Ideas How the invention of the book shaped humanity
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Dec 30, 2025 
Irene Vallejo, a Spanish historian and author of "Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World," shares her passion for books as humanity's greatest invention. She discusses the transformative role of writing in preserving memory and shaping culture. Vallejo reveals how the Library of Alexandria aimed to collect all knowledge, often through violent means. She also examines the evolution of reading from public aloud sessions to silent introspection, and how censorship can ironically elevate forbidden works. Ultimately, she emphasizes the enduring power of books in safeguarding democracy and critical thought.
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Books As Memory Machines
- Books extend memory across generations and protect ideas from oblivion.
- Irene Vallejo calls books humanity's victory against silence, destruction, and forgetting.
A Childhood Surrounded By Books
- Irene Vallejo recalls a childhood home filled with books in every corner.
- She remembers pages as tiny black insects and felt books contained a kind of magic.
Papyrus Revolutionized Text Storage
- Papyrus scrolls made texts light, portable, and able to store large works compactly.
- This organic format allowed entire plays or dialogues to fit on a single roll, transforming preservation and access.
