In The Book, Amaranth Borsuk explores our ever-changing definitions and conceptions of the book in light of shifting social, financial and technological factors. By documenting the physical and material forms of the book across time, Borsuk invites readers to consider how our relationship with the book has persisted despite its on-going transformation, writes Anna Nguyen

Nguyen, Anna

English

LSE Research Online

Book	Review:	The	Book	by	Amaranth	BorsukIn	The	Book,	Amaranth	Borsuk	explores	our	ever-changing	definitions	and	conceptions	of	the	book	in	light	ofshifting	social,	financial	and	technological	factors.	By	documenting	the	physical	and	material	forms	of	the	bookacross	time,	Borsuk	invites	readers	to	consider	how	our	relationship	with	the	book	has	persisted	despite	its	on-goingtransformation,	writes	Anna	Nguyen.	The	Book.	Amaranth	Borsuk.	MIT	Press.	2018.Find	this	book:	Reading	something	like	The	Book	makes	me	reflect	on	my	past	and	current	academictraining.	When	I	was	an	undergraduate	student	in	an	English	department,	I	readmany,	many	texts	hermeneutically.	On	my	own,	I	assessed	my	readings	in	simplisticterms	of	enjoyment	and	pleasure.	Despite	some	introductory	background	on	the	timeperiod	and	author	–	which	were	not	always	mandatory	reading	–	the	prose	in	theNorton	anthologies	and	novels	were	emphasised	as	the	main	objects	of	inquiry	andinterrogation.	The	infamous	one-sentence	chapter	from	William	Faulkner’s	novel	As	ILay	Dying	stands	out	in	my	memory	as	one	of	the	greatest	unresolved	debates	onsymbolic	interpretation.	Now,	despite	my	daily	reliance	on	Apple	products	–	in	theforms	of	a	mobile	phone,	a	laptop	and	an	iPad	–	I	have	always	preferred	books	andprinted	articles,	only	seeking	the	digital	versions	as	a	last	resort.Setting	aside	the	question	of	textual	interpretation,	Amaranth	Borsuk	wants	readers	toconsider	the	book	as	a	symbolic	object	itself.	If	I	understand	Borsuk’s	sentiment,	thedecision	to	focus	on	the	materiality	and	technics	of	the	book	is	her	way	of	addressingour	ever-changing	definitions	and	conceptions	of	‘the	book’	in	spite	of,	and	because	of,	shifting	social,	financial	andtechnological	factors.	Although	Borsuk	claims	she	does	not	set	out	to	formally	address	a	teleological	history	of	booksnor	wishes	to	create	a	dichotomy	between	print	and	digital	mediums	(xiii),	she	asserts	that	she	views	the	book	as	afluid	object	that	must	be	reconfigured	and	redefined.	Indeed,	one	need	only	remember	the	headlines	when	digitalreading	devices	were	introduced.	Big	chain	retailers	are	always	on	the	verge	of	succumbing	(if	they	haven’t	already)to	e-readers.	We	may	wonder	if	the	future	will	include	books	or	whether	they	will	become	as	archaic	as	a	quill	or	ascroll.Borsuk	addresses	these	concerns	in	four	chapters	with	eye-catching	titles:	‘the	book	as	object’;	‘the	book	as	content’;‘the	book	as	idea’;	and	‘the	book	as	interface’.	In	the	first	chapter,	she	begins	with	the	general	construction	anddistribution	of	the	book	once	we	shifted	from	oral	traditions	to	a	literate	culture.	The	material	text	became	codified	incodex	forms,	thus	signalling	the	important	roles	of	records	and	documents	that	established	the	power	of	cities	andtheir	rules	(21).	Universities,	too,	began	to	oversee	a	new	market	for	the	exchange	of	ideas	in	academia,	especiallyduring	the	Renaissance	era	(58).	As	books	became	intrinsically	linked	to	the	creation	of	burgeoning	institutions,knowledge	that	was	otherwise	contained	began	to	travel.	Scholars	could	translate	ancient	works	from	Arabic	intoLatin,	and	complex	ideas	in	maths	and	science	could	be	shared	globally	(59).USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: Book Review: The Book by Amaranth Borsuk Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-11-04Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2018/11/04/book-review-the-book-by-amaranth-borsuk/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/Image	Credit:	(fdcomite	CC	BY	2.0)Borsuk	ends	this	chapter	by	invoking	the	controversial	notion	that	Socrates	hated	writing	and	books.	