Dennis Baron, Professor of English and Linguistics, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
"A useful counter-argument to the gloomy techno-pessimists," - Henry Farrell, Times Higher Education
"Baron engages with readers' experiences and personal encounters with new media used as tools for self-expression and general dialogue. He follows a personalized, humerous and at times eccentric course, discussing writing tools (including a long and fascinating section on the complex history of pencil-making) and musing on processes and social experimentation." - David Finkelstein, The Times Literary Supplement
"Highly enjoyable book...He writes with infectious curiosity and wit." - Stephen Poole
"There is much that is worthwhile in 'A Better Pencil'." - Times Higher Education
"A gleeful and provocative read." - Stuart Kelly, Scotland on Sunday
Preface: Technologies of the Word Introduction 1.: TeknoFear 2.: Thoreau's Pencil 3.: National Handwriting Day 4.: Writing on Clay 5.: When WordStar Was King 6.: Trusting the Text 7.: Writing on Screen 8.: Everyone's an Author 9.: A Space of One's Own 10.: The Dark Side of the Web 11.: From Pixels to Pencils Works Cited
