The Book in the Renaissance
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Andrew Pettegree
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A groundbreaking study of the fascinating, yet largely unknown world of books in the first great age of print, 1450–1600
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.
“[Pettegree] offers a radically new understanding of printing in the years of its birth and youth.”—Robert Pinsky, New York Times Book Review
“In this history of the pioneering publishers who transformed Gutenberg’s new technology into an epoch-making force, Pettegree recounts the fascinating story of how new books found their way into the hands of Renaissance readers. . . . A probing chronicle of crisis and change.”
—Booklist (starred review)"This magisterial volume portrays the enormous effects of printing, publishing and literacy in the Renaissance period. The sense of intellectual growth and vigour is palpable throughout the pages of this book…To give an idea of the quality of this book is like showing a single brick to suggest the majesty of Blenheim Palace."—Robert Giddings, Tribune
“[A] splendid book…an engrossing and sure-footed story”—Fernando Cervantes, The Tablet
“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
“…. [A] lively work.”—Christopher Hirst, The Independent
“Its cornucopia of information is well managed and engagingly written up.”—Holly Kyte, The Sunday Telegraph ‘Seven’
Publication Date: November 22, 2011
69 b/w illus.
