White Magic

We can write on it, draw on it, print on it; we can tear it, crumple it, or fold it. Paper is a magical object, and nothing else has contributed as much to the development of the modern world, or even transformed humanity to such an extent. From holy books to playing cards, from banknotes to newspapers, from toilet paper to stock certificates, from blank pages to masterpieces, it is present in every field, in the life of every class, every moment.
In "White Magic," Lothar Müller tells how paper, born in China, came from Egypt to Europe and how it transformed into the raw material of modern civilization. He reintroduces us to the people touched by this magical object, which both shaped and inspired literature, along its journey until it becomes a white page—from paper manufacturers to rag pickers, from inventors to literary figures, from novel characters to statesmen.

Lothar Müller, a literary critic and journalist, is the editor-in-chief of the cultural supplements of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. He is also an honorary professor at Humboldt University in Berlin.