This National Geographic documentary retraces the history of an incredible manuscript of the 14th century, created by a single man to encompass all of human knowledge. It also contains illustrations of the devil and how to on exorcism, medical cures and botany.
Its a splendid work of art and a great snapshot of the time it was created, but even more interesting his how such a book has survived over 600 years.
Can we say that any of our modern day books will survive that long?
What about e-books? Does having the text of a novel make it enough? Do we loose anything in forfeiting a physical form of a book?
Crumbs of Knowledge 
I think that I don’t retain information from a screen as well as I do from paper. I like the idea of backlit pages, but there’s a certain appeal to folding the last page you read, or having a bookmark. I often just use the receipt for the book, but a sear friend got me a bookmark with kittens jumping thru a field of flowers.