This work examines and critiques the history, use, and abuse of various literary systems of documentation. Throughout history, such systems have been employed in different ways and through various applications in order to attribute, comment, translate, reference, or otherwise remark tangentially on a primary text. The work studies all forms of documentation used in the Western world--from ancient Biblical commentaries, to the medieval gloss, to the current systems used by researchers in the humanities and social and hard sciences. Topics include the historical development of documentation; the specific advantages and disadvantages of Chicago, APA, MLA, and other current styles; and the common misuses or intentional deceptions within modern documentation practices.

“of interest for academicians and librarians...quite a fascinating read...should be included in any academic library and should be required reading for anyone”—Counterpoise; “fascinating”—Times Higher Education; “fascinating...this is an extremely enjoyable work to read...delightful...is a fine text that’s both educational and entertaining”—College & Research Libraries; “fascinating study...should be in all graduate libraries”—Feliciter; “Hauptman covers a lot of territory here, displaying a remarkable breadth of knowledge both on the subject of citation...and on the history of literature in general”—Libraries & the Cultural Record; “highly entertaining scholarly study...excellent”—Springer Science & Business Media.

Robert Hauptman is professor emeritus of St. Cloud State University and editor of the Journal of Information Ethics.