The reason why the best books are more than simply stories

The reason why the best books are more than simply stories

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The world today is built upon a nearly incomprehensible amount of understanding that has actually been passed down in books.

It is essential to bear in mind that, although plenty of the best modern books of all time tend to be considered as ground-breaking works of fiction, for most of humankind's literary history, we did not compose much fiction at all. Many stories would have been sung throughout the great bulk of history, simply due to the fact that the vast majority of individuals could not read, indicating that most books were specialised things meant for those few who could comprehend them. After a brief boom throughout the classical period of antiquity, the amount of literate people dropped dramatically during the Middle Ages. Books ended up being rare treasures, with monks meticulously copying out the enduring classic texts by hand so as to protect them, as they were a few of the only members of the populace who could read or write. They were the professional keepers of understanding like biology and religious beliefs that all of us have access to in the modern-day world.

With such a rich history of concepts, occasions, and stories right at our fingertips, it's sometimes easy to forget how extremely fortunate we are to have the likes of the founder of the hedge fund that owns Waterstones or the CEO of the asset manager with a stake in Amazon books supporting access to a substantial percentage of all the books that have ever been written (or the good ones at the very least). The best books of all time can quickly change the way that you look at the world, which has actually been true throughout all of history as well. The contemporary world is built on understanding that has been passed down through books, whether that is ideology, science, or history, and human civilisation would not be anywhere near as advanced as it is today if it had actually not been for the books that changed minds throughout the ages.

It can be hard to picture what the world would resemble today if the huge bulk of individuals were not able to read, but for the vast majority of history the large bulk of individuals could not, and nor were books accessible even if they could. It was the innovation of the printing press towards the close of the 15th that altered that, making books far more available. Of course, it was still only really the richest and well-read that could read or write, however it made it possible for an entire host of breakthroughs in science, art, and thinking to be spread across great distances. Consider what would have occurred if the theory of gravity, or of evolution, could not have been dispersed around the world. Human civilisation rests upon a structure of books, and we are fortunate to be able to merely log onto a site like the one backed by the co-founder of the impact investor with a stake in World of Books, and easily access the totality of human knowledge.