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Galston Daniel Henninger Holman W. Jenkins Andy Kessler William McGurn Walter Russell Mead Peggy Noonan Mary Anastasia O'Grady Jason Riley Joseph Sternberg Kimberley A. Strassel Allysia Finley More Editorials Commentary Future View Houses of Worship Cross Country Letters to the Editor The Weekend Interview Potomac Watch Podcast Foreign Edition Podcast Free Expression Podcast Opinion Video Notable & Quotable * Books & Arts Reviews Film Television Theater Masterpiece Series Music Dance Opera Exhibition Cultural Commentary Art Sections Arts Books More WSJ Puzzles Life Video Arts Video What To Watch * Real Estate Sections Commercial Real Estate More Real Estate Video * Life & Work Sections Cars Careers Food & Drink Home & Design Ideas Personal Finance Recipes Travel Wellness Columns Your Health Work & Life Carry On Bonds Turning Points On Wine On The Clock More WSJ Puzzles Space & Science * Style Sections Lifestyle Fashion Film Television Music Art & Auctions Columns My Monday Morning Off Brand On Trend * Sports Sections MLB NBA NFL Golf Tennis Soccer Columns Jason Gay Search BEST OFBooks & Arts in Review The 10 Best Books of 2022What to Watch from NovemberThe Best Books of November'Violent Night' Review: Santa's Merry MassacreHoliday Books 2022'Agatha Christie's Hjerson' Review This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/ the-oxford-illustrated-history-of-the-book-review-our-back-pages-11671809077 * Books & Arts * Books * Bookshelf 'The Oxford Illustrated History of the Book' Review: Our Back Pages By the late 1600s, readers awash in print titles turned to a new type of aid: book-review journals. imageAn illuminated page from 'Dialogues' (ca. 1409-10) by Pierre Salmon.Photo: Bibliotheque nationale de France By Jonathan Rose Dec. 23, 2022 10:24 am ET print Listen to article (2 minutes) What is a book, anyway? If you have ever read a novel on your smartphone, you can't help but ponder that question. In the 1990s, when "the history of the book" was taking off as an academic field, the scholars involved couldn't quite decide which objects they were supposed to study. I once dined with an eminent professor who, overtaken by epistemological panic, waved his menu in front of me and demanded to know "Is this a book?!" I couldn't see why not. It was a gathering of printed pages, it conveyed information to readers, and it revealed something significant about the society that produced it. Clearly it was worth studying. [wsj-logo-b] Continue reading your article with a WSJ membership View Membership Options Already a member? 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All Rights Reserved. Copyright (c)2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.