Forget the idea that ebooks just appeared when Amazon launched the Kindle. The eBook is 40 takes us back to the very beginning, to 1971 when a student named Michael Hart typed the Declaration of Independence into a mainframe computer and created 'Project Gutenberg.' From that single act, Marie Lebert maps out a four-decade journey. She shows us the early pioneers sharing texts on floppy disks and the big battles over formats and digital rights. The book follows the thread through the rise of the internet, the first dedicated e-readers, and finally, the explosion of tablets and smartphones that made digital reading a part of daily life for millions.

Why You Should Read It

This isn't a cold tech timeline. Lebert focuses on the people. You meet the volunteers who painstakingly typed out classic books for Project Gutenberg, the developers who argued over the best file format, and the authors who were both excited and terrified by this new medium. Reading it, you realize this massive shift was driven by passion and stubborn belief as much as by silicon chips. It makes you appreciate the convenience we have today and the sheer amount of collective effort it took to get here.

Final Verdict

Perfect for curious readers who love books and want to understand the digital world they now live in. It's also great for anyone interested in how grassroots movements and big tech collide. You don't need to be a computer expert—just someone who's ever wondered, 'How did we get here?' This book fills in that story in a way that's both informative and genuinely fascinating.