Paul's Quick Reads

It sits in your drawer, unremarkable and overlooked - yet the humble pencil has one of the most remarkable stories in the history of everyday objects.

From the chance discovery of a vast graphite deposit in the English Lake District in the 1560s, to the precision instruments that helped put men on the moon, Paul Harrison traces the pencil's surprising journey through science, commerce, war, and art.

Short enough to read in an afternoon, rich enough to leave you looking at your pencil drawer very differently.