Index, A History of the
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- Create Date：2022-02-15 01:19:36
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Dennis Duncan
- ISBN：B098TZ17NC
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Reviews
Annie
，
Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader。 Index， A History of the is a fun and accessible look at the genesis and philosophy behind the humble （or not so humble） index capably examined by Dr。 Dennis Duncan。 Due out 15th Feb 2022 from W。W。 Norton， it's 352 pages and will be available in hardcover， audio， and ebook formats （hardcover available now）。 It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout。 I've Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader。 Index， A History of the is a fun and accessible look at the genesis and philosophy behind the humble （or not so humble） index capably examined by Dr。 Dennis Duncan。 Due out 15th Feb 2022 from W。W。 Norton， it's 352 pages and will be available in hardcover， audio， and ebook formats （hardcover available now）。 It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout。 I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately。This could have been a dry-as-dust straight rendering of a sometimes-unsung bit of biblio-history。 It could have been a dull recitation of facts， and figures， and sources。 It's anything but。 There is a fair amount of history involved， but there's also a pervasive self-deprecating humour alongside the facts and figures。 There are places which are slyly winking at the foibles of innumerable bookish sorts throughout the past; we're invited to grin indulgently alongside academic quarrels hundreds of years old， their original combatants long passed， but their registered grievances laid open for our perusal。There's philosophy and thought aplenty， and， I confess， very much about which I'd never stopped to ponder。The book is full of extant examples of the genesis （of necessity and efficiency） of the humble index。 There are thoughts about what an index really -is- and why it has the form it has。 There's an interesting examination of atypical indexes （we're instructed that we should leave "indices" to the mathematicians and scientists） used as a narrative medium， and more。 In short， everything we could really ask to know about the index， Dr。 Duncan has anticipated and answered along with a fair bit I didn't even know that I wanted to know。 The book includes a number of illustrations as well as a cross referenced index （naturally） and full chapter notes and annotations。 The chapter notes are likely worth the price of admission for anyone interested in the subject。 I took notes during the read and harvested an impressive number of items which warranted further examination later。 It's a niche book but will definitely appeal to readers interested in information science and bibliophilia。 The author has clearly expended a prodigious amount of effort and he really does know his stuff。The audiobook version has a run time of 8 hours 9 minutes and is capably narrated by Neil Gardner。 Mr。 Gardner has an "everyman" sort of slightly Southeast London accent （to my ear） and wouldn't raise an eyebrow as a bricklayer or lorry driver。 I am sure that this was a completely intentional casting， and his voice brings a warmth and refreshingly accessible humour to the read。 It's nice to listen to his voice which is emphatically not "posh" in this instance。 That being said however， this is a VERY minutiae dense book。 There are pages and pages and pages of figures and page numbers。 It had to have been an absolutely daunting and gargantuan task to complete an audiobook version and it doesn't seem to have been a particularly practical exercise。 For example， in the introduction， the author relates an acrimonious exchange between two 19th century historians which takes place in the index of one of the combatant's books and elucidates （in excruciating detail） how their educated expert opinions differ from one another's。 The recitation takes the form of a long long list of specific examples with page numbers appended delineating the original author's opinion that his academic nemesis was a nincompoop。 Again， the narrator was really good， but just the listing of page numbers and acerbic observations took more than 15 minutes to read aloud。 Five stars。 This is well and deeply researched and engaging。 （But audiobook readers might want to bring some extra endurance to the read）。 Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes。 。。。more
Caitlin
，
