Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)From cuneiform tablets to papyrus reeds to the early centuries of movable type, publishing was a power in the world and aimed at the needs and necessities of the cultural elite. But then in the 19th century literacy began to spread down to the growing middle classes and address the interests of ordinary people. But it was up until the invention of desktop publishing in the later decades of the 20th century that ordinary people had access to publishing. The rapid technological advances of the 21st century thus far have continued to compel the publishing industry into new modes of production, distribution, and fiscal survival with the coming of such innovations and electronic publishing and Kindle readers. "Merchants of Culture: The Publishing Business In The Twenty-First Century" by John B. Thompson provides an informed and informative history and description of how trade publishing operates, as well as the contributions and responsibilities of key components of the publishing industry including agents and booksellers, as well as the publishers themselves. Of particular interest is Thompson's analysis of how digital publishing is beginning to dramatically affect and alter trade publishing. Superbly researched and presented, "Merchants of Culture " is a seminal addition for academic library collections and essential reading for members of the publishing industry (including authors and book reviewers!) seeking to adapt to the constantly changing influences of modern technologies upon the art and economics of trade publishing.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Merchants of Culture
The world of book publishing is going through turbulent times. For nearly five centuries the methods and practices of book publishing remained largely unchanged, but at the dawn of the 21st century the industry finds itself faced with perhaps the greatest challenges since Gutenberg. A combination of economic pressures and technological change is forcing publishers to alter their practices and think hard about the future of the book in the digital age. In this book -- the first major study of trade publishing for more than 30 years -- Thompson situates the current challenges facing the industry in an historical context, analyzing the transformation of trade publishing in the United States and Britain since the 1960s. He gives a detailed account of how the world of trade publishing really works, dissecting the roles of publishers, agents and booksellers and showing how their practices are shaped by a field that has a distinctive structure and dynamic. Against this backdrop Thompson analyzes the impact of the digital revolution on book publishing and examines the pressures that are reshaping the field of trade publishing today.
Get 34% OFF
0 comments:
Post a Comment