For those of you who grew up in the 1980's and 1990's, a book is a series of printed pages that are bound together by staples or glue and is the device that was used to educate the generations who came before you. It does not have a monitor and cannot be saved to a SIM card or text-messaged to a friend with an attachment. When the electricity goes out in a storm you can still use a book by candlelight and it does not have to be re-booted when the power comes back on.
In this modern world that we live in where children are more likely to play video games than read it is easy to be cynical about the status of books. The truth is that Amazon.com was the most profitable site on the internet last year proving that books are still being used as recreational and educational tolls throughout the world. International shipping of books is more frequent and profitable than it has ever been.
The Greeks, and later on the Romans, believed that putting everything in writing was important so that future generations would understand the ideas and the history of those who came before them. They were actually the first to employ international shipping for the transport of books to other nations. Alexander built huge libraries throughout the Middle East and Asia and the works that he imported through international shipping are some of the motivating forces in the spread of civilization and the concept of democracy.
The Romans took it a step further. The Mediterranean during Roman times was controlled by Roman galleys and international shipping was done to all parts of the empire. When Rome converted to Catholicism, the Bible became the first book to be carried by international shipping to all corners of the world. This once again brought new ideas and made the earth just a little bit smaller.
International shipping of books took on a whole new dimension in the 15th Century when Columbus discovered America. The wealth of written knowledge from the Old World needed to be transferred to the New World that was developing in the Americas. International shipping companies from Spain, Portugal and Great Britain competed for the right to service the new colonies and books were brought over in multiple languages to help create a new culture.
The 17th and 18th Century saw a new surge in the international shipping of religious books as missionaries began to carry their message to remote nations. The development of better and faster ships and new trade routes helped to expand the ideas of civilization through the written word. Famous play-writes and poets put their works on paper and international shipping companies began to bring Shakespeare, Chaucer and Dickens to the shores of every continent.
Today, books are transported by plane, boat, truck and train everywhere in the world. There are dozens of languages and hundreds of countries that benefit from the knowledge that has been written down in the printed pages bound by staples and glue. Occasionally, I even see my twelve year old pick one up. |
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