Index， A History of the explores the evolution of the well known and referenced index that we currently find at the back of most nonfiction books。 Tracing the history from the Romans to Google， Duncan reveals how the tool has changed and the ways in which it's been valued （or not） through the ages。 I ended up picking this one up because I'm often curious about the history of some of the smaller things we sometimes take for granted and indexes （or indices， if you prefer）， certainly fall into that Index， A History of the explores the evolution of the well known and referenced index that we currently find at the back of most nonfiction books。 Tracing the history from the Romans to Google， Duncan reveals how the tool has changed and the ways in which it's been valued （or not） through the ages。 I ended up picking this one up because I'm often curious about the history of some of the smaller things we sometimes take for granted and indexes （or indices， if you prefer）， certainly fall into that category。 It was interesting to see the index traced back to the Library of Alexandria though little valued until much later in its history。 And it was amusing to see the 19th century writers use it as a tool not for research but for satire which brought attention to bad writing by political rivals。 But I didn't realize going in just how academic this particular approach would be。 I was expecting more of a popular history that sets the stage and the level of this is really more geared towards students of classics and literature。 The writing has a dry sense of humor but it's fairly dense and makes some assumptions about what the reader already knows and doesn't hold your hand。 Overall， I'd recommend this to anyone who's very curious about the history of literature and the index in particular but maybe not to those uninterested in a more academic text。 I enjoyed parts of it but it wasn't quite what I was expecting or in the style of what I prefer from my nonfiction。 。。。more
Antonio Gallo
，
Recensito sulla versione in lingua italiana
Elspeth
，
This book is a very detailed history of the Index。 I enjoyed the idea of hearing more about something that is so indispensable that we don't even think about。 In many cases the index can be more important than the table of contents in a book。 I know I use my favorite cookbook's index a lot。 Index， A History of The is a lot to slog through with images of early indexes （he even explains why it's "indexes" and not "indices"） and a lot of history。 I thought I would be more interested in this history This book is a very detailed history of the Index。 I enjoyed the idea of hearing more about something that is so indispensable that we don't even think about。 In many cases the index can be more important than the table of contents in a book。 I know I use my favorite cookbook's index a lot。 Index， A History of The is a lot to slog through with images of early indexes （he even explains why it's "indexes" and not "indices"） and a lot of history。 I thought I would be more interested in this history but it did get a bit mired in the details （which， yes， I know， is the reason for an index to begin with）。 That being said， anyone who read and enjoyed "A Place for Everything" by Judith Flanders。 would enjoy this book as well。I received a preview copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher and am giving an honest review。 。。。more
Jack Bates
，
Well researched， interesting book written with exactly the sort of informal， chatty tone you need for something slightly esoteric like this。 I've worked with indexers and always been fascinated by how they conjure something more useful than a mere list of， say， names in alpha order， and the story of how the index developed is properly fascinating。 If you like this sort of thing， you'll enjoy it！ Well researched， interesting book written with exactly the sort of informal， chatty tone you need for something slightly esoteric like this。 I've worked with indexers and always been fascinated by how they conjure something more useful than a mere list of， say， names in alpha order， and the story of how the index developed is properly fascinating。 If you like this sort of thing， you'll enjoy it！ 。。。more
Brenda
，
From the clever title to the brilliant photographs to the remarkably enthralling content， this superb book really shines！ Oh， how I enjoyed the wit， depth of research and information and sucked it up like a sponge。 Dennis Duncan has clearly meticulously explored the dustiest corners to detail history from parchment and papyrus to Google， not only of indexing but also page numbering， spine labeling， marginalia， pilcrow （my new favourite word which I used in conversation today！） and alphabetizing。 From the clever title to the brilliant photographs to the remarkably enthralling content， this superb book really shines！ Oh， how I enjoyed the wit， depth of research and information and sucked it up like a sponge。 Dennis Duncan has clearly meticulously explored the dustiest corners to detail history from parchment and papyrus to Google， not only of indexing but also page numbering， spine labeling， marginalia， pilcrow （my new favourite word which I used in conversation today！） and alphabetizing。 Indexing is more complex than I had expected and the knowledge I learned makes me feel smarter， akin to learning a new language。 Duncan details reasons for indexing， Pliny the Elder's table of contents， a special art exhibit in New York， brilliant alphabetical acrostics in Lamentations， Robert Cawdrey's first published English dictionary and Cicero's scroll labels。 Duncan writes about publishing， Langton chapters， Grosseteste's symbols （wow！）， the role of friars， the relatable Stendahl Syndrome， Henry Fielding's chapter breaks， John Lutton's painstaking diligence， Poole's life-changing work， Virginia Woolf's views of the matter， Sherlock Holmes' contributions， mass production and eReaders。 The photographs and illustrations enable the reader to envision so much of what he explains。 In addition to the above， the most fascinating and amusing descriptions to me include those of rival spats and jibes within indexes， mock indexes and even a non-apology for not including an index。 Well done。Those with an academic slant with interest in the written word and publishing as well as those who care about the origin of indexes really ought to read this。 My sincere thank you to W。 W。 Norton & Company and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this inspiring and mind blowing book。 The amount of information I learned delights me to no end！ 。。。more
Annie
，
Any scholar or librarian will tell you， once you start to accumulate information， you’re going to need a way to find the bit you need in the inevitable mountain of clay tablets， papyrus scrolls， parchment codexes， and all the other written and digital texts that followed。 Human memory is good， but its been centuries since it was possible to read everything。 So it’s no surprise to me and other nerds that indexes have been around since at least the beginning of the common era to help us find that Any scholar or librarian will tell you， once you start to accumulate information， you’re going to need a way to find the bit you need in the inevitable mountain of clay tablets， papyrus scrolls， parchment codexes， and all the other written and digital texts that followed。 Human memory is good， but its been centuries since it was possible to read everything。 So it’s no surprise to me and other nerds that indexes have been around since at least the beginning of the common era to help us find that one bit in that one book that we read that one time。 In Index， A History of the， by Dennis Duncan takes us on a journey through jotted notes， to the first indexes， to mock indexes， to the massive digital databases that run operations like Google。。。Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type。 I received a free copy of this book review from the publisher via NetGalley， for review consideration。 。。。more
Bruce Graham
，
A wonderfully digressive work showing how indexes guided both our minds and history。 Yes， it is academic， （it's about books）， yes it takes us places we didn't expect。 In other words， it does exactly what it was designed to do。 Highly recommended for book lovers。 A wonderfully digressive work showing how indexes guided both our minds and history。 Yes， it is academic， （it's about books）， yes it takes us places we didn't expect。 In other words， it does exactly what it was designed to do。 Highly recommended for book lovers。 。。。more
Lezley
，
Recommended by Goodreads
Glenn Fleishman
，
An exceptionally charming historical and analytical look at the lowly index， spanning thousands of years。 Duncan presents history in a lively fashion and anchors the index at the core of his anecdotes and historical re-tellings。 I’ve long been a fan of indexes and knew they had a significant history behind them， but it’s delightful to know the scope of that history， and how many decisions were made in the past that culminated in the modern form。 His book’s indexer， Paula Clarke Bain， offers prec An exceptionally charming historical and analytical look at the lowly index， spanning thousands of years。 Duncan presents history in a lively fashion and anchors the index at the core of his anecdotes and historical re-tellings。 I’ve long been a fan of indexes and knew they had a significant history behind them， but it’s delightful to know the scope of that history， and how many decisions were made in the past that culminated in the modern form。 His book’s indexer， Paula Clarke Bain， offers precision with wit in her work at the end。 。。。more
Elizabeth
，
I read this as an ARC from Netgalley。com。This is a charming book about the history of indexing， that is， the recording of what and where a topic is in a written work。 The troubles begin with figuring out how to do that！ Do you choose alphabetically？ If so， which alphabet？ How do you index poetry- by topic or first line？ Are they meant to be straitlaced， or editorialized， like the index wars of the 18th century？ Duncan takes us through the ages as authors and readers alike change how their indexe I read this as an ARC from Netgalley。com。This is a charming book about the history of indexing， that is， the recording of what and where a topic is in a written work。 The troubles begin with figuring out how to do that！ Do you choose alphabetically？ If so， which alphabet？ How do you index poetry- by topic or first line？ Are they meant to be straitlaced， or editorialized， like the index wars of the 18th century？ Duncan takes us through the ages as authors and readers alike change how their indexes are formatted to suit the needs of their time。 I'd recommend this for anyone interested in the history of literature， linguistics， or cultural history。 。。。more
Bea
，
