Description
Book SynopsisThe Book in Society: An Introduction to Print Culture examines the origins and development of one of the most important inventions in human history. Books can inform, entertain, inspire, irritate, liberate, or challenge readers, and their forms can be tangible and traditional, like a printed, casebound volume, or virtual and transitory, like a screen-page of a cell-phone novel.
Written in clear, non-specialist prose, The Book in Society first provides an overview of the rise of the book and of the modern publishing and bookselling industries. It explores the evolution of written texts from early forms to contemporary formats, the interrelationship between literacy and technology, and the prospects for the book in the twenty-first century. The second half of the book is based on historian Robert Darnton’s concept of a book publishing “communication circuit.” It examines how books migrate from the minds of authors to the minds of readers, exploring such topics as the rise of the modern notion of the author, the role of states and others in promoting or restricting the circulation of books, various modes of reproducing and circulating texts, and how readers’ responses help shape the form and content of the books available to them.
Feature boxes highlighting key texts, individuals, and developments in the history of the book, carefully selected illustrations, and a glossary all help bring the history of the book to life.
Trade Review“This textbook is the essential pedagogical tool that book historians have always needed. It covers all important developments in book culture in every part of the world and throughout history, from cuneiform to Kindle. For undergraduates with no prior knowledge of the subject, it explains everything with striking clarity and intelligence. It has no peer, and it can serve as the foundation of any introductory course in book studies.” — Jonathan Rose, Drew University
“This is indeed a book that ‘offers its readers a chance to step outside themselves.’ A comprehensive overview of the evolution of print culture, the text can be read from cover to cover or dipped into at leisure. Each section is clearly labelled, including sub-headings within each chapter. The suggestions for Further Activities are ideal for encouraging students to undertake independent research while the Case Studies in each chapter provide some excellent examples for instructors to build upon. The author is to be commended for the breadth of research that underpins this text, clearly evidenced by the selected bibliographies at the end of each chapter. Whether you are new to the subject or looking to enhance the breadth of your knowledge, this is a text that is well worth consulting.” — Clare Horrocks, Liverpool John Moores University
“The Book in Society is a book that allows readers from many different backgrounds into the complex world of print culture. Used in a team-taught class which mixed technical and professional communication with 18th century literary scholarship, for example, the book offered us a touchstone for bringing our different academic cultures and worldviews together. Undergraduate students from professional and public writing, literature, creative writing, education, and more found relevance in the way Robinson works through time periods, technical practices, and cultural differences, and, as professors, we appreciated the way the book fostered rich conversation while still allowing for flexibility in the way we ran our course on the history of the book in theory and practice.” — Emily C. Friedman and Derek G. Ross, Auburn University Department of English
“The Book in Society: An Introduction to Print Culture by Solveig Robinson is written with students and those new to the history of the book in mind … What makes this book particularly useful as a teaching tool is the thoughtfully selected bibliography that follows each chapter and the selected activities and resources that follow each part … What is commendable about this book is that it makes the history of the book an approachable subject for students.” — Joya Mannan, Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
PART ONE
THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK
Chapter One Origins
Writing and Writing Systems: Moving from Signs to Words
Egypt and Mesopotamia
- Egyptian Hieroglyphic
☰ The Rosetta Stone
☰ The Book of the Dead
Cuneiform
Semitic Writings
☰ The Torah
Parchment
☰ The Dead Sea Scrolls
China
- Other Asian Writing Systems
Paper
Mesoamerica
- Mesoamerican Codices
☰ Mayan Codices
Incan Quipus
Ancient Greece
Selected Bibliography
