“Books are not reading devices” warns John B. Thompson, a Sociology professor at the University of Cambridge and author of “Merchants of Culture” (Polity Press), the first major study of trade book publishing since the digital transformation began a generation ago. Thompson foresees a world of books AND reading devices (not books REPLACED BY reading devices) and advises calm amidst visions of apocalypse.
In its thorough examination of the book business, from manuscript acquisition to marketing and sales, “Merchants of Culture” captures an industry in search of dry land as it wrestles with the perfect storm of the digital revolution.