Bibliography is the study of books as physical objects. Fredson Bowers became its most famous American exponent, abandoning his earlier interest in breeding wolfhounds as he did so. Jim Mays suggests that Anglo-American bibliography would be different if Bowers had not passed over the distinctive features of the Irish book as he theorised his subject. Why does this matter? Because books store, transmit and determine the shape of knowledge; because the 1500-year history of the book in Ireland is the most extensive and continuous in Europe; because conjoined features of the Irish book represent recurring features of a distinct cultural position; and because they suggest that the prevailing consensus about the creation and transmission of knowledge rests on too narrow a ground. This unusual essay contains more ideas than tomorrow’s news. It is awkward and timely, and proceeds at a spanking pace.