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 Darntons concept of a book publishing communication circuit.