This book is fantastic！ I absolutely loved the level of interest and passion Dennis Duncan had and the book is witty and interesting as it takes you on a tour of historical events and literary history as you question why we categorise things the way we do。 His writing style is beautiful and funny and you will love his chapter where he compares fighting in indexes to boxing matches and weaves each tale with a separate contextual intermission before knitting them together at the end （as just an ex This book is fantastic！ I absolutely loved the level of interest and passion Dennis Duncan had and the book is witty and interesting as it takes you on a tour of historical events and literary history as you question why we categorise things the way we do。 His writing style is beautiful and funny and you will love his chapter where he compares fighting in indexes to boxing matches and weaves each tale with a separate contextual intermission before knitting them together at the end （as just an example， I'm afraid to spoil too much）。 I read this book in about 2 days because I couldn't put it down！ The book also deserves credits for being the first time I ever read an index （rather than scanning for something I need） and the index is worthy of a book on indexing。 Paula the indexer perfectly creates an index that functions as a guide to the book whilst still containing inside jokes that made me laugh and remind me what I enjoyed in this book in the first place。 Frankly the level of research and scholarship on Duncan's part is highly commendable and this book has absolutely changed how I now engage with literature and plan to look at indexes。 。。。more
Delson Roche
，
I picked the book， because the topic trully piqued my interest。 The book details the evolution of index and every thing associated with indexes from the times of papyrus to present day。 Well， I personally found the book a bit literature heavy and most of the books and authors were quite unfamiliar to me- so time and again， I lost my flow。 Perhaps those into literature may enjoy it much more。 The book is interspersed with humour， some subtle， some not so apparent。 Nevertheless， I learnt a lot and I picked the book， because the topic trully piqued my interest。 The book details the evolution of index and every thing associated with indexes from the times of papyrus to present day。 Well， I personally found the book a bit literature heavy and most of the books and authors were quite unfamiliar to me- so time and again， I lost my flow。 Perhaps those into literature may enjoy it much more。 The book is interspersed with humour， some subtle， some not so apparent。 Nevertheless， I learnt a lot and it made my reading worthwhile。 。。。more
Manda Nicole
，
This is a book about how information technology can be beautiful， and Duncan does not shy away from his admiration of those who invented the Index on the fly。。 He grudgingly accepts Tables Of Contents as a kind of index， but will also show how tawdry they can be too。 Dennis Duncan knows Indexes， he has studied them and will continue to study them。 And this book， despite its flippant fun title， gets the non-fiction balance just right。 There is scholarship galore here， from Greek letters to a romp This is a book about how information technology can be beautiful， and Duncan does not shy away from his admiration of those who invented the Index on the fly。。 He grudgingly accepts Tables Of Contents as a kind of index， but will also show how tawdry they can be too。 Dennis Duncan knows Indexes， he has studied them and will continue to study them。 And this book， despite its flippant fun title， gets the non-fiction balance just right。 There is scholarship galore here， from Greek letters to a romp through indexes of the bible， all the way up to the death and rebirth of the index Duncan's deep love of the subject shines brightly and definitely contributed to the perfection of the design of this book。 I admit， I am certainly the target audience for this book so I may be a bit biased but I was overjoyed by every turn of every page of this book。Thank you so much to netgalley and Dennis Duncan for providing an e-copy for me to experience and share my honest opinion。 I will be geeking out over this book for the foreseeable future！ 。。。more
Eva
，
I picked this up wondering what on earth the author could have to say about indexes that would reasonably fill 350 pages， ended up feeling that he barely scratched the surface and I need more books like this one immediately。
Alisha
，
As a bookworm， I was hoping I'd find a fascinating history here of a much-used， totally taken for granted feature of non-fiction books: the humble index。 I love indexes！ Sadly， this book was rather dry， with the exception of the occasional anecdote about how someone used their index to take a dig at someone else。Thanks to NetGalley and W。W。 Norton & Company for the digital review copy。 As a bookworm， I was hoping I'd find a fascinating history here of a much-used， totally taken for granted feature of non-fiction books: the humble index。 I love indexes！ Sadly， this book was rather dry， with the exception of the occasional anecdote about how someone used their index to take a dig at someone else。Thanks to NetGalley and W。W。 Norton & Company for the digital review copy。 。。。more
Benj
，
A joy。 A good solid history， interspersed with amusing （but highly appropriate） anecdotes。 I particularly liked the appendix giving a computer-generated index， immediately followed by the real index， which was human-generated， and much better。
Marika
，
This was more of an academic read than I was expecting but even so it is a good read。 Readers follow along as the index came into fashion and then became a must-have for many books。 This is a history of how humans tend to categorize objects， even words， so that we can absorb them more easily。 I took an indexing class in library school and loved it。 Now I know why。。。it just made sense to me。* I read an advance copy and was not compensated。
