Product Description

From the early Sumerian clay tablet through to the emergence of the electronic text, this Companion provides a continuous and coherent account of the history of the book.

• Makes use of illustrative examples and case studies of well–known texts
  
• Written by a group of expert contributors
  
• Covers topical debates, such as the nature of censorship and the future of the book

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51685 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 616 pages

Review
"As a stimulating overview of the multidimensional present state of the field, the Companion has no peer. Recommended." (CHOICE)

"A valuable resource. Academic libraries with any kind of interest in the history of the book or the history of publishing will want this Companion on their shelves." (Publishing Research Quarterly)

"An exceptional resource for anyone working in fields such as literature, history, cultural studies or media studies – to name a few. Drawing on a large group of experts, Simon Eliot and Jonathan Rose have compiled a selection of essays that guide readers through many episodes in the long history of books, both inside and outside the Western tradition … A Companion to the History of the Book is just that – a companion … an essential text for students and scholars from a wide variety of disciplines who are led to ask questions about the commissioning, publication, distribution and consumption of books. This book is a milestone in the history of the book for it makes the first attempt to map the field like no other book before it." (Script and Print)

"If you want to understand how cultures come into being, endure, and change, they imply, then you need to come to terms with the rich and often surprising history of the book … Eliot and Rose have done a fine job. Their volume can be heartily recommended as the best available starting point for any historian interested in learning about this enterprise … the Companion does not restrict itself to chronicling the development of the book itself. It also devotes attention to regimes of regulation and jurisdiction – censorship, intellectual property, and the like – and to systems of storage and taxonomy: libraries and bibliography." (Technology and Culture)

"This book serves as a coherent guide to the study of the history of the book. The experts bring the latest research to their work." (Umbrella Magazine)

"This hefty tome … provides clear and concise information on the book in its widest sense, from graffiti to ‘Google Books’, accessible to both scholar and layperson alike … It provides a wealth of information to readers of all levels in a well laid out and written volume." (The Bonefolder: An e–journal for the Bookbinder and Book)

From the Back Cover
From the early Sumerian clay tablet through to the emergence of the electronic text, this Companion provides a continuous and coherent account of the history of the book. A team of expert contributors draws on the latest research in order to offer a cogent, transcontinental narrative. Many of them use illustrative examples and case studies of well–known texts, conveying the excitement surrounding this rapidly developing field.

The Companion to the History of the Book is organized around four distinct approaches to the history of the book. First, it introduces the variety of methods used by book historians and allied specialists, from the long–established discipline of bibliography to newer IT–based approaches. Next, it provides a broad chronological survey of the forms and content of texts. The third section situates the book in the context of text culture as a whole, while the final section addresses broader issues, such as literacy, copyright, and the future of the book.

About the Author
Simon Eliot is Professor of the History of the Book in the Institute of English Studies, part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London, and Deputy Director of the Centre for Manuscript and Print Studies. He is General Editor of the new multivolume History of Oxford University Press and editor of the journal Publishing History. His publications include Literary Cultures and the Material Book (2007) and Some Patterns and Trends in British Publishing, 1800–1919 (1994).

Jonathan Rose is Professor of History at Drew University. He was the founding president of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing and is co–editor of the journal Book History. His publications include The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes (2001), The Holocaust and the Book: Destruction and Preservation (2001), and British Literary Publishing Houses, 1820–1965 (1991).