ATG Book of the Week: Merchants of Culture: The Publishing Business in the Twenty-First Century

Title: Merchants of Culture: The Publishing Business in the Twenty-First Century

Author: John B. Thompson

Paperback: 9780452297722; $17

eBook: 9781101576984; $9.99

Imprint: New York: Plume, 2012 (2nd ed)

“For nearly five centuries, the world of book publishing remained largely static. But at the dawn of the twenty-first century, the industry faces a combination of economic pressures and technological change that is forcing publishers to alter their practices and think hard about the future of the book.  John Thompson’s … account dissects the roles of publishers, agents, and booksellers in the United States and Britain, charting their transformation since the 1960s. Offering an in-depth analysis of how the digital revolution is changing the game today, Merchants of Culture is the one book that anyone with a stake in the industry needs to read.”

“All you need to know about the industry at a time of momentous change.”
-Drake McFeely, chairman and president, W.W. Norton & Company