In	ThePhaedrus,	Plato	describes	a	dialogue	between	Socrates	and	Phaedrus	where	the	wise	philosopher	said	realknowledge	can	only	be	truly	produced	via	oral	exchanges,	in	which	truth	could	be	negotiated	in	real	time.	Relying	onwriting,	Socrates	warned,	is	to	depend	on	an	incomplete	representation	of	knowledge,	likening	the	written	word	tovisual	images.	Borsuk	uses	this	to	illustrate	the	analogous	anxieties	about	the	impact	of	the	emergence	of	technologyupon	our	own	literacy	and	ability	to	engage	with	texts.	She	concludes	by	arguing	that	the	act	of	writing	–	also	atechnology,	she	emphasises	–	changed	human	consciousness,	much	like	our	technological	devices	(60).In	the	next	two	chapters,	Borsuk	continues	to	engage	with	other	institutional	factors	that	have	redefined	the	book.The	printing	press	changed	production	values	and	separated	the	idea	of	the	book	from	the	object	(76):	that	is,	thechanging	anatomy	of	the	book,	whether	produced	through	high	craftsmanship	or	as	mass-market	titles,	is	anaesthetic	decision	that	represents	certain	values	of	particular	cultures	and	societies.	Borsuk	also	touches	uponissues	like	copyright	and	intellectual	property	in	the	second	chapter,	which	support	her	focus	on	the	profits	ofpublishers	(97-101).	Our	modern	understanding	of	copyright	did	not	exist	in	the	sixteenth	century,	but,	unsurprisingly,ideas	of	ownership	were	a	looming	question	among	competitive	publishers.	Any	‘rights’	were	centred	on	the	bookitself	and	belonged	to	the	printer.	Subsequently,	in	England	and	America,	these	legal	norms	shifted	to	protect	texts.Familiar	debates	like	public	domain	are	one	of	the	many	results	in	response	to	changes	in	publishing.	In	Chapter	Three,	Borsuk	explicitly	asserts	that	books	have	always	been	a	commodity	(112),	yet	explores	thepossibility	that	the	book	conceptualised	as	art	may	be	democratic.	In	the	1960s,	artists	began	to	produce	books	asartworks,	which	they	thought	would	be	more	accessible	to	all	audiences	and,	perhaps	more	importantly,	bridge	theso-called	high	and	low	cultures	(135).	The	book	may	not	just	be	an	object	filled	with	literary	prose,	but	can	bereimagined	as	portable	interactive	books	(the	author	lists	MadLibs	and	other	game-like	book	forms)	and	coffee-tablebooks.These	three	chapters	foreground	Borsuk’s	final	chapter,	‘the	book	as	interface’.	If	all	of	the	previous	case	studies	andthe	overall	historiography	of	the	book	serve	a	singular	purpose,	it	is	to	ask	us	to	consider	what	forms	of	interfacescame	before	e-readers	or	digital	books.	Borsuk	cites	audio	books	(205)	and	Vannevar	Bush’s	never-producedMemex	(209)	as	a	part	of	the	digital	imaginary,	which	now	includes	Google	Books	and	Amazon	as	majorstakeholders	in	the	creation	of	a	digital	instantiation	of	the	codex.	Here,	Borsuk	concludes	her	recurring	statement	–that	technology	or	digital	media	have	not	replaced	the	book	as	we	know	it.	That	is	too	much	of	a	simplistic	reduction;rather,	she	asks	us	to	consider	how	the	novel,	which	was	once	a	technology,	has	been	redefined	for	a	digital-oriented	culture.	And	it	will	only	continue	to	be	reimagined.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: Book Review: The Book by Amaranth Borsuk Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-11-04Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2018/11/04/book-review-the-book-by-amaranth-borsuk/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/As	a	curious	reviewer,	I	am	tasked	to	ask	any	scholar	why	their	scholarship	focuses	on	material	culture	with	a	lesserfocus	on	the	bigger	questions	of	public	participation,	democracy	and	literacy,	themes	that	are	all	invoked	by	Borsukbut	never	explicitly	explored	in	ways	that	question	print	capitalism	and	related	inequalities.	The	Book	is	a	part	of	theMIT	Press	‘Essential	Knowledge’	series,	which,	according	to	the	foreword,	sets	out	to	offer	two	things:	a	criticalperspective	that	‘informs	a	principled	understanding	of	the	world’	where	‘facts’	and	opinions	are	too	abundant	andfashionable;	and	portable	books	that	are	concise	and	accessible.	Borsuk	does	try	to	re-evaluate	‘the	book’	in	ourcurrent	imagining	of	a	sociotechnological	society,	but	the	text	lacks	a	robust	political	discussion	of	why	books	havebeen	reformed	and	for	what	reasons.If	books	were	mediated	forces,	they	may	have	also	been	political	artefacts	that	continued	to	create	unjust	societies,much	like	Langdon	Winner	observed	in	‘Do	Artefacts	Have	Politics?’	Books,	like	roads,	highways	and	bridges,	havepolitical	qualities	in	them	as	their	creators	express	certain	normative	visions	for	their	users.	In	the	case	of	books,what	expectations	of	literacy	are	placed	on	their	readers?	And	are	these	expectations	shared	by	readers?	In	thiscase,	has	technology	made	a	more	democratic	society	where	books,	among	other	objects,	are	more	accessible?	Or,if	we	recall	the	ongoing	debates	about	the	future	of	books,	what	are	we	most	worried	about	when	we	read	that	thebook	may	become	obsolete?	By	documenting	the	physical	and	material	forms	of	the	book,	Borsuk	does	not	answerall	of	these	questions	but	invites	her	readers	to	consider	how	their	relationships	with	the	book	have	persisted	despitetechnological	change.This	review	originally	appeared	at	the	LSE	Review	of	Books.	Please	read	our	comments	policy	before	commenting.Note:	This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	authors,	and	not	the	position	of	USAPP–	American	Politics	and	Policy,	nor	ofthe	London	School	of	Economics.Shortened	URL	for	this	post:	http://bit.ly/2JFaxgyAbout	the	reviewerAnna	Nguyen	–	Concordia	UniversityAnna	Nguyen	is	a	PhD	student	in	the	Communication	Studies	department	at	Concordia	University.	Her	researchanalyses	discourses	of	innovation,	novelty	and	expertise	in	the	context	of	food	literature	and	scientific	food	reporting.Read	more	by	Anna	Nguyen.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: Book Review: The Book by Amaranth Borsuk Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-11-04Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2018/11/04/book-review-the-book-by-amaranth-borsuk/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/

Book review: the book by Amaranth Borsuk

Book	Review:	The	Book	by	Amaranth	BorsukIn	The	Book,	Amaranth	Borsuk	explores	our	ever-changing	definitions	and	conceptions	of	the	book	in	light	ofshifting	social,	financial	and	technological	factors.	By	documenting	the	physical	and	material	forms	of	the	bookacross	time,	Borsuk	invites	readers	to	consider	how	our	relationship	with	the	book	has	persisted	despite	its	on-goingtransformation,	writes	Anna	Nguyen.	The	Book.	Amaranth	Borsuk.	MIT	Press.	2018.Find	this	book:	Reading	something	like	The	Book	makes	me	reflect	on	my	past	and	current	academictraining.	When	I	was	an	undergraduate	student	in	an	English	department,	I	readmany,	many	texts	hermeneutically.	On	my	own,	I	assessed	my	readings	in	simplisticterms	of	enjoyment	and	pleasure.	Despite	some	introductory	background	on	the	timeperiod	and	author	–	which	were	not	always	mandatory	reading	–	the	prose	in	theNorton	anthologies	and	novels	were	emphasised	as	the	main	objects	of	inquiry	andinterrogation.	The	infamous	one-sentence	chapter	from	William	Faulkner’s	novel	As	ILay	Dying	stands	out	in	my	memory	as	one	of	the	greatest	unresolved	debates	onsymbolic	interpretation.	Now,	despite	my	daily	reliance	on	Apple	products	–	in	theforms	of	a	mobile	phone,	a	laptop	and	an	iPad	–	I	have	always	preferred	books	andprinted	articles,	only	seeking	the	digital	versions	as	a	last	resort.Setting	aside	the	question	of	textual	interpretation,	Amaranth	Borsuk	wants	readers	toconsider	the	book	as	a	symbolic	object	itself.	If	I	understand	Borsuk’s	sentiment,	thedecision	to	focus	on	the	materiality	and	technics	of	the	book	is	her	way	of	addressingour	ever-changing	definitions	and	conceptions	of	‘the	book’	in	spite	of,	and	because	of,	shifting	social,	financial	andtechnological	factors.	