THE PHARAOH’S TREASURE

AN EXAMINATION OF PAPER’S ROLE IN THE HISTORY OF CIVILISATION

Author John Gaudet Publisher Amberley Publishing Price £16.99

In The Pharaoh’s Treasure: The Origins Of Paper And The Rise Of Western Civilization, John Gaudet sets out to examine the history of human communication. More specifically, he recreates a world thousands of years ago in which rock paintings and carved tablets gradually give way to papyrus paper, a medium that revolutionised communication.

Gaudet provides a history of papyrus and its successors, from its earliest days and uses to modern paper production and beyond, that to a world in which electronic communication is becoming more and more prevalent. It is a story that travels the world and the millennia, witnessing the rise and fall of empires, the benefits and pitfalls of technological advancements and brings to life the march of progress that eventually ended the dominance of papyrus.

Yet this isn’t simply a history of a medium, but of the world itself. Gaudet has a clear and engaging understanding of the intrinsic links between communication and the march of civilisation, and ably demonstrates how something so ubiquitous as paper played its part in the world we know today. He brings the ancient world vividly back to life, and it’s a real pleasure to learn about not only how ancient documents were created, but how they were preserved and cared for too.

The Pharaoh’s Treasure is an entertaining read and Gaudet’s enthusiasm for his subject is infectious. He turns a topic that might have proved rather dry into a tale of adventure and achievement, filled with irresistible asides.