A concise edition of the highly acclaimed Oxford Companion to the Book, this book features the 51 articles from the Companion plus 3 brand new chapters in one affordable volume. The 54 chapters introduce readers to the fascinating world of book history. Including 21 thematic studies on topics such as writing systems, the ancient and the medieval book, and the economics of print, as well as 33 regional and national histories of 'the book', offering atruly global survey of the book around the world, the Oxford History of the Book is the most comprehensive work of its kind. The three new articles, specially commissioned for this spin-off, cover censorship, copyright and intellectual property, and book history in the Caribbean and Bermuda.All essays are illustrated throughout with reproductions, diagrams, and examples of various typographical features.Beautifully produced and hugely informative, this is a must-have for anyone with an interest in book history and the written word.

Introduction/ Writing Systems/ The Sacred Book/ The Ancient Book/ The History of the Book in Byzantium/ The European Medieval Book/ The European Printing Revolution/ The Book as Symbol/ The Transmission of Jewish Knowledge through MSS & Printed Books/ Missionary Printing/ Paper/ The Technologies of Print/ The Economics of Print/ Censorship/ Copyright and Intellectual Property/ The Manuscript after the Coming of Print/ Printed Ephemera/ Children's Books/ The History of Illustration and its Technologies/ Bookbinding/ Theories of Text, Editorial Theory, and Textual Criticism/ The Electronic Book/ Britain, c. 1475-1800/ Britain, 1801-1914/ Britain from 1914/ Ireland/ France/ the Low Countries/ Germany/ Switzerland/ the Nordic Countries/ the Iberian Peninsula/ Italy/ Modern Greece, c. 1453-2000/ Austria/ Hungary/ Czech Republic and Slovakia/ Poland/ the Baltic States/ Slavonic Book in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus/ the Balkans/ Sub-Saharan Africa/ the Muslim World/ the Indian Subcontinent/ China/ Korea/ Japan/ Southeast Asia (1): The Islands/ Southeast Asia (2): The Mainland/ Australia/ New Zealand/ Latin America/ Canada/ America/ West Indies/Caribbean