This book features a selection of essays from the early days of the book to current times when some claim the book could become an endangered species. Each writer relates a lifelong relationship with the book as a friend, source of inspiration, educational tool, an object to collect or give as a gift, or as a philosophical ally in one's darkest days. Among the writers included: Colette, Franklin, Petrarch, Poe, Lamb, Douglass, Thoreau, Hazlitt, Fuller, Gissing, Eliot, as well as contemporary authors. Printed on 80 lb. Cream White Mohawk Vellum in 12 Bookman type, with a letterpress cover printed on an antique press.