Part 1: The page. A clean sheet : the invention of papyrus ; Hidebound : the grisly invention of parchment ; Pulp fictions : the ambiguous origins of paper in China ; From Silk Road to paper trail : paper goes global

Part 2. The text. Stroke of genius : the arrival of writing ; The prints and the pauper : Johannes Gutenberg and the invention of movable type ; Out of sorts : typesetting meets the Industrial Revolution

Part 3. Illustrations. Saints and scriveners : the rise of the illuminated manuscript ; Ex oriente lux : woodcut comes to the West ; Etching a sketch : copperplate printing and the Renaissance ; Better imaging through chemistry : lithography, photography, and modern book printing

Part 4. Form. Books before the book : papyrus scrolls and wax tablets ; Joining the folds : the invention of the codex ; Ties that bind : binding the paged book ; Size matters : the invention of the modern book

Colophon.