The Book in Society: An Introduction to Print Culture examines the origins and development of one of the most important inventions in human history. Books can inform, entertain, inspire, irritate, liberate, or challenge readers, and their forms can be tangible and traditional, like a printed, casebound volume, or virtual and transitory, like a screen-page of a cell-phone novel. Written in clear, non-specialist prose, The Book in Society first provides an overview of the rise of the book and of the modern publishing and bookselling industries. It explores the evolution of written texts from early forms to contemporary formats, the interrelationship between literacy and technology, and the prospects for the book in the twenty-first century. The second half of the book is based on historian Robert Darnton’s concept of a book publishing “communication circuit.” It examines how books migrate from the minds of authors to the minds of readers, exploring such topics as the rise of the modern notion of the author, the role of states and others in promoting or restricting the circulation of books, various modes of reproducing and circulating texts, and how readers’ responses help shape the form and content of the books available to them. Feature boxes highlighting key texts, individuals, and developments in the history of the book, carefully selected illustrations, and a glossary all help bring the history of the book to life.

"A brilliant inquiry into culture and society over some seven centuries, Mary Evans explores the origins and trajectories of modernity from the Reformation through the Enlightenment to the contemporary period. Her intellectual control of complex ideas and diverse forms of evidence is consistently impressive. Exploring various pessimistic, dystopian strands in European perspectives on modernity by Friedrich Nietzsche, Max Weber and Theodor Adorno, she defends a balanced view of both the negative and positive consequences of modernization. This is historical sociology at its best: judicious, theoretically informed, carefully crafted, grounded in empirical research, and above all intellectually clever. A Short History of Society will prove to be a valuable companion to the student who needs a concise scholarly and sociological overview of modernity." Bryan Turner, National University of Singapore A Short History of Society is a concise account of the emergence of modern western society. It looks at how successive generations have understood and explained the world in which they lived, and examines significant events since the Enlightenment that have led to the development of society as we know it today. The book spans the period 1500 to the present day and discusses the social world in terms of both its politics and its culture. This book is ideal for undergraduate students in the social sciences who are perplexed by the myriad of events and theories with which their courses are concerned, and who need a historical perspective on the changes that shaped the contemporary world.

A History of Science in Society is a concise overview that introduces complex ideas in a non-technical fashion. Andrew Ede and Lesley B. Cormack trace the history of science through its continually changing place in society and explore the link between the pursuit of knowledge and the desire to make that knowledge useful. In this edition, the authors examine the robust intellectual exchange between East and West and provide new discussions of two women in science: Maria Merian and Maria Winkelmann. A chapter on the relationship between science and war has been added as well as a section on climate change. The further readings section has been updated to reflect recent contributions to the field. Other new features include timelines at the end of each chapter, 70 upgraded illustrations, and new maps of Renaissance Europe, Captain James Cook's voyages, the 2nd voyage of the Beagle, and the main war front during World War I.

Celebrates the creativity of humanity by examining the history of technology as a strategy to solve real-world problems.

The annual Journal of the Early Book Society for the Study of Manuscripts and Printing History is published by Pace University Press. The greater part of each volume is devoted to four or five substantial essays on the history of the book, with emphasis on the period of transmission from manuscript to print. The main focus is on English and continental works produced from 1350 to 1550. In addition, the journal includes brief notes on manuscripts and early printed books, descriptive reviews of recent works in the field, and notes on libraries and collections.

This volume offers the most comprehensive and incisive exploration of American consumer history to date, spanning the four centuries from the colonial era to the present.

Here in this distinctive New England town, Main Street is the place to meet your neighbors, get a coffee, do your shopping, watch a parade, attend a concert, worship, vote or volunteer. And behind the familiar buildings is a colorful history. There's the humorist who organized his neighbors to buy land and build a town hall that later became the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center. The story of how the Monkey Farm got its name. The nighttime parade that draws thousands. And the heartwarming account of the shopkeeper who sent penny candy to students with good grades. Author Tedd Levy reveals the unique buildings, events, people and heritage of this distinctive thoroughfare.