One can print and write on it, tear it, crease it, and fold it: paper is a magical substance that has contributed to the development of the modern world like no other. As currency and paper money, it was indispensable for the economy. As stationery, it became the stage for the modern soul, and as newspaper, the arena for politics. Lothar Müller tells how paper, originating from China, made its way from Egypt to Europe and became the fundamental material of modern civilization. Its key witness is the literature of Rabelais and Grimmelshausen, from James Joyce to Paul Valéry. We believe we know the Gutenberg era. But we understand it better when we discover its background world: the age of paper.