Tuesday 9 October 2012

Finding Out About The Past With Historical Non Fiction Books

By Alexandra Anderson


The interest in historical non fiction books, has increased enormously over the last few years. A lot of people are now taking the time, to find out about the history of the world that they live in. With the introduction of the e-book, which is downloaded onto a computer or electronic reader, the traditional paper version is no longer the only method available.

Learning about past events, gives an insight into the lives and culture of the people at that time. It charts the major events, including battles for the conquest of land, the way the people were governed and their belief systems. In today's technological age, a lot of information is readily available through the internet.

Such easy access to information has not always been available. Originally, all books were completed by hand using parchment or vellum. This took a great deal of time and effort, often involving more than one person. The pages were frequently adorned with pictures, which were used as a way of explaining what had been written. This was needed, as relatively few people were actually able to read.

These early hand written tomes were also very costly to produce. As a result, it was only rich people who ever owned, or even just had access to view one of these volumes. They were often written describing the events being experienced during that time period, providing the first early history records.

With the arrival of the printing press in the sixteenth century, things at last began to change. It was now possible for a much larger percentage of the population, to get access to printed publications. Literacy rapidly increased during this time, as people quickly realised that being able to read, was one way that they could improve their lifestyle, and that of their family. Knowledge and information was as much in demand then, as it is today.

Libraries attached to universities, had for a long time, housed many fine volumes. However, access to these large and impressive collections was limited to the students and professors of the colleges. In the nineteenth century, many different governments started to introduce the concept of a public library. This allowed a great selection of publications to become available to the general public, covering a wide range of subjects. Although both fiction and non fiction titles were supplied, it was often the non fiction titles which had the most readers.

A lot of people enjoy collecting books connected to their own particular interest, accumulating a large number of volumes during their lifetime. Private collections across the world hold some very rare and expensive early editions. A very early case of this need to gather information, can be found in the Royal Library of Alexandria, situated in ancient Egypt. It is understood that it housed over 400,000 volumes, before later being destroyed.

Today, sales continue to increase across the world. The need to acquire knowledge and information has never been more important to people, who want to learn the answer to their many different questions. If you are interested in historical non fictions books, you will find a wide selection of titles available from some excellent suppliers, whose details are available on the internet.




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