Writing, Publishing, and Reading Local Gazetteers: An Interview

In late imperial China, how did local elites connect with and influence the central government? How was local information made and managed? How did the state incorporate frontier areas into the empire? How were books produced and read, and by whom? In his new book, Joseph R. Dennis helps answer these questions and more by studying the genre of local gazetteers. Focusing on the Ming period, Writing, Publishing, … Continue reading Writing, Publishing, and Reading Local Gazetteers: An Interview

The Archaeology of Tibetan Books: An Interview

Agnieszka Helman-Wazny’s new book is a fascinating contribution to both book history and Tibetan studies, bringing these fields together through careful attention to the physicality of print and manuscript materials. The Archaeology of Tibetan Books (Brill, 2014) explores a wide range of printed works and manuscripts in Tibetan, focusing especially on the nearly 50 Tibetan manuscripts from the Dunhuang “Library Cave,” early printed editions of Tibetan Kanjurs, … Continue reading The Archaeology of Tibetan Books: An Interview

Visions of Science: An Interview

Jim Secord’s new book is both deeply enlightening and a pleasure to read. Visions of Science: Books and Readers at the Dawn of the Victorian Age (University of Chicago Press, 2014) is a fascinating exploration of books and their readers during a moment of intense transformation in British society. Secord brings us into a period of the nineteenth century when transformations in publishing and an expanded reading … Continue reading Visions of Science: An Interview

Graphesis: An Interview

Johanna Drucker’s marvelous new book gives us a language with which to talk about visual epistemology. Graphesis introduces the nature and function of information graphics, awakens readers to the visual interfaces prevalent in our daily work, and considers how paying careful attention to visual interpretation can serve a broader humanistic agenda. We had a chance to talk about it for the New Books Network Seminar, and you … Continue reading Graphesis: An Interview