"Rich in ideas and lucid in argument, Nir Shafir's book has manifold implications for understanding the early modern Muslim world. By comparing thousands of manuscripts from Southeast Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, Shafir shows how the Ottoman 'communication order' enabled polemics to spread polarization, misinformation, and, paradoxically, disorder among the reading public."—Nile Green, author of How Asia Found Herself: A Story of Intercultural Understanding "Nir Shafir presents a highly original, deeply researched explanation for the polemics, sometimes shading into violence, of the seventeenth century. Uncovering a world of cheap pamphlets and changing reading habits, he gives us not only a fresh take on the period, but opens up entirely new conversations in Ottoman history."—Molly Greene, author of The Edinburgh History of the Greeks, 1453 to 1768: The Ottoman Empire "Nir Shafir's debut... is an impressive showcase of this up-and-coming historian's research. By focusing on controversies regarding innovation in the Ottoman world – whether it be medicine, coffee, tobacco or prayer – as expressed through a flourishing pamphlet literature, Shafir has produced an excellent and vital cultural history. "—Sanjay Subrahmanyam, History Today