{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393353702?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"0393353702","authors":["Mark Kurlansky"],"book_id":"9780393353709","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780393353709","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780393353709.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","description":"From the New York Times best-selling author of Cod and Salt , a definitive history of paper and the astonishing ways it has shaped today’s world. Paper is one of the simplest and most essential pieces of human technology. For the past two millennia, the ability to produce it in ever more efficient ways has supported the proliferation of literacy, media, religion, education, commerce, and art; it has formed the foundation of civilizations, promoting revolutions and restoring stability. By tracing paper’s evolution from antiquity to the present, with an emphasis on the contributions made in Asia and the Middle East, Mark Kurlansky challenges common assumptions about technology’s influence, affirming that paper is here to stay. Paper will be the commodity history that guides us forward in the twenty-first century and illuminates our times.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780393353709","publication_date":"20170523","publisher":"WW Norton","slug":"paper","subtitle":"Paging Through History","title":"Paper"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"HIS037000","confidence_band":"high","label":"World History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}],"hint":[],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"HIS037000","confidence_band":"high","label":"World History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"World History","score":1,"slug":"world-history"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy World History","Good for fans of History","Good for readers who enjoy World History."],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["David Welky","Joel Richards","Audible Studios","& 0 more"],"book_id":"9780393354829","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780393354829.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":14.1754,"title":"A Wretched and Precarious Situation","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780393354829"},{"authors":["Paul Robert Walker","Simon Vance","William Morrow","& 0 more"],"book_id":"9780380807925","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780380807925.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":14.057,"title":"The Feud That Sparked the Renaissance","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780380807925"},{"authors":["J. M. Roberts","Odd Arne Westad"],"book_id":"9781846144431","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781846144431.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":13.2215,"title":"The Penguin History of the World","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781846144431"},{"authors":["Sidney W. Mintz"],"book_id":"9780140092332","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780140092332.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":12.4066,"title":"Sweetness and Power","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780140092332"},{"authors":["Tim Blanning","Timothy C.W. Blanning"],"book_id":"9780812980141","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780812980141.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":12.1788,"title":"The Romantic Revolution","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780812980141"},{"authors":["Tyler Anbinder"],"book_id":"9780544104655","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780544104655.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":12.1773,"title":"City of Dreams","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780544104655"},{"authors":["Geert Mak"],"book_id":"9780307280572","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780307280572.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":12.1525,"title":"In Europe","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780307280572"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:world history"],"label":"History","score":0.9238,"slug":"history"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:world history"],"label":"World","score":0.2022,"slug":"world"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:history teacher gifts"],"label":"Teacher","score":0.0532,"slug":"teacher"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:history buff gifts"],"label":"Buff","score":0.0434,"slug":"buff"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: History, Teacher, Buff.","Reading lane: World History.","Publisher: WW Norton."]},"llm_signals":null,"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":false,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":0,"goodreads_ratings_count":2996,"goodreads_reviews_count":470,"quality_score":0.9323}}