Find a copy in the library
Finding libraries that hold this item...
Details
| Genre/Form: | Biography |
|---|---|
| Named Person: | Johann Gutenberg; Johannes Gutenberg |
| Material Type: | Biography, Internet resource |
| Document Type: | Book, Internet Resource |
| All Authors / Contributors: |
John Man |
| ISBN: | 0471218235 9780471218234 |
| OCLC Number: | 49645882 |
| Notes: | "First published in Great Britain with the title 'The Gutenberg revolution : the story of a genius and an invention that changed the world' by Headline Book Publishing in 2002"--T.p. verso. |
| Description: | 312 p. : ill., map ; 21 cm. |
| Contents: | Introduction : the third revolution -- Golden city, tarnished -- Strasbourg adventure -- Hercules labouring for unity -- Something in the air -- Secret revealed -- In search of a bestseller -- Bible -- Colophon -- Pressing to the limits -- Christendom divided, the world united -- 42-line Bible : a possible balance sheet -- German printers abroad : the first wave. |
| Responsibility: | John Man. |
| More information: |
Abstract:
Reviews
Publisher Synopsis
"John Man has combined meticulous research with some inventive theorizing to produce an entertaining and provocative account of the life and times of a man who was the catalyst for one of the great intellectual leaps in history."(Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone, authors of "Used and Rare: Travels in the Book World")<p>Compared to the printing press revolution, the Internet one is small potatoes. Before Europe's first printed book in 1455, information was carried in hand-copied volumes so expensive they could be owned only by priests and aristocrats. Then in "a historical eyeblink," John Man writes, a book that took two months to copy by hand could be turned out at the rate of 500 a week. Little is known with certainty about Johann Gutenberg, the man behind the change, not even his year of birth (traditionally given as 1400). But Man suggests that Gutenberg may have developed printing technology while trying to cash in on a craze in the 1430's for small mirrors, used by pilgrims to capture the healing powers of relics at Charlemagne's tomb. The mirror-making venture bogged down in legal disputes between Gutenberg and his partners, but surviving court records contain mysterious references to "another secret art" -- perhaps the hand-held mold that could mass-produce metal type. Gutenberg intended to make a fortune publishing the first universal missal, but when clerics could not agree on an authorized text, he settled on his second choice, the Bible. By 1500, more than 15 million books had been printed in Europe. At the heart of Man's enchanting narrative is Gutenberg's place as an early capitalist, an entrepreneur, deprived of patrician status by his mother's modest background, who set out to strike it rich in business. -- MICHAEL DONOHUE ("New York Times Book Review", August 18, 2002) Read more...
Tags
All user tags (3)
- gutenberg (by 1 person)
- literacy (by 1 person)
- middle ages (by 1 person)
- 1 items are tagged withgutenberg
- 1 items are tagged withliteracy
- 1 items are tagged withmiddle ages
Similar Items
Related Subjects:(6)
- Gutenberg, Johann, -- 1397?-1468.
- Printers -- Germany -- Biography.
- Printing -- History -- Origin and antecedents.
- Boekdrukkunst.
- Uitvindingen.
- Gutenberg, Johannes.
User lists with this item (5)
- Gutenberg(3 items)
by mcquisto updated about 2 weeks ago
- Bibliografia pomocnicza okazjonalna(28 items)
by adamnowak updated about 8 hours ago
- Things I Recommend(4 items)
by yang.2048 updated 2012-10-22
- Things to Check Out(6 items)
by Tcates updated 2012-02-19
- Things to Check Out(11 items)
by afaw updated 2011-11-13