Cecile
，
Index is a well researched book on a subject we might not think as being thrilling。 This is a book for academics， researchers， every avid reader who has spent hours going through indexes in search of something that could help their work。 I received a copy of the book by NetGalley but the opinions in this review are my own。
Taylor
，
A sister book to A Place For Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order。 Sometimes pedantic， sometimes deeply insightful， unfortunately Eurocentric。I received a copy of this book from Netgalley。 A sister book to A Place For Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order。 Sometimes pedantic， sometimes deeply insightful， unfortunately Eurocentric。I received a copy of this book from Netgalley。 。。。more
Suroor
，
Thoroughly enjoyable。 Who knew a history of the index could be so entertaining？
Paul
，
Ever had that moment when you remember reading something in a book and can’t remember what page it was on？ I do frequently， especially when I am trying to find a quote for a review and when it is a fiction book I can sometimes not find what I am looking for at all。 With non-fiction， I often stand a better chance as there is a tool I can use at the back of the book called the index。It is the part of the book that people rarely venture too and I don’t always look at them， but there are points when Ever had that moment when you remember reading something in a book and can’t remember what page it was on？ I do frequently， especially when I am trying to find a quote for a review and when it is a fiction book I can sometimes not find what I am looking for at all。 With non-fiction， I often stand a better chance as there is a tool I can use at the back of the book called the index。It is the part of the book that people rarely venture too and I don’t always look at them， but there are points when trying to find a particular reference that is invaluable。 But they need one other thing to work properly and that is page numbering。 An index that can tell you what is in a book， but can’t tell you where to find it is not a lot of use…He begins with just how we order things and the origins of the alphabet and how a man called Callimachus organised the 40，00 or so scrolls of Ptolemy II。 Cicero the great Roman stateman also had an extensive library and he solved the problem of finding the scroll he needed by tags tied to the end of the scrolls。 And it was these tags that gave us the word， index。By the middle ages， the people that needed to find various references in books were the church and the codex， or the book format as we are familiar with nowadays had long been available。 The two things that bring them together were the teaching and preaching of the age。 Various religious men began to develop methods of finding scriptural references that they needed for sermons and the techniques caught on and were taken and developed by others。The addition of page numbers would be a big help， but an index that referred to page numbers was not always accurate when dealing with handwritten books。 A different scribe that had a larger script， could be producing a book that was several pages longer than the original。 Ironically we have come full circle now as an e-reader can increase or decrease the font size making the page referencing nonsense…He expands further on the way that these systems developed and ventures into the foolhardy attempts to try to index fiction。 There is a section on searching the web， when you look for something on Google， you are not searching the web， rather you are looking at their index of pages and references that their bots have extracted， filtered and sorted。It is not a bad book overall， but I did have the odd issue with it。 I liked the way that he goes right back to find the very origins of the index and that the book is peppered with images from books and other sources as well as being crammed full of references and quotes。 I liked that he had used a computer-generated index and a human-created index so you can see the differences between the two and make your own judgement about which s the best。 This must be one of the few books with two indexes。 However， I thought that the prose was a little dry and academic at times and thought that the narrative was not as strong as it could have been。 Definitely one for the book geek。 。。。more
Verity W
，
****Copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review*****So， this sort of does what it says on the tin: it’s a history of the humble index。 They’re in every reference book， but if you’re my age or younger， you’ve had the safety net of the computer search since you were old enough to be starting on serious research。 But before Google and before the computer library catalogue， the index was the key to research and learning。 Dennis Duncan’s book examines how the index came into being， how it has ****Copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review*****So， this sort of does what it says on the tin: it’s a history of the humble index。 They’re in every reference book， but if you’re my age or younger， you’ve had the safety net of the computer search since you were old enough to be starting on serious research。 But before Google and before the computer library catalogue， the index was the key to research and learning。 Dennis Duncan’s book examines how the index came into being， how it has evolved through history and how it’s use has evolved too。 I’m not sure I’d ever given much thought to how indexes started， or even what people did about an index before the printing press， but now I know all the answers！ And it’s fascinating to see that the same sort of arguments that are made about computer search diminishing people’s knowledge were made about the index when it first appeared – if you don’t have to read the whole book， how can you possibly be getting the full benefit of the book？ This would make a great gift for the book worm or history fan in your life this Christmas as well。 。。。more
Rodney Jones
