The Death of a Bookworm: A Long-Winded Eulogy

Prognosticating about the future of the book is somewhat akin to taping a "kick me" sign onto one's own back; it's an open invitation to be ridiculed and abused. Google surfaces dozens of Web ("click-bait") and magazine articles that recount the worst/dumbest/most shortsighted predictions of all time. Before wading into the uncertain waters swirling about this question of the fate of books, it should be noted that nothing clouds the vision of a so-called expert like an emotional or fiduciary interest in a particular outcome. Having acknowledged some trepidation about predicting the trajectory of books going forward, the author will warm to the task by committing some column inches to a recapitulation of the book's centrality over centuries past. Consider how a 17th-century genius like Isaac Newton, working, as he was in Cambridge England, might make a connection with contemporary scholars like G. W. Leibniz in Germany or Blaise Pascal in France.