Although	Borsuk	claims	she	does	not	set	out	to	formally	address	a	teleological	history	of	booksnor	wishes	to	create	a	dichotomy	between	print	and	digital	mediums	(xiii),	she	asserts	that	she	views	the	book	as	afluid	object	that	must	be	reconfigured	and	redefined.	Indeed,	one	need	only	remember	the	headlines	when	digitalreading	devices	were	introduced.	Big	chain	retailers	are	always	on	the	verge	of	succumbing	(if	they	haven’t	already)to	e-readers.	We	may	wonder	if	the	future	will	include	books	or	whether	they	will	become	as	archaic	as	a	quill	or	ascroll.Borsuk	addresses	these	concerns	in	four	chapters	with	eye-catching	titles:	‘the	book	as	object’;	‘the	book	as	content’;‘the	book	as	idea’;	and	‘the	book	as	interface’.	In	the	first	chapter,	she	begins	with	the	general	construction	anddistribution	of	the	book	once	we	shifted	from	oral	traditions	to	a	literate	culture.	The	material	text	became	codified	incodex	forms,	thus	signalling	the	important	roles	of	records	and	documents	that	established	the	power	of	cities	andtheir	rules	(21).	Universities,	too,	began	to	oversee	a	new	market	for	the	exchange	of	ideas	in	academia,	especiallyduring	the	Renaissance	era	(58).	As	books	became	intrinsically	linked	to	the	creation	of	burgeoning	institutions,knowledge	that	was	otherwise	contained	began	to	travel.	Scholars	could	translate	ancient	works	from	Arabic	intoLatin,	and	complex	ideas	in	maths	and	science	could	be	shared	globally	(59).LSE Review of Books: Book Review: The Book by Amaranth Borsuk Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-10-05Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2018/10/05/book-review-the-book-by-amaranth-borsuk/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/Image	Credit:	(fdcomite	CC	BY	2.0)Borsuk	ends	this	chapter	by	invoking	the	controversial	notion	that	Socrates	hated	writing	and	books.	In	ThePhaedrus,	Plato	describes	a	dialogue	between	Socrates	and	Phaedrus	where	the	wise	philosopher	said	realknowledge	can	only	be	truly	produced	via	oral	exchanges,	in	which	truth	could	be	negotiated	in	real	time.	Relying	onwriting,	Socrates	warned,	is	to	depend	on	an	incomplete	representation	of	knowledge,	likening	the	written	word	tovisual	images.	Borsuk	uses	this	to	illustrate	the	analogous	anxieties	about	the	impact	of	the	emergence	of	technologyupon	our	own	literacy	and	ability	to	engage	with	texts.	She	concludes	by	arguing	that	the	act	of	writing	–	also	atechnology,	she	emphasises	–	changed	human	consciousness,	much	like	our	technological	devices	(60).In	the	next	two	chapters,	Borsuk	continues	to	engage	with	other	institutional	factors	that	have	redefined	the	book.The	printing	press	changed	production	values	and	separated	the	idea	of	the	book	from	the	object	(76):	that	is,	thechanging	anatomy	of	the	book,	whether	produced	through	high	craftsmanship	or	as	mass-market	titles,	is	anaesthetic	decision	that	represents	certain	values	of	particular	cultures	and	societies.	Borsuk	also	touches	uponissues	like	copyright	and	intellectual	property	in	the	second	chapter,	which	support	her	focus	on	the	profits	ofpublishers	(97-101).	Our	modern	understanding	of	copyright	did	not	exist	in	the	sixteenth	century,	but,	unsurprisingly,ideas	of	ownership	were	a	looming	question	among	competitive	publishers.	Any	‘rights’	were	centred	on	the	bookitself	and	belonged	to	the	printer.	Subsequently,	in	England	and	America,	these	legal	norms	shifted	to	protect	texts.Familiar	debates	like	public	domain	are	one	of	the	many	results	in	response	to	changes	in	publishing.	In	Chapter	Three,	Borsuk	explicitly	asserts	that	books	have	always	been	a	commodity	(112),	yet	explores	thepossibility	that	the	book	conceptualised	as	art	may	be	democratic.	In	the	1960s,	artists	began	to	produce	books	asartworks,	which	they	thought	would	be	more	accessible	to	all	audiences	and,	perhaps	more	importantly,	bridge	theso-called	high	and	low	cultures	(135).	