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

Health science writer Castleman (Sizzling Sex for Life) presents a sweeping 600-year chronicle of the book business, which he contends has gone through “three distinct epochs with three different economic strategies.” The first began with Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press in 1450, which made it possible to mass produce books even as low literacy rates meant that few sold (Gutenberg went bankrupt after failing to sell enough bibles to repay his creditor). Authors contracted directly with printers until the introduction of industrial machinery in the late 19th century made book production more efficient yet more expensive, which incentivized authors to sign with newly established publishing companies who could handle the higher costs. The third epoch covers such 21st-century developments as the return of self-publishing and the shift of power from publishers to Amazon, which demands wholesale discounts and “promotional fees” from publishers in exchange for increasing the visibility of titles on its platform. Fascinating detours explore the establishment of copyright protections in the 16th century and the seedy origins of book reviewing in the early 19th century (reviewers usually took bribes from publishers and threatened pans if not advanced payment), and Castleman provides a rousing account of how independent bookstores have bounced back over the past decade by “embracing the three C’s: community, curation, and convening.” Bibliophiles will be enthralled. (July)