Chapter Two Scribal Culture and the Codex
Books and the Roman Empire
- Writing at the Center: Rome
Writing in the Provinces: Vindolanda
Books of the Jewish Diaspora
Islam and the Book
- ☰ The Qur’an
Bookmaking in the Muslim World
Christianity and the Codex
- The Development of the Christian Bible
Book Production in the Middle Ages
- The Monastic Scriptorium
☰ The Book of Hours
The Renaissance
Selected Bibliography
Chapter Three The Printing Revolution
Early Printing in Asia
- Printing in China
☰ The Diamond Sutra
Printing in Japan and Korea
Early Printing in Europe
- Gutenberg
☰ The Biblia Pauperum
☰ Type Design
The Common Press
☰ The Gutenberg Bible
The Press and the Reformation
- Printing and the Protestant Churches
Printing and the Catholic Church
The Expansion of Print Culture
- ☰ The Officina Plantiniana
Printing and the Enlightenment
Encylopedists and Lexicographers
☰ L’Encylopédie
☰ Johnson’s Dictionary
Printing in the Industrial Age
- Developments in the Printing Trades
Wood-Pulp Paper
Mechanized Typesetting
The Book Arts Revival
Selected Bibliography
Chapter Four Modern Times: From Paperbacks to e-Books
Education, Literacy, and Mass Readerships
- Periodicals
☰ The Saturday Evening Post
The Paperback Revolution
- Penguins and Pockets
☰ Penguin Books
Popular Genres
Mass Market versus Quality
The Digital Revolution
- Gutenberg and the Internet
☰ Wikipedia
e-Readers
The Future of the Book
Selected Bibliography
Selected Activities and Resources for Part One
PART TWO
THE BOOK CIRCUIT: AUTHORS, AUTHORITIES, PUBLISHERS, READERS
Chapter Five Authors
The Rise of the Modern Author
- Anonymous and Pseudonymous Publishing
☰ William Shakespeare
Author by Profession
- ☰ The Royal Literary Fund
Subscription Publication
From Profit Sharing to Royalties
Copyright and Contracts
Literary Agents and Professional Societies
- ☰ Eudora Welty and Diarmuid Russell: An Author and Her Agent
Authors’ Associations
☰ PEN International
Translation, Adaptation, and Other TransformationsSelf-Publishing
- ☰ Bapsi Sidhwa and the Self-Publishing Springboard
Selected Bibliography
Chapter Six States and Censors
Regulating Print
Censorship
- ☰ Book Bans and Challenges
Censorship and the Inquisition
State Censorship
☰ Obscenity Legislation and Lady Chatterley’s Lover
Censorship and the Third Reich
Censorship in the Modern Era
Promoting Print
- Freedom of the Press
☰ The Danish Cartoons Controversy
The History of Copyright
International Copyright Protections
Limits on Copyright: Fair Use
Copyright Law Today
Copyright and Copyleft
Harnessing Print
Selected Bibliography
Chapter Seven Publishers
The Professionalization of Publishing
- ☰ Geraldine Jewsbury: A Publisher’s Reader
An Explosion of Publishing Ventures
Multinationals
☰ Pearson
Specialized Publishers: Educational Presses
- Textbook Publishing
☰ Readability
University Presses
The Publishing Process
Acquisitions and Development
- Acquisitions
ISBNs and CIP Data
Development
☰ Max Perkins: A Literary Editor
Production
- Copyediting
☰ Misguided Editing: Bowdlerization
Design
Typesetting, Printing, and Binding
Selected Bibliography
Chapter Eight Booksellers
Independent Booksellers
- Independents Today
☰ The Strand Book Store
Used and Antiquarian Booksellers
☰ Powell’s Books
Bookstore Chains
The Superstores
- ☰ Foyles: A Legendary Superstore
☰ Barnes & Noble
Online Booksellers
- The Internet Superstore: Amazon.com
Other Internet Booksellers
Distributors and Wholesalers
Book Fairs
- ☰ The Frankfurt Book Fair
Selected Bibliography
Chapter Nine Libraries
The Evolution of the Library: Ancient Greece to the Renaissance
Modern Libraries
The Public Library Movement
- ☰ Mudie’s Select Library
☰ Chetham’s Library
The Library Builders: John Passmore Edwards and Andrew Carnegie
☰ The Tacoma Public Library
Grand Public Libraries
Public Libraries Today
National Libraries
The First National Libraries
- The British Library
☰ The Private Case
The Bibliothèque Nationale
The Library of Congress
Modern National Libraries
Librarianship
- Cataloguing Systems
Specialization
Conservation and Preservation
- Emergency Preparedness
Brittle Books
Space
Selected Bibliography
Chapter Ten Readers
Literacy
- ☰ George Dawson: Late-Life Literacy
Aliteracy
Tools for Reading
- Aids to Vision
Devices for Readers
Reading Communities
- The Book-of-the-Month Club
Book Clubs of the Air
Special Books for Special Readers
- ☰ J.K. Rowling: The Magic of Harry Potter
Romance
☰ Nora Roberts: Queen of Romance
Action/Adventure and Suspense
☰ Stieg Larsson: Scandinavian Crime Success
Selected Bibliography
Selected Activities and Resources for Part Two
GlossaryLandmarks in the History of the Book
Index
