Planet Word Presents: Index, a History of the with Dennis Duncan

How much thought do you give to the index at the back of the book? It’s just a dry reference resource, right? Not true, says University College London professor Dennis Duncan. His new book Index, a History of the explores the fascinating, important, and even funny history of the lowly index. Charting its curious path from the monasteries and universities of thirteenth-century Europe to Silicon Valley in the twenty-first, Duncan uncovers how the index has saved heretics from the stake, kept politicians from high office, and made us all into the readers we are today. Join us for an enlightening conversation about the secret world of the index: an unsung but extraordinary everyday tool, with an illustrious but little-known past.

Index, a History of the is available through the Planet Word bookshop.org storefront.