Hundreds of quotations by authors throughout the centuries about the glory of the bound book. The book industry is changing at digital speed. This compendium of more than three hundred quotations reminds us that centuries of treasured tradition are threatened by our current obsessions with e-books and other gadgets. "A room without books is a body without a soul."--Cicero "If you go into a room filled with books, even without taking them down from their shelves, they seem to speak to you, to welcome you."--William Gladstone "If you cannot read all your books, at any rate handle, or as it were, fondle them. Let them be your friends."--Winston Churchill "There's something special about people who are interested in the printed word.

They are a species all their own-learned, kind, knowledgeable, and human."--Nathan Pine, bookseller "Books deserve more than digital gas."--Bill Henderson, from the introduction.