In chapter one of Amaranth Borsuk’s “The Book”, she details the extensive history of the book as it spans across cultures and people. There is no clear origin to writing since so many cultures have adapted different ways on how to keep records and expressing language. As a result, there are many different variations of the same technology, where the main differences lie in the resources that were available in those regions. While I was reading, I was fascinated by the trial and error that went into these new technologies such as the papyrus scroll in Egypt. Borsuk notes that in order to make scrolls, the papyrus needed to be laid in a specific fashion in order to prevent warping and cracking. As scrolls morphed into bound volumes, there was even trial and error in ink placement and binding. If inked pages were bound side back to back, the ink bled and it became illegible. While it may seem trivial to us now, figuring out how to bind pages together or place ink, was a crucial aspect in the creation of the book. We have become so distant from the newness of a book that we do not seem to realize the rich history behind it. Within Borsuk’s chapter, she is clear to express that the book is a form of technology. It has gone through countless revisions in order to reach the product that we have now. And as a form of technology, it has altered the way that we see the world. 

In her final section of the chapter, “Reading and Writing’s Shifts”, Borsuk includes the evolution of language and academics. As the book slowly takes shape throughout the centuries, language, writing, and learning also changes. Borsuk writes, “As scholar Walter Ong points out in Orality and Literacy, his study of the ways writing technologies restructure consciousness, the written word enabled Greek scholars to transcribe and codify effective rhetorical strategies… Writing, in fact, allowed rhetoric to flourish.” In this quote it is clear how fundamental and powerful the book was and still is. It has the power to alter the way that we see the world and how we respond to it. It has opened countless discussions that allow us to express ourselves and communicate with others. Furthermore, Borsuk goes on to include how the written word has improved vocabulary since people no longer needed to mentally store their vocabulary. The book has furthered human learning, communication, and perception in a way that its crucial to how we have reached today’s society.