---Reviewed by John D. Haley, B.A., M.A., M.A.
 
 

When I was in college, I once read an advertisement (from the Coalition for Literacy) in which it was suggested that, by the year 2000, two out of three Americans would be functionally illiterate. I'm not sure if this prediction has come true, but I do know that today there are many people in our country who cannot read and many more who fail to appreciate the value of literacy. It therefore seems fitting that my first review should be of a book which clearly illustrates that value--Alberto Manguel's A History of Reading (New York: Viking, 1996).

Manguel begins his history with the observation that, essentially, reading is nothing more than a process of deciphering and interpreting signs. According to this definition, then, there are actually several different forms of reading. A blind person, for example, "reads" braille. By the same token, a deaf person "reads" sign language. Musicians "read" musical notation. Travelers "read" maps. Fortune tellers "read" palms, tarot cards, and crystal balls, and, during conversation, people often "read" each other's faces. In that sense, even an illiterate society is one that reads, and the act of reading itself is almost as basic to human nature as breathing.

Yet, as Manguel also notes, there are many factors which influence the reading of a written text. For instance, in the West, a text (like this review) is usually written and read from left to right. Elsewhere, however, some written languages (Hebrew and Arabic) are read from right to left, while others (Chinese and Japanese) are read from top to bottom. Furthermore, not all forms of writing involve the use of an alphabet. The ancient Egyptians, for example, used hieroglyphics, an iconographic or picture-form of writing. Other ancient texts were also written without the later conventions of capitalization, word spacing, or punctuation. Finally, until the appearance of the codex or book (during the late Roman Republic), texts were inscribed on either wet clay tablets or scrolls made from a reed plant called papyrus. Undoubtedly, these stylistic features would affect a reader's perception of a written work, but there are other aspects of reading which may have an even greater impact.

Because written words were originally meant to be pronounced out loud (again, the earliest forms of writing used small pictures to represent phonetic sounds), and because, in antiquity, many people were illiterate, most literary works were read aloud in public. The act of reading was therefore a shared experience or a communal event. Indeed, before the tenth century, silent reading was generally regarded as an unusual, a depraved, or even a socially-threatening activity. Then, with the gradual spread of literacy, this view began to change.

It also seems likely that, as people came to appreciate the pleasures of private reading, the text (and especially the book) acquired a new status in society. Medieval scribes devoted tremendous amounts of time and energy to illuminating their texts with splendid images, and these images certainly enhanced the reader's pleasure. Moreover, one must remember that, during the Middle Ages, texts were written on parchment or specially-prepared animal skins. This, along with the fact that all texts had to be copied by hand, ensured that books would be extremely rare and expensive. In medieval libraries, for instance, books were literally chained to the shelves.

The turning point came in the mid-fifteenth century (1453-55) with Johann Gutenberg and his printing press. Most historians would agree that this was one of the three seminal inventions of the Renaissance (the other two were the magnetic compass and gunpowder), for it unleashed a chain of events that still affects us today. For the first time, printed manuscripts became readily available to a reading audience. This in turn led to a gradual increase in the rate of literacy and, with it, the widespread transmission of ideas and knowledge. In fact, one can even make a compelling argument that the invention of the printing press ultimately led to the democratization of Western society.

Today, people have more access to reading material than they have at any time in the past. According to Manguel, in 1995, the Library of Congress added 359,437 new volumes to its impressive collection (not counting magazines and pamphlets). Yet, books still have a certain, intrinsic value. Talk show hosts sometimes display books on their sets to lend an air of sophistication to their programs. Some companies market fancy, leather-bound and gold-trimmed "classics" which are obviously meant to be little more than ornaments to a room or office. And even now, some readers are taunted by others who still mock them as "schoolboys" ("schoolgirls") or "nerds" -- perhaps an indication that these people secretly suspect that the reader has access to an exclusive world, a world which, in some respects, may be better than our own.

For those who may be interested, Mr. Haley also recommends the following works: