CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 5/12/2017

Automata: the epic tale of the automaton from ancient times to present day

You need to hold this book in your hands to understand how exquisite it is, and lovingly made. Various papers of different weights and textures (some opaque some deepest black), superb illustrations, graphic design and printing, an especially tactile stamped cover, and, of course, its fascinating content make this new history of the automaton from Xavier Barral a universal staff favorite. "The automaton made as great a success as the real one, and was, besides, far prettier to look at," Hans Christian Andersen wrote in The Nightingale. "… It was superior to the real Nightingale, not only as regards the plumage and the many beautiful diamonds, but also internally."