The Notebook

A History of Thinking on Paper

By: Roland Allen

Narrated by: Mark Elstob

A Kirkus Most Anticipated Book of Fall 2024

We see notebooks everywhere we go. But where did these indispensable implements come from? How did they revolutionize our lives? And how can using a notebook help change the way you think? In this wide-ranging history, Roland Allen reveals how the notebook became our most dependable and versatile tool for creative thinking. He tells the notebook stories of Leonardo and Frida Kahlo, Isaac Newton and Marie Curie, and writers from Chaucer to Henry James; shows how Darwin developed his theory of evolution in tiny pocket books and Agatha Christie plotted a hundred murders in scrappy exercise books; and introduces a host of cooks, kings, sailors, fishermen, musicians, engineers, politicians, adventurers, and mathematicians, all of whom used their notebooks as a space to think—and in doing so, shaped the modern world.

In an age of AI and digital overload, the humble notebook is more relevant than ever. Allen shows how bullet points can combat ADHD, journals can ease PTSD, and patient diaries soften the trauma of reawakening from coma. The everyday act of moving a pen across paper, he finds, can have profound consequences, changing the way we think and feel: making us more creative, more productive—and maybe even happier.

©2023 Roland Allen (P)2024 Profile Books, Limited

Remarkable read

Informative and enjoyable to read.
Never knew I could enjoy a book about notebooks and its history

A fascinating tale through notebooks

This is a fantastic tale about how something so mundane as a note book change how people interact with the world.

A pleasant surprise!

I didn't have high expectations going into this book, but I was pleasantly surprised by how interesting it was. The author organized it chronologically and that made a lot of sense. One can tell how much research Allen must have put into this work.

Yes, some very famous people left their notebooks to posterity and museums, but the everyday use of these thinking tools by men and women throughout human history is just as entertaining.

The audiobook was narrated excellently by Mark Elstob, although his tone tends to the side of sarcasm a little too easily.

Connecting world changing technology to the simple notebook!

I enjoyed this book immensely. Packed with historical details about interesting topics, it does a great job of tying many developments in world history to the increasingly ubiquitous notebook. Thought provoking and inspiring! I went out and bought a new sketchbook halfway through. I enjoyed the trenchant tone of the reader, although that might not be to everyone's taste.

Bill Bryson look out!!

Highly recommend. More than just a history. If you wished Bill Bryson wrote more books, look no further. Worth your time just for some of the insight provided.