The Case for Books: Past, Present, and Future

(PublicAffairs) In The Case for Books , Darnton offers a history of our literary past and a look at the disruptive forces shaping the future of publishing. This collection of previously published essays examines topics ranging from the role of libraries to metadata, the print traditions of Europe, piracy, Darnton’s own explorations of digital initiatives, and the efficacy and beauty of the changing literary landscape over the course of centuries. Darnton is the Shelby Cullom Davis ’30 Professor of European History, Emeritus, at Princeton University.

Paw in print

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An inside look up the inside of a building, with four floors and a dinosaur skeleton visible.
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April 2026

Inside the new ES and SEAS complex; kudos for austerity; jazz at Princeton.