This history of reading goes from the earliest examples of the clay tablets and cuneiform of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt to today's digital revolution. It argues that it is the demands of the reader, acting alongside the will of the writer, that is the evolutionary motor of literary genres.

New illustrated and abridged edition surveys the communications revolution of the fifteenth century.

This survey provides an overview of book manufacturing and decoration from late Antiquity to the Renaissance. The differing circumstances in which illuminated manuscripts were created, from monastic Gospels to secular romances, are described, revealing the stories and characters behind the texts.

Covering all aspects of textual theory and scholarly editing, this edition is for students and scholars.

This study analyzes both the technical and social forces which shaped the epochal transition from manuscript to printed page. It traces the development of the book in a period of unprecedented social change in Europe.