In her incredibly fascinating narrative, Oxford professor and Shakespeare specialist Emma Smith talks about the history of books, centuries-old and amazingly interesting, focusing not on the usual image of “archives of wisdom and knowledge”, but on the material forms in which books were presented, and how different purposes they sometimes had to serve. By presenting a fascinating and radically new history of the book in the hands of man, the author seeks answers to the questions of when and how it acquired power over us. Talking about the enormous role that books have played in people's lives for a millennium, Smith makes the amazing discovery that the characteristic and very powerful magic of books is created not only by content, but also by form. From the Diamond Sutra to a book made from cellophane-wrapped slices of cheese, this complex artistic object has for centuries embraced and expanded the relationships between readers, countries, ideologies and cultures, and has done so in a powerful and unpredictable way. “Every book promises transformation for the reader.” . The expectation of change is part of an invisible contract between books and their readers. In this sense, all books are books about how to help yourself. If we have no pleasure or connection with a book, then we are stubbornly avoiding the duties that we must fulfill under our contract with it.” (Emma Smith)