In 1450, all Europe's books were handcopied and amounted to only a few thousand. By 1500 they were printed, and numbered in their millions. The invention of one man - Johann Gutenberg - had caused a revolution. Printing by movable type was a discovery waiting to happen.
Born in 1400 in Mainz, Germany, Gutenberg struggled against a background of plague and religious upheaval to bring his remarkable invention to light. His story is full of paradox: his ambition was to reunite all Christendom, but his invention shattered it; he aimed to make a fortune, but was cruelly denied the fruits of his life's work. Yet history remembers him as a visionary; his discovery marks the beginning of the modern world.
Author(s): John Man
Publisher: Transworld Publishers
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 304
City: London
Dedication
Map
A note on typefaces
Introduction: The Third Revolution
1. A Golden City, Tarnished
2. The Strasbourg Adventure
3. A Hercules Labouring for Unity
4. Something in the Air
5. The Secret Revealed
6. In Search of a Bestseller
7. The Bible
8. Colophon
9. Pressing to the Limits
10. Christendom Divided, the World United
Appendix I The 42-Line Bible: A Possible Balance Sheet
Appendix II German Printers Abroad: The First Wave
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Also by John Man
