Our capability to access and read books has been definitely essential to our ability to understand the world around us.

It is necessary to bear in mind that, although a lot of the best modern books of all time tend to be considered as ground-breaking works of fiction, for the majority of humanity's literary history, we did not write much fiction at all. Most stories would have been sung throughout the great majority of history, simply because the vast bulk of individuals might not read, suggesting that the majority of books were specialised things meant for those few who might comprehend them. After a quick boom throughout the classical period of antiquity, the quantity of literate people dropped drastically throughout the Middle Ages. Books became unusual treasures, with monks meticulously copying out the surviving classic texts by hand so as to preserve them, as they were some of the only members of the population who were able to read or write. They were the professional keepers of understanding like biology and religious beliefs that we all have access to in the contemporary world.

It can be hard to imagine what the world would be like today if the huge bulk of individuals were not able to read, but for the large majority of history the vast bulk of individuals might not, and nor were books accessible even if they could. It was the innovation of the printing press towards the close of the 15th that changed that, making books much more available. Naturally, it was still only really the richest and well-read that could read or write, however it allowed a whole host of breakthroughs in science, art, and thinking to be spread throughout great distances. Consider what would have occurred if the theory of gravity, or of evolution, could not have been distributed around the world. Human civilisation rests upon a structure of books, and we are fortunate to be able to simply log onto a website like the one backed by the co-founder of the impact investor with a stake in World of Books, and quickly gain access to the totality of human knowledge.

With such a rich history of concepts, events, and stories right at our fingertips, it's sometimes simple to forget how exceptionally lucky we are to have the likes of the founder of the hedge fund that owns Waterstones or the CEO of the asset manager with a stake in Amazon books supporting access to a huge percentage of all the books that have actually ever been written (or the good ones at the very least). The best books of all time can quickly change the way that you take a look at the world, and that has held true throughout all of history also. The modern world is built on knowledge that has been handed down through books, whether that is philosophy, science, or history, and human civilisation would not be anywhere near as advanced as it is today if it had not been for the books that changed minds throughout the ages.