130,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ 

IT'S FINALLY HERE! HAPPY ACOTAR 6 RELEASE DAY! ✨

The Notebook

A History of Thinking on Paper: A New Statesman and Spectator Book of the Year
By Roland Allen
0.0 (0 reviews)
4.34 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 1,512 ratings, 273 reviews)
Brief Description
The Notebook was named a 'Best Book of the Year 2023' by the New Statesman, Spectator, and Waterstones. "From plans for flying machines to philosophy - the remarkable joy of jotting things down" - Guardian "Surprisingly revealing" - The Sunday Times We see notebooks everywhere we... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
Save 18% Off
Savings are calculated from our regular price of $32.99 compared to the current price of $27.00.
$2700
Usually:
$3299
On Sale
in Birthday Sale 2026 until 1 Nov or while stocks last
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY

Found a better price? Request a price match

Diaries, sketchbooks, common-places, notebooks, ledgers and ships' logs: how the blank book changed the way we think, and helped us change the world.

Diaries, sketchbooks, common-places, notebooks, ledgers and ships' logs: how the blank book changed the way we think, and helped us change the world.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The Notebook was named a 'Best Book of the Year 2023' by the New Statesman, Spectator, and Waterstones.

"From plans for flying machines to philosophy - the remarkable joy of jotting things down" - Guardian

"Surprisingly revealing" - The Sunday Times

We see notebooks everywhere we go. But where did this simple invention come from? How did they revolutionise our lives, and why are they such powerful tools for creativity? And how can using a notebook help you change the way you think?

In this wide-ranging story, Roland Allen reveals all the answers. Ranging from the bustling markets of medieval Florence to the quiet studies of our greatest thinkers, he follows a trail of dazzling ideas, revealing how the notebook became our most dependable and versatile tool for creative thinking.

He tells the notebook stories of artists like Leonardo and Frida Kahlo, scientists from Isaac Newton to Marie Curie, and writers from Chaucer to Henry James. We watch Darwin developing his theory of evolution in tiny pocketbooks, see Agatha Christie plotting a hundred murders in scrappy exercise books, and learn how Bruce Chatwin unwittingly inspired the creation of the Moleskine.

On the way, we meet a host of cooks, kings, sailors, fishermen, musicians, engineers, politicians, adventurers, and mathematicians, who all used their notebooks as a space for thinking and to shape the modern world.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781788169332

Publisher: Profile Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 05 September 2024

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Profile Books Ltd

Edition: Main

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 30.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 320g

Pages: 416

Collections

Arts and Crafts Best Sellers at Book Hero Best Selling Books Birthday Sale Birthday Sale: Books Books and bookshops gifts Crafts & Hobbies Education & Reference European History Everyday life in history gifts Gift Finder Gifts for adults Gifts under $100 Gifts under $30 Gifts under $50 History & Archaeology History & Military Home & Garden In Stock Books Microhistories - Niche Books about Fascinating Topics New Zealand's Best Selling Books Non-Fiction Roland Allen

About the Author

Roland Allen is a publisher and author who lives in Hove. He studied at Manchester University and works in book (and notebook) publishing. He has written about subjects as diverse as bicycles and bread, kept a diary for decades, and enjoys stationery a little too much.

More from History & Military

View all
  • Behind Enemy Lines
    New Release
    Behind Enemy Lines
    Archie Gibson's initiation into desert warfare almost proved to be his last. Barrelling through the sand dunes at the wheel of his truck, Gibson spied a searing flash of light up ahead, the signature of a feared German 88mm gun firing ... right at him. He leapt from his speeding vehicle just before it was torn apart and turned into...
    By Damien Lewis
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The Cauldron
    How did an elderly cleric overthrow the Shah of Iran and change the world?Why did Bin Laden attack the USA - and why did the USA destroy Saddam?How did Britain and France carve up the Middle East - and why did the Kurds never get their own state? THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE MAKING OF TODAY'S MIDDLE EAST: A SPELLBINDING...
    By Simon Sebag Montefiore
    Hardback
    $4999
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Saving Elli
    One child. Two years in hiding. Three lives in mortal danger. In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's house, another Jewish girl is hidden. Her name is Elli. Her father has been executed at Mauthausen concentration camp. Her mother is fleeing for her life. Elli is next. To save her, resistance couple Frits and Jo Hakkens must risk everything, concealing her...
    By Doug Gold
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Spy and the Traitor
    The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre is a spellbinding Cold War thriller that unravels the true story of Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB double agent who risked everything to aid the British in the battle against Soviet oppression. In meticulously researched detail, Macintyre paints a vivid portrait of espionage, double-crossing, and unparalleled bravery, giving readers a riveting glimpse into...
    By Ben Macintyre
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Dylan's Pick Dylan's Pick
    Suicidal Empathy
    The bestselling author of The Parasitic Mind shows why empathy in politics leads to civilizational collapse. What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad unleashes a blistering critique...
    By Gad Saad
    Paperback
    $3099
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Man's Search For Meaning
    Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl is a profound, thought-provoking memoir and psychological exploration that delves into the harrowing experiences of life in Nazi concentration camps, intertwined with the author’s groundbreaking theories on existential psychology. The book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, offering a beacon of hope and a roadmap for finding purpose...
    By Viktor E Frankl
    Paperback
    $1800
    Elsewhere:
    $2100
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    12% off
    The Wager
    THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 'The beauty of The Wager unfurls like a great sail... one of the finest nonfiction books I've ever read' Guardian 'The greatest sea story ever told' Spectator 'I cannot think of anyone who would not love this book... It is an extraordinary true story, beautifully...
    By David Grann
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Salt
    Homer called it a divine substance. Plato described it as especially dear to the gods. As Mark Kurlansky so brilliantly relates here, salt has shaped civilisation from the beginning, and its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of mankind. Wars have been fought over salt and, while salt taxes secured empires across Europe and Asia, they...
    By Mark Kurlansky
    Paperback
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Discipline
    Silence is complicity, but how do we confront the cost of speaking up? Sydney, May 2021. Ashraf is an academic whose career and personal life are in freefall. Hannah is a young journalist struggling to honour the voices of her community. When a Year 12 Al-Bayinnah College student is arrested for protesting a university's ties to an Israeli weapons manufacturer,...
    By Randa Abdel-Fattah
    Paperback
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Golden Menhir
    Assurancetourix is entering the legendary Gallic bards' competition to win the golden menhir. But with the Romans keeping a close watch, Asterix and Obelix must protect him at all costs. Their mission? Keep him safe-no matter what... even if it means risking their own ears! First released as a book-disc in 1967, this adventure soon became a rare treasure, long...
    By RenΓ© Goscinny
    Hardback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Biological War
    New Release
    Biological War
    There is an invisible weapon among us. By the time you know you are a victim, it has turned you into a killer. A blistering new non-fiction thriller from the Baillie Gifford shortlisted author of Nuclear War (200,000 copies sold). A lab accident, a bio-attack, a global pandemic, and the collapse of human society. In this essential new book, based...
    By Annie Jacobsen
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Plunder
    New Release
    Plunder
    The last weeks of World War II on the Western Front in Europe witnessed extraordinary scenes of heroism, horror, melodrama, and pathos. In Plunder, Max Hastings presents a cast of fascinating peopleβ€”British, American, and Germanβ€”in a series of great events in which some distinguished themselves through wonderful deeds, others through the basest crimes. The book takes its title from Montgomery’s...
    By Max Hastings
    Paperback
    $3699
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

History & Military lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all