About the Author
Margaret Leslie Davis is the author of three acclaimed biographies of important American empire builders. Rivers in the Desert: William Mulholland and the Inventing of Los Angeles, published by Harper Collins, was the winner of the Golden Spur Award for Best Non-Fiction book by the Western Writers of America. Newsweek described it as "fascinating history." Publishers Weekly called it an "arresting biography" that made for "gripping reading."
The author's most recent book, The Lost Gutenberg: The Astounding Story of One Book's Five-Hundred-Year Odyssey was published in Spring, 2019 by Penguin Random House. In a starred review, Kirkus described the book as "Engrossing reading... A great read for any book lover." Library Journal called the work, "A gripping account of the importance of books as cultural artifacts and of one particular work that transformed the world."
Davis's work has been featured on C-SPAN Book TV, the History Channel's "Modern Marvels" and documentaries seen on the Discovery Channel and A&E's "Biography." The author has appeared on numerous television and radio programs nationwide and is a frequent speaker and lecturer. She is a California lawyer and a graduate of Georgetown University. She is a Fellow of the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities at the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities.
Read more about Margaret Leslie Davis
About the Book
For rare-book collectors, an original copy of the Gutenberg Bible--of which there are fewer than 50 in existence--represents the ultimate prize. Here, Margaret Leslie Davis recounts five centuries in the life of one copy, from its creation by Johannes Gutenberg, through the hands of monks, an earl, the Worcestershire sauce king, and a nuclear physicist to its ultimate resting place, in a steel vault in Tokyo. Estelle Doheny, the first woman collector to add the book to her library and its last private owner, tipped the Bible onto a trajectory that forever changed our understanding of the first mechanically printed book.
The Lost Gutenberg draws readers into this incredible saga, immersing them in the lust for beauty, prestige, and knowledge that this rarest of books sparked in its owners. Exploring books as objects of obsession across centuries, this is a must-read for history buffs, book collectors, seekers of hidden treasures, and anyone who has ever craved a remarkable book--and its untold stories.
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