The Sheridan Voice

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Thomas Cahill wrote a series of books collectively called The Hinges of History. He explains why he chose that title. “We normally think of history as one catastrophe after another, war followed by war, outrage by outrage – almost as if history were nothing more than all the narratives of human pain, assembled in sequence. And surely this is, often enough, an adequate description. But history is  also the narratives of grace, the recountings of those blessed and  inexplicable moments when someone did something for someone else, saved a  life, bestowed a gift, gave something beyond what was required by  circumstance.” The U.S. Constitution is undoubtedly one of those narratives of  grace, a Hinge of History, a work of genius bestowed upon us during a  unique time in human history. The Preamble, which is only one sentence,  sums up the Constitution’s goals. 

Listen to, The Preamble: World History Changed With One Sentence!

What invention educated and liberated ordinary people to the dismay of tyrannical clergy and aristocrats?
 
Imagine a day when books had to be written and copied by hand. That was a time when only the rich could afford such a luxury. Imagine how long it would take to handwrite a 200-page book. Now imagine how long it would take to make multiple copies.
 
In the fifteenth century, the printing process began maturing. The most significant improvement to the art was the invention of movable type. Before movable type, words were carved on a block of wood, inked, and then the impression was stamped. Later, individual letters were engraved on pieces of metal or wood, which could be arranged in any order. Now a printer could set and reset the type, a significant improvement over wood blocks.
 
Around 1450, a man named John Gutenberg, of Germany, was using movable type. One of the earliest productions using this process was papal “Letters of Indulgence.” On August 24, 1456, the Gutenberg Bible was completed.
 
The art of printing now spread throughout Europe. By 1466 printing operations in Rome were madly rolling publications off the press and book publishing became a huge business.
 
The first printing press in America was set-up in Cambridge, September 25, 1639. The first volume to roll off that press was the Bay Psalm Book.
 
Printing changed the world in three ways:
 
First: Books became widely circulated. Before Gutenberg, education was primarily in the hands of a hierarchical church. After Gutenberg, books were no longer the exclusive property of the rich and artificially privileged. Handmade books were expensive and hard to find since they were seldom copied more than once or twice per year.
 
Second: Learning was available to the common man. Now that books were being printed in mass quantities, ordinary people could afford them. It’s no coincidence that the era which saw the revolt against tyranny, slavery, and serfdom came on the heels of widespread learning.
 
Third: Accuracy. Mistakes were so prevalent in the handmade books that it was hard to find two copies of the same book which matched.
 
The printing press, in my opinion, is one of the greatest inventions in human history. Ordinary people became readers. Before the printing press, the upper-class and orthodox religious leaders were able to use superstition to control the masses. When the people became readers, however, they were able to question these superstitions with educated reason, which is the death knell of fear. Printing ended the clerical monopoly on education.
 
 Will Durant has well said,
 
“Printing…made available to the public –cheap manuals of instruction in religion, literature, history, and science; it became the greatest and cheapest of all universities, open to all…it paved the way for the Enlightenment, for the American and French Revolutions, for democracy. It made the Bible the common possession…It facilitated the international communication and co-operation of scientists. It affected the quality and character of literature by subjecting authors to the purse and taste of the middle class rather than the aristocratic and ecclesiastical patrons.”

A Love Story for Book Nerds – By Daniel W. Sheridan (Twitter: @DanielWSheridan)

For many years I frequented a used book store in Delavan, Wisconsin, with an awesome name – BIBLIOMANIACS! The store was situated on a picturesque street with a beautiful “old American” feel; a red brick street graced on both sides with old fashion street lamps each serving as host to a proudly waving American flag. I found remarkable treasures at Bibliomaniacs (that’s Book-Nerd speech for “awesome books”) throughout the years which still grace my bookshelves.

But there was one set of books adorning their shelves which eluded me for many years – President Woodrow Wilson’s gorgeous five-volume “History of the American People.” An original edition! (“Original Edition” is Book Nerd-Speech for “This is so awesome I’m going to cry, wet myself, or both – I must have it!”). Wilson wrote it when he was President of Princeton University.

I say the books eluded and teased me because I’m on a very tight budget and the set was a little pricey at $200.00. But there it remained for many years. Every time I’d visit Bibliomaniacs I’d head to the second-floor shelves (see circled spot in the interior photo below) to see if it was still there – Hello Old Friend! I’d open the volumes and smell the old paper, not just a quick whiff, but deep inhale, hold for 30-seconds, then exhale reverently (That’s Book-Nerd narcotics – old book smell). I began to wonder if I was the only person alive who recognized their worth. I visited that set for over five years, sniffing, reading, coveting it, and walking away sad I didn’t have more cash to my name. The set was like an old faithful friend waiting for my visit. (I know, I know, I’m a dork! I accept that).

One day I got terrible news – BIBLIOMANIACS was going out of business! I went into Book-Nerd mourning. At the time, I worked at Lake 961 Radio Station in Lake Geneva, which was about twenty minutes away from Bibliomaniacs. So on Saturday, July 20, 2013, after my “Saturday at the 70s” on-air shift, I went to BIBLIOMANIACS for their going out of business sale hoping to find one last treasure before my favorite haunt closed for good.

I parked on that brick street one last time, got out of my car with a sense of nostalgia, the American flags are waving in the wind. I step on the sidewalk and see the “Going Out Of Business” banner in the window screamed the end of an era. It was like I was losing a friend. Deep breath. Hold back the tears. Time for one last treasure hunt. Here we go!

I spent about an hour looking around. I didn’t find anything I wanted within my price range that I didn’t already have. Then it was time to visit my old friend one last time and say my final goodbyes. I knew that even at half-price, the Wilson set would still be too steep for me. So up I went to the second floor where my friend had resided for so many years. I opened volume one to repeat my sniffing and coveting ritual. At the top of the inside cover, I see $20.00 written in pencil. I said to myself, “Just as I thought, it went from 40 to 20-bucks per volume, still too steep.” I tenderly put the book back on the shelf realizing that this was the last time I would see this set, my old friend. I wondered who the more fortunate person would be who would ultimately give them a home, hoping they’d end up in the hands of someone who would appreciate their worth. I gave them one last look, “Bye-bye old friend!” I’m misty at this point – don’t judge me. If John Wayne can kiss Walter Brennan in Rio Bravo, I can get misty over a book!

I walked back down the stairs to talk to the woman who worked the counter for years. We chatted for a bit, and I thanked her for providing me with years of happy-book-hunting adventures, and I wished her success in her future endeavors. Then I told her my story about those Wilson books, and she replied, “I’m so sorry you misunderstood; those books are $20.00 TOTAL, not per-volume.”

I ran up those stairs with child-like excitement, carefully grabbed the books off the shelf, and said, “You’re moving in with me, Mr. President.” I hurried down the stairs and laid 22-bucks on the counter. She laughed hysterically, handed me over 90-cents change, and said I made her day.

I said my final goodbyes to my benefactor, walked out with the books in a box, laid them on the passenger seat, and then drove home with my treasure. I laid them lovingly on my shelf and there they are to this day, three feet from where I type. I put him next to Teddy Roosevelt for company.

I love happy endings. Don’t you?