows how bullet points can combat ADHD, journals can ease PTSD, and patient diaries soften the trauma of reawakening from coma. The everyday act of moving a pen across paper can have profound consequences, changing the way we think and feel: making us more creative, more productive - and happier.
- Print length416 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherProfile Books
- Publication date2 Nov. 2023
- Dimensions16.2 x 3.8 x 23.6 cm
- ISBN-101788169328
- ISBN-13978-1788169325
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From the Publisher
Roland Allen is a publisher and author who lives in Hove. He studied at Manchester University and works in book (and notebook) publishing. He has written about subjects as diverse as bicycles and bread, kept a diary for decades, and enjoys stationery a little too much. Follow him on X @roly_allen and on Instagram @notebook_historian.
Product description
Review
[A] restless, arresting new history of the notebook ... beautifully produced, with stylus-shaped dinkuses and lined endpapers to get you in the mood, it is packed with a wonderful range of insights and anecdotes ... [Allen] has written a fine book on a fabulous subject
― Daily TelegraphA different, fascinating, entertaining, witty approach to writing cultural history ― Irish Times
I'm something of a notebook addict. Now I know I'm not alone, as Roland Allen makes clear in his fascinating study of notebooks through history, The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper (Profile Books). Moleskine users will love this wide-ranging history of an everyday object: it is beautifully written and a complete delight to dip in to or read from cover to cover. A lovely book -- Alexander Smith McCall, 'Best Books of the Year 2023' ― New Statesman
With this fascinating exploration, Allen has written a very original, diverting and surprising history of a humble everyday object ― Saga
Fluently and engagingly written ― Art Newspaper
Remarkable ... Allen points to evidence that maintaining a notebook with pen and paper is best for processing and retaining information. It can stave off depression and act as ballast to those struggling with ADHD. It is tactile, a form of "embodied cognition", another example of the superiority of slowness ... paying attention, caring, handwriting: this is love. -- Sukhdev Sandhu, 'Book of the Day' ― Guardian
The fascinating stories [The Notebook] tells certainly make you want to take out a pen and jot down a few points ... Allen considers the notebook in its various forms, from the wax tablet to the electronic spreadsheet, and from early modernity to the present day ... his writing has the lightness of touch needed to turn the dry pages of notebooks into living historical documents ― Spectator
The humble notebook is surprisingly revealing ... despite what Apple, Evernote and the like might try to tell us, the best cognitive tool available to us today was invented in the counting houses of Renaissance Florence ― The Sunday Times
Roland Allen traces the ancient lineage of thought made tangible in pen and ink -- Jane Shilling ― Daily Telegraph
Delightful ... Allen takes us on an upbeat and stimulating journey ... [a] vibrant celebration of the nursey of culture ― Sydney Morning Herald
The story that Allen tells dances from the pages of the earliest Arabic texts and the oldest surviving European scribbles from the 13th century, to friendship albums in the Netherlands in the 16th century, and onto recipes, cures and bookkeeping ― Monocle
Enjoyable ... Allen is a relaxed and amusing guide ... although he professes to be concerned mainly with notebooks' practical applications, he is a philosopher by stealth, keen to make the reader question where the mind stops and the rest of the world begins. ― TLS
Charting an epic history from medieval sales ledgers to the jottings of Albert Einstein, Allen's wonderfully engaging account of the humble notebook through the centuries makes for enlightening reading -- Waterstones 'The Best Books of 2023'
A fascinating, sweeping book which belongs on the Christmas present lists of everyone who lives their life in notebooks ... the humble notebook might be one of the most simple inventions humans have ever made, but that doesn't mean it hasn't revolutionised our lives ... charting everything from medieval note-takers to the pocketbooks of Einstein; Frida Kahlo's sketches to Agatha Christie's exercise books which are scrawled with plot ideas, Allen delves into how brilliant minds and everyday people put pen to paper as a method for thinking and shaping our world ― i Newspaper
An engaging popular history that considers the notebook in its various forms - wax tablet, ledger, spreadsheet - over the centuries. Why, despite the digitisation of everything, do many of us still write and draw on paper? Reflecting on this question, Allen touches on art, accounting, science and politics the better to trace through the years the relationship between power and information technology. -- Anna Aslanyan, 'Books of the Year' ― Spectator
[An] intriguing exploration through the ages of the humble - and not so humble - notebook ... this is a book to be savoured -- Jaqueline Riding ― Country Life
A delight to read, The Notebook is a reminder of our most vital tool ― Idler
[A] meticulously researched celebration of notebooks, and the vital role they've played in creativity of all kinds ― The Simple Things
A notebook is evidence, process and inspiration, and Roland Allen captures it all in this sweeping survey of ideas and inventiveness -- Simon Garfield
Transformational ... it's inspiring me to write longhand in a real paper notebook again -- Victoria Finlay
A glorious celebration of my all-time favourite object from its earliest incarnations to its funkiest forms. In his always interesting history of thinking on paper, Roland Allen has confected a scintillating cornucopia of notebook miscellany -- Sara Wheeler, author ― Glowing Still
Meticulously researched and intensely readable ... a tantalising glimpse into the private thoughts of artists, voyagers and medics, from pre-Renaissance Florence to a Covid-filled intensive care ward -- Giles Milton
Book Description
From the Back Cover
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Profile Books; Main edition (2 Nov. 2023)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 416 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1788169328
- ISBN-13 : 978-1788169325
- Dimensions : 16.2 x 3.8 x 23.6 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 251,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer reviews:
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Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings, help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book well-written with informative content and a good set of notes. They describe it as an eye-opener and a stimulus to take up writing.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book well-written and informative. They appreciate the fine set of notes and bibliography. The stories are told well, making it an eye-opener and stimulating to take up writing.
