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The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe (Canto Classics) 2nd Edition

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In 1979 Elizabeth Eisenstein provided the first full-scale treatment of the fifteenth-century printing revolution in the West in her monumental two-volume work, The Printing Press as an Agent of Change. This abridged edition, after summarising the initial changes introduced by the establishment of printing shops, goes on to discuss how printing challenged traditional institutions and affected three major cultural movements: the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the rise of modern science. Also included is a later essay which aims to demonstrate that the cumulative processes created by printing are likely to persist despite the recent development of new communications technologies.
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  1. ISBN-10
    1107632757
  2. ISBN-13
    978-1107632752
  3. Edition
    2nd
  4. Publisher
    Cambridge University Press
  5. Publication date
    March 30, 2012
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.92 x 8.5 inches
  8. Print length
    401 pages
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Editorial Reviews

Review

This is a good and important book the author's clear and forceful style makes it a pleasure to read.' The New York Review of Books

Book Description

Summarises the initial changes introduced by the establishment of printing shops and discusses how printing affected major cultural movements.

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Elizabeth L. Eisenstein

Elizabeth L. Eisenstein

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
84 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

  • James Huffman
    5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely useful for understand both Reformation and Renaissance
    Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    Eisenstein's book details how printing changed our world. Not only the way ideas and information were communicated, but how we think, how we do research, how we interact, and even how censorship in one area (e.g., censorship of Protestant writings in Catholic areas inadvertently curtailed scientific publishing as well). She has recognized implications and trends that have not even yet been fully worked through in our culture, and this necessarily limited survey doesn't even touch on other technologies through the centuries since the printing revolution: movable type, telegraph, telephone, computer technology, and the net.

    The book can be dry at times (even in this relatively short book, she's covering a lot of material) but it is well worth the reading. To get an idea of how she thinks, this is a useful video featuring her as well:

    [...]
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Thad McIlroy
    5.0 out of 5 stars The classic work
    Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2023
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Recommended reading if you want a nuanced understanding of the impact of printing on society.
    Helpful
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  • Josue Estrada-Cordoba
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good condition
    Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2021
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Only damage was minor cover wear and unobtrusive pencil marks.
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  • James Hoogerwerf
    4.0 out of 5 stars Printing triggered a communication revolution
    Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2008
    Eisenstein, in the absence of literature on the consequences of the fifteenth-century shift from script to print, sees her work as a preliminary effort. She presents the advent of print, which triggered a communication revolution, in two parts. The first discusses the main features of the communication revolution and the second relates to developments that occurred during the transition between medieval literate culture and that of early modern times. This second point is very important and Eisenstein emphatically states: "I regard printing as an agent, not the agent, let alone the only agent, of change."(xiii)

    Part I.: Eisenstein identifies and discusses some of the features of the print culture. These are: a changing pattern of cultural diffusion, standardization, reorganized texts and reference guides, correcting errors and data, preservation of knowledge, and how print cultures helped perpetuate "stereotypes and sociolinguistic divisions." Another feature, discussed at length, is the pervasiveness of silent scanning. In this way the reading public became more individualistic and nationalistic. The author suggests "the disjuncture between the new mode of production and the older modes of consumption is only one of many complications that need further study."(92)

    Part II: Eisenstein selects three particular developments, each interacting with print, "which seem strategic in the shaping of the modern mind."(106). These are the Renaissance, the Reformation, and print's effect on science.

    The problem with defining the Renaissance as a period marking the advent of modernity, according to Eisenstein, is whether "the period contains a major historical transformation and hence should be set apart."(111) In her opinion the advent of printing is something specific that can be discussed objectively rather than using the more subjective meanings of "medieval" and "modern." She proposes redefining the term Renaissance as a two phased movement to include the cultural changes brought on by print.

    With print technology, Church leaders lost their monopoly on reading and interpreting the Bible. The Bible could be read privately and interpreted more fundamentally when printed in the vernacular and more widely distributed. Martin Luther's words were spread farther and carried greater weight with printing. The Catholic Church responded by resorting to censorship.

    The scientific revolution is less revolutionary when studied contemporaneously according to Eisenstein, then retrospectively. That way we see the effect of Copernican and other ideas on science going forward. Print helped to disseminate and perpetuate scientific ideas for later consumption.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Richard T
    3.0 out of 5 stars Academic and Pedantic
    Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    If you’re an academic interested in a review of other academics, this may be useful to you. The author spends most of her ink describing what others have said about the printing revolution and patiently explaining why most have failed to get it right. If you’re a student or amateur historian interested in learning about the advent of printing, its stories, impact and consequences, this book will seem dry and won’t meet your expectations. There is another book out there waiting to be written for a broader audience. This ain’t it.
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  • Jeff Weddle
    5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensible work, even with the needlessly dense prose
    Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2018
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Though the prose is purposely -- and needlessly -- dense, this book is indispensable for anyone wishing to understand the role printing played in shaping early modern Europe.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Dean Booth
    5.0 out of 5 stars A good read
    Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2015
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This is one of the most insightful books I've read recently.
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  • Conrad D Johnson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2017
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    An excellent book on a subject that is still too little appreciated.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Condition of book was as described
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 23, 2021
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    The book was part of a reading list for a university project and its availability at a reasonable price was very useful in what are rapidly becoming difficult financial times
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 9, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Interesting read
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