The world of book publishing is going through turbulent times. For nearly five centuries the methods and practices of book publishing remained largely unchanged, but at the dawn of the 21st century the industry finds itself faced with perhaps the greatest challenges since Gutenberg. A combination of economic pressures and technological change is forcing publishers to alter their practices and think hard about the future of the book in the digital age. In this book -- the first major study of trade publishing for more than 30 years -- Thompson situates the current challenges facing the industry in an historical context, analyzing the transformation of trade publishing in the United States and Britain since the 1960s. He gives a detailed account of how the world of trade publishing really works, dissecting the roles of publishers, agents and booksellers and showing how their practices are shaped by a field that has a distinctive structure and dynamic. Against this backdrop Thompson analyzes the impact of the digital revolution on book publishing and examines the pressures that are reshaping the field of trade publishing today.

约翰•B.汤普森，英国著名社会学家、传媒研究专家，现任剑桥大学社会学高级讲师、基督学院研究员。他的著作对现代西方社会学乃至文化哲学界产生了极大的影响。主要著作有：《批判解释学》、《意识形态理论研究》、《意识形态与现代文化》、《现代传媒与现代性》、《数字时代的图书》。