，
Nearly 60 years ago， I was part of an A' Level English group， being addressed by the head of the English department on the importance of libraries。 Although I have no recollection of what he had to say about libraries， I have always remembered his insistence that if we ever picked up a non-fiction book with an eye to buying it， first turn to the back and look for an index - no index， no purchase。Most of us take the index so much for granted， that we only notice it on the rare occasion that it is Nearly 60 years ago， I was part of an A' Level English group， being addressed by the head of the English department on the importance of libraries。 Although I have no recollection of what he had to say about libraries， I have always remembered his insistence that if we ever picked up a non-fiction book with an eye to buying it， first turn to the back and look for an index - no index， no purchase。Most of us take the index so much for granted， that we only notice it on the rare occasion that it is missing; and although we are accomplished users of the index， we do not， perhaps， give a second thought to its construction and in the case of Dennis Duncan's book， its history。Like most （hopefully all） followers of 'goodreads'， I am an avid reader of books - at least one a week - but only occasionally do I come across a 5-star book。 Undoubtedly， "Index， A History of the" is that rare find。 The story that the author tells is fascinating， illuminating， amusing。。。 A truly riveting read。 I thoroughly recommend this book without reservation。 。。。more
Mandy
，
I have to admit that I’ve never given indexes much thought – they are just there， essential， invaluable but taken for granted。 But I won’t be taking them for granted any more after reading this entertaining， eminently readable， informative and sometimes surprising history of the index in all its manifestations from its inception to today’s digital indexing。 It’s a serious， scholarly and meticulously researched account but one leavened with many fascinating anecdotes to counteract some of the mor I have to admit that I’ve never given indexes much thought – they are just there， essential， invaluable but taken for granted。 But I won’t be taking them for granted any more after reading this entertaining， eminently readable， informative and sometimes surprising history of the index in all its manifestations from its inception to today’s digital indexing。 It’s a serious， scholarly and meticulously researched account but one leavened with many fascinating anecdotes to counteract some of the more academic sections， and I thoroughly enjoyed it。 A must read for all bibliophiles。 。。。more
Ford Davey
，
Very interesting and informative。 The inded is a treat in itself - I've never laughed out loud reading an index before！ Very interesting and informative。 The inded is a treat in itself - I've never laughed out loud reading an index before！ 。。。more
Kat
，
An Index， something most of us have used hundreds of times but have we never think about。 Nearly every time I bake I use the index to find the recipe。 My history degree would have been a nightmare if my refrence books didn't have indexes。 The number of times I picked up a book inches think only to find half a dozen relevant pages， just imagine having to read the entire thing just for them *shudders*。In the book Duncan explores history through the invention of the index。 We see why it was created An Index， something most of us have used hundreds of times but have we never think about。 Nearly every time I bake I use the index to find the recipe。 My history degree would have been a nightmare if my refrence books didn't have indexes。 The number of times I picked up a book inches think only to find half a dozen relevant pages， just imagine having to read the entire thing just for them *shudders*。In the book Duncan explores history through the invention of the index。 We see why it was created， how it was used and how its changed over time。 Brought up to date with the incision of search engines and hashtags， which most of us would never relate to indexes this book makes you learn and think。 Full of fascinating information this book doesn't just tell us about books but the society and culture that formed them。Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Peter Baran
，
