College and Research Libraries


sification, administration, book production, 

and bookselling" throughout the whole an-

cient period; t w o pages contain a glossary 

of L a t i n w o r d s ; and twenty pages, in fine 

print, are devoted to notes and bibliogra-

phies. W i t h such a distribution of ma-

terials it is difficult to understand for w h a t 

kind of readers the book is intended; on 

the one side it is over-journalistic, on the 

other it is over-erudite. O n e must suspect 

that P r o f . T h o m p s o n has combined lec-

tures delivered to amateur book clubs 

w i t h selections from his o w n research 

notes. 

In neither respect is the book w h o l l y 

satisfactory as a contribution to the his-

torical literature of librarianship. F o r 

Egyptian and Mesopotamian libraries the 

treatment is inadequate and sometimes in-

accurate. In the discussion of G r e e k li-

braries the Hellenic and the Hellenistic 

civilizations are not clearly defined. T h e 

section on Roman libraries, like that on 

technical matters, is in large part a repe-

tition of corresponding sections in his 

Medieval Libraries. F i n a l l y and most un-
fortunately the bibliographies lack critical 

annotations. 

Y e t in spite of these imperfections this 

book should be acquired by every historical 

library. In this field, as always, P r o f . 

T h o m p s o n makes comparisons, throws off 

suggestions, and opens perspectives which 

w i l l illuminate more laborious and better 

documented treatises on the same subject, 

compiled by precise but less talented men. 

—Pierce Butler, Graduate Library School, 
University of Chicago. 

Wings for Words; The Story of Johann 
Gutenberg and His Invention of Print-
ing. D o u g l a s  C . M c M u r t r i e . Rand 
M c N a l l y , 1940. $2. 

PERHAPS none of the writers w h o have 

contributed to the literature of the past 

year on the invention of printing has set 

himself a more difficult task than M r . 

M c M u r t r i e in this book, which purports 

to be the story of Johann G u t e n b e r g and 

the conditions under which printing from 

moveable type was invented and developed 

in the W e s t e r n w o r l d . T h e format and 

treatment are evidently intended to inter-

est adolescent readers. 

M r . M c M u r t r i e has wisely seen that 

the scanty data available on the life of 

G u t e n b e r g and the progress of his inven-

tion are far from the kind of thrill one 

receives from a western or a mystery 

story. If he has ignored some of the pos-

sibilities for sensation afforded by the 

disturbed period of which the w o r k treats, 

he has added greatly to the value of his 

book by sticking closely to authentic 

sources and has confined the fictional addi-

tions to details which add interest but in 

no w a y affect the historical integrity of 

the story. 

T w o or three adults w h o have read it 

report it interesting and informative. T h e 

appendix on the mechanics of early print-

ing and the list of important dates in 

printing are intended for adults and give 

the book reference value in many adult 

departments. T h e illustrations are really 

an aid to a fuller understanding of the 

text. 

T h e book is not a substitute for M r . 

M c M u r t r i e ' s more technical researches, 

nor is it intended to be. T h e r e is a large 

number of persons, even among college 

students, w h o know little about the be-

ginnings of printing or the conditions 

under which the process was developed. 

F o r these the book w i l l be an accurate and 

interesting source of i n f o r m a t i o n . — F r a n k 
K. Walter, University of Minnesota Li-
brary. 

258 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES