An interesting collection of historical anecdotes that present the magic of books, for better or for worse. I found most of these chapters very engaging, which was a relief since I've never taken to learning history. However, since history is not my strong suit I do wish these chapters had been in chronological order. Some of the references and run on sentences were also difficult for me to understand, but overall this is a reader friendly book that explores many avenues of what books mean to people.