The Untold Story of Books: A Writer’s History of Publishing

Description

From Gutenberg to Amazon, Michael Castleman’s The Untold Story of Books is the first and only history of publishing told from a veteran author’s point of view. Witty, entertaining, and full of remarkable new insights, it is a deeply researched, fascinating history of the idiosyncratic book business-aimed at authors, aspiring authors, booksellers, industry professionals, and everyone who loves to read books.

Organized into three distinct book businesses, all defined by the evolution of printing, The Untold Story of Books explores how each new book business upended its predecessor, forcing authors, publishers, and booksellers to adapt to ever-changing circumstances. It’s a story full of surprises: why did books become favored Christmas presents? Because of a poem written in 1823. Why is New York the nation’s publishing capital? Because of the Erie Canal. Why are book endorsements called “blurbs”? Because of a satirist’s joke in 1907. And why is copyright often an illusion? Because publishing was founded on book piracy, which today is easier and more rampant than ever.

Arriving at the present day, Castleman paints a compelling portrait of an evolving book business full of new promise and peril.

Binding Type: Paperback
Author: Michael Castleman
Published: 07/02/2024
Publisher: Unnamed Press
ISBN: 9781961884083
Pages: 270
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 0.80″ H x 8.20″ L x 5.50″ W

About the Author
Castleman, Michael: – Michael Castleman grew up in Malverne, NY, a Long Island suburb of New York City. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Michigan, and earned an M.A. in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism. He has lived in San Francisco since 1975. While editor of Medical Self-Care Magazine, Castleman was also a freelance magazine health writer focusing on optimal wellness, illness prevention, mainstream and alternative treatments, nutrition, fitness, and sexuality. He has written more than 2,500 magazine and Web articles, as well as nineteen books selling over 2.5 million copies. The Untold Story of Books: A Writer’s History of Book Publishing is his twentieth.