"...It’s full of information and well-written, with a fine set of notes and bibliography for anyone wanting to pursue matters further." Read more
"...and keep notebooks on everything like I do , it's a must to read, its facinating." Read more
"Well-written, well-researched and highly informative history of the widespread but little-referenced , versatile and endlessly enabling creative..." Read more
"...It could have been perhaps slightly shorter, but the stories are told well...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's informative history. They find it well-researched, with useful notes.
"The author takes on an awesome task and succeeds admirably. It’s full of information and well-written, with a fine set of notes and bibliography for..." Read more
"...created a book that is a tribute to the notebook and an illuminating walk through history exploring the role of the notebook on the world." Read more
"Well-written, well-researched and highly informative history of the widespread but little-referenced , versatile and endlessly enabling creative..." Read more
"Good book on the history" Read more
Top reviews from United Kingdom
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- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 September 2024The author takes on an awesome task and succeeds admirably. It’s full of information and well-written, with a fine set of notes and bibliography for anyone wanting to pursue matters further.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 November 2024It is quite heavy on historical facts about how notebooks started, but good on how man managed without paper, which I'd never really thought about. If you are a list maker, an artist, naturalist and keep notebooks on everything like I do , it's a must to read, its facinating.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 November 2024Roland Allen has created a book that is a tribute to the notebook and an illuminating walk through history exploring the role of the notebook on the world.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 October 2024An excellent book that looks at the history of using paper for thinking, note taking, accounting, etc. It reignited my use of notebooks, which is just as well as I have a cupboard full of them. Recommended read.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 May 2024The two weeks it took me to read all 380pages was a struggle. Yes, the books is a well researched chronological reference; but lacks any sort of literal flare or personal analysis.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 December 2023Well-written, well-researched and highly informative history of the widespread but little-referenced , versatile and endlessly enabling creative technology that is the notebook/sketchbook. A real eye-opener of a read and a stimulus to take up your own chosen writing and drawing implement and notebook and start making those marks.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 November 2024Good book on the history
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 January 2024This book held my interest throughout, and is very well written. It could have been perhaps slightly shorter, but the stories are told well.
I can’t see what the “Monty Python” reviewer was getting at, regarding the end of the book. Personally, I highly recommend this one.
Top reviews from other countries
- JayArrReviewed in the United States on 15 December 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating perspective . . .
This is an excellent book which relates "notebooking" - writing in bound, more-or-less permanent journals - on the course of history. Of course, one of the most obvious lessons is in the development of the double-entry system of accounting, in which an "accounts payable" entry on one merchant's journal is exactly matched in a second merchant's "accounts receivable" journal, thus allowing both national and international economies to prosper quickly! These and other perspectives, including the physical evolution of journals themselve, are covered in very interesting and well-done writing. I do recommend this book highly; it is well-written, very interesting, and covers some perspectives about which are given little thought, but are important nonetheless.
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Ein KundeReviewed in Germany on 13 December 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars DAS Buch für jeden Notizbuchliebhaber!
Entlang des roten Fadens "Notizbücher und ihre Verwendung im Wandel der Zeit" führt der Autor durch die Geschichte des Papiers und des Notizbuches in all seinen Variationen. Immer wieder stellten sich Aha-Momente ein, wenn gezeigt wird, wie die Nutzung des Notizbuches aus dem Mittelalter oder der Renaissance bis in unseren heutigen Alltag ausstrahlt. Eine absolute Empfehlung! Schade nur, dass es keine deutsche Übersetzung gibt.
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Andrés SamudioReviewed in Spain on 24 November 2024
2.0 out of 5 stars No entiendo que se haga un libro sobre eso
A lo mejor es que no he avanzado mucho, pero después de12 páginas ya no puedo seguir perdiendo el tiempo sobre como se hacen libretas de notas. Mi no comprender.
- Patrick ReynoldsReviewed in the United States on 11 October 2024
4.0 out of 5 stars Very enlightening
It has a lot of good information as well as a fascinating look at history. However, parts of it, such as the introduction, can benefit from more proofreading.
- K. HastyReviewed in the United States on 28 November 2023
1.0 out of 5 stars An ending worse than a Monty Python sketch...
but at least they were doing it on purpose.
I was so excited to read this book that I sent off for a copy from the UK, knowing it was so niche it might never be published in my country. The first three quarters or so had exactly the sort of historical detail for which I longed. Then IT happened. A perfectly serviceable monograph on a vastly interesting subject turned into the author's views on policies pursued by people he did not and cannot elect. On the whole, it was my fault for failing to see it coming.
If only Mr. Allen's passion for his subject hadn't collided so limply with his ego, this might well have been a fine distraction from beginning to end.
If you must read this tome, page 309 is an ideal place to stop, make a cuppa, and pour it on the remaining pages.
Good luck and godspeed.