The	book	may	not	just	be	an	object	filled	with	literary	prose,	but	can	bereimagined	as	portable	interactive	books	(the	author	lists	MadLibs	and	other	game-like	book	forms)	and	coffee-tablebooks.These	three	chapters	foreground	Borsuk’s	final	chapter,	‘the	book	as	interface’.	If	all	of	the	previous	case	studies	andthe	overall	historiography	of	the	book	serve	a	singular	purpose,	it	is	to	ask	us	to	consider	what	forms	of	interfacescame	before	e-readers	or	digital	books.	Borsuk	cites	audio	books	(205)	and	Vannevar	Bush’s	never-producedMemex	(209)	as	a	part	of	the	digital	imaginary,	which	now	includes	Google	Books	and	Amazon	as	majorstakeholders	in	the	creation	of	a	digital	instantiation	of	the	codex.	Here,	Borsuk	concludes	her	recurring	statement	–that	technology	or	digital	media	have	not	replaced	the	book	as	we	know	it.	That	is	too	much	of	a	simplistic	reduction;rather,	she	asks	us	to	consider	how	the	novel,	which	was	once	a	technology,	has	been	redefined	for	a	digital-oriented	culture.	And	it	will	only	continue	to	be	reimagined.LSE Review of Books: Book Review: The Book by Amaranth Borsuk Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-10-05Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2018/10/05/book-review-the-book-by-amaranth-borsuk/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/As	a	curious	reviewer,	I	am	tasked	to	ask	any	scholar	why	their	scholarship	focuses	on	material	culture	with	a	lesserfocus	on	the	bigger	questions	of	public	participation,	democracy	and	literacy,	themes	that	are	all	invoked	by	Borsukbut	never	explicitly	explored	in	ways	that	question	print	capitalism	and	related	inequalities.	The	Book	is	a	part	of	theMIT	Press	‘Essential	Knowledge’	series,	which,	according	to	the	foreword,	sets	out	to	offer	two	things:	a	criticalperspective	that	‘informs	a	principled	understanding	of	the	world’	where	‘facts’	and	opinions	are	too	abundant	andfashionable;	and	portable	books	that	are	concise	and	accessible.	Borsuk	does	try	to	re-evaluate	‘the	book’	in	ourcurrent	imagining	of	a	sociotechnological	society,	but	the	text	lacks	a	robust	political	discussion	of	why	books	havebeen	reformed	and	for	what	reasons.If	books	were	mediated	forces,	they	may	have	also	been	political	artefacts	that	continued	to	create	unjust	societies,much	like	Langdon	Winner	observed	in	‘Do	Artefacts	Have	Politics?’	Books,	like	roads,	highways	and	bridges,	havepolitical	qualities	in	them	as	their	creators	express	certain	normative	visions	for	their	users.	In	the	case	of	books,what	expectations	of	literacy	are	placed	on	their	readers?	And	are	these	expectations	shared	by	readers?	In	thiscase,	has	technology	made	a	more	democratic	society	where	books,	among	other	objects,	are	more	accessible?	Or,if	we	recall	the	ongoing	debates	about	the	future	of	books,	what	are	we	most	worried	about	when	we	read	that	thebook	may	become	obsolete?	By	documenting	the	physical	and	material	forms	of	the	book,	Borsuk	does	not	answerall	of	these	questions	but	invites	her	readers	to	consider	how	their	relationships	with	the	book	have	persisted	despitetechnological	change.Anna	Nguyen	is	a	PhD	student	in	the	Communication	Studies	department	at	Concordia	University.	Her	researchanalyses	discourses	of	innovation,	novelty	and	expertise	in	the	context	of	food	literature	and	scientific	food	reporting.Read	more	by	Anna	Nguyen.Note:	This	review	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	the	LSE	Review	of	Books	blog,	or	of	theLondon	School	of	Economics.	LSE Review of Books: Book Review: The Book by Amaranth Borsuk Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-10-05Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2018/10/05/book-review-the-book-by-amaranth-borsuk/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/

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Book review: the book by Amaranth Borsuk

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