There is a kind of quirky non-fiction book where an interested amateur scrapes the surface of a seemingly trivial topic and gets a minor amount of material and a few half decent jokes in。 This is not that kind of book， not least because the jokes here are good。 Dennis Duncan knows Indexes， he has studied them and will continue to study them。 And this book， despite its flippant fun title， gets the non-fiction balance just right。 There is scholarship galore here， from Greek letters to a romp throu There is a kind of quirky non-fiction book where an interested amateur scrapes the surface of a seemingly trivial topic and gets a minor amount of material and a few half decent jokes in。 This is not that kind of book， not least because the jokes here are good。 Dennis Duncan knows Indexes， he has studied them and will continue to study them。 And this book， despite its flippant fun title， gets the non-fiction balance just right。 There is scholarship galore here， from Greek letters to a romp through indexes of the bible， all the way up to the death and rebirth of the index （something he takes with a sanguine air even though I read it on an e-book which at that point had no index）。This is a book about how information technology can be beautiful， and Duncan does not shy away from his admiration of those who invented the Index on the fly。 He is a little more jaunty about about those who indexed ever single word in the Bible， and delights in finding the politics and backbiting jibes hidden or sometimes in plain sight in indexes。 He grudgingly accepts Tables Of Contents as a kind of index， but will also show how tawdry they can be too。 What comes across most strongly is his delight in this being his unfettered field of study， and how he enjoys sharing it。 So the book has a perfect structure， as it rattles through history （whilst taking appropriate diversions）， but also he has a way of pepping up what might otherwise be a dry anecdote （bearing in mind that literary index jokes are pretty much the dictionary definition of dry anecdote）。"Index， A History of the" is one of the few non-fiction reads I have had over the last couple of years that I could have read more of。 It doesn't appear to miss much out but I can just tell with the mastery of the subject that Duncan had to leave plenty on the cutting room floor - not least international indexes （and maybe he could do a double act with The Chinese Typewriter and consider indexes in non-alphabetic languages）。 For something that almost appears to be a joke subject， he justifies his interest almost instantly and then drags the reader in to。 A book of the year for me， 。。。more
Amanda Giles
，
I love an index。 I love a glossary。 As a former school librarian， this book took me to my happy place。 It offers a fascinating history of life between the folios。 A potentially dry subject made interesting with surprising information and facts about the importance of these pernickety lists。
Margaret
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This book is not just about the history of the index， but also about the history of reading and the evolution of the book from the scrolls， manuscripts and the codex before the the invention of printing – how they were produced and used。 I was interested in reading it as I’m an ex-librarian and cataloguer， later an assistant in a county record office where a large part of my job involved indexing。 If you think like me that an index is an indispensable part of a non fiction book then you’ll enjoy This book is not just about the history of the index， but also about the history of reading and the evolution of the book from the scrolls， manuscripts and the codex before the the invention of printing – how they were produced and used。 I was interested in reading it as I’m an ex-librarian and cataloguer， later an assistant in a county record office where a large part of my job involved indexing。 If you think like me that an index is an indispensable part of a non fiction book then you’ll enjoy this book， which is both informative and entertaining。 And I often wish fiction books were indexed too – one of the advantages of an e-book is that you can search the text， even better if it has the X-Ray feature。It explains the difference between the index and the table of contents， goes into the evolution of page numbers and the problems of alphabetisation。 This is not a dry， factual account it is written with humour and insights into the past， using examples from historical texts， and from indexes complied as satirical attacks on their authors。 I never knew indexes had been used as weapons！ Nor did I know that some works of fiction had been indexed in the past – full details in Chapter 6 ‘Indexing Fictions: Naming was Always a Difficult Art’， quoting from Lewis Carroll’s works。 Carroll was fascinated with indexes， leaning particularly towards the whimsical， using his logician’s wit。Neither is it stuck in the far distant past， Duncan brings it up to date in the digital age and the ubiquity of the search engine with the rise of anxiety that this is changing our brains， shortening our attention spans and eroding our capacity for memory。 But this， Duncan explains is nothing new as the history of the index shows that there have always been fears that nobody will read properly any more when they could just use an index to replace the ways of close reading。 The ways we read have changed over the generations。The Index， a History of the is simply fascinating。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Index, A History of the
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Index, A History of the&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft