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The Book in the Renaissance (Hardcover)
$40.00
Special Order - Subject to Availability
Description
The dawn of print was a major turning point in the early modern world. It rescued ancient learning from obscurity, transformed knowledge of the natural and physical world, and brought the thrill of book ownership to the masses. But, as Andrew Pettegree reveals in this work of great historical merit, the story of the post-Gutenberg world was rather more complicated than we have often come to believe.
The Book in the Renaissance reconstructs the first 150 years of the world of print, exploring the complex web of religious, economic, and cultural concerns surrounding the printed word. From its very beginnings, the printed book had to straddle financial and religious imperatives, as well as the very different requirements and constraints of the many countries who embraced it, and, as Pettegree argues, the process was far from a runaway success. More than ideas, the success or failure of books depended upon patrons and markets, precarious strategies and the thwarting of piracy, and the ebb and flow of popular demand. Owing to his state-of-the-art and highly detailed research, Pettegree crafts an authoritative, lucid, and truly pioneering work of cultural history about a major development in the evolution of European society.
About the Author
Andrew Pettegree is Head of the School of History at the University of St. Andrews and founding director of the St. Andrews Reformation Studies Institute.
Praise for The Book in the Renaissance…
“In an understated, judicious manner, [Pettegree] offers a radically new understanding of printing in the years of its birth and youth.”—Robert Pinsky, New York Times Book Review
-Robert Pinsky
“An authoritative, innovative and succinct account of one of the most fundamental issues in Renaissance history, the role of the printed book.”—Henry Kamen
-Henry Kamen
“Pettegree…examines an earlier rocky transition in the history of the written word: not the transition from print to digital, but the transition from manuscript books to print.”—Heather Horn, TheAtlantic.com
". . . a highly readable volume, . . . the text carefully navigates a balance between popular history and scholarly monograph."—Timothy J. Dickey, College & Research Libraries
-Timothy J. Dickey
"By far the most significant publication yet on the social history of the book. . . . It is, by far, one of the most significant library-related books I have ever read in many a year; I cannot recommend it highly enough."—Norman D. Stevens, RBM
-Norman D. Stevens
“Well written and…a useful introduction to readers unfamiliar with the subject.”—Renaissance Quarterly
“Thorough and engaging.”—Library Journal
“[A] fine new study.”—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker
-Adam Gopnick
“[A] masterpiece...Pettegree is a splendid storyteller.”—RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage
