In this groundbreaking book, Martin Puchner leads readers on a remarkable journey through time and around the globe to reveal the powerful role stories and literature have played in creating the world we have today.

Throughout The Written World, Puchner’s delightful narrative also chronicles the inventions — writing technologies, the printing press, the book itself — that have shaped religion, politics, commerce, people, and history. 

“It’s with exhilaration ... that one hails Puchner’s book, which asserts not merely the importance of literature but its all-importance ... Storytelling is as human as breathing,” said the New York Times Book Review.

A review published in penguinrandomhouse.com said: “The book builds a convincing case that writing technologies are more foundational in major historical moments than we may have otherwise thought.”

Another review added: “In this timely chronicle, Puchner, tells the story both of the ideas that shaped civilization and the equally crucial technology that transmitted and preserved those ideas … By providing snapshots of key moments in the written word’s evolution, Puchner creates a gripping intellectual odyssey.”