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Johannes Gutenberg

A Biography in Books

Eric Marshall White

$39.99

Hardback

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English
Reaktion Books
01 August 2025
Series: Medieval Lives
Johannes Gutenberg is famous as the inventor of Europe's first typographic printing method, and his life and legacy have long fascinated a wide audience. Due to scant and vague fifteenth-century documentation, however, Gutenberg's career has long been obscured by derivative storytelling, competing agendas and scholarly guesswork. This new biography removes these barriers to retell his story directly, through his pioneering work: schoolbooks, pamphlets, indulgences, broadsides and, notably, the first printed Bible. The book also describes Gutenberg's posthumous fortunes, and his eventual recognition as 'Man of the Millennium'. This much-needed corrective to the old legends and conjectures brings Gutenberg to life through the books that remain his lasting monument.

'Eric Marshall White's Johannes Gutenberg: A Biography in Books brings us as close to Gutenberg as the evidence allows: stripping away myth and guesswork, this book is invigorating and hard to put down.'

Erik Kwakkel, author of Books Before Print
By:  
Imprint:   Reaktion Books
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 216mm,  Width: 138mm, 
ISBN:   9781836390398
ISBN 10:   1836390394
Series:   Medieval Lives
Pages:   224
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Eric Marshall White is the Scheide Librarian and Assistant University Librarian for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts at Princeton University. His publications include Editio princeps: A History of the Gutenberg Bible (2017), which won the DeLong Prize for outstanding book in the field of book history.

Reviews for Johannes Gutenberg: A Biography in Books

Eric Marshall White’s Johannes Gutenberg: A Biography in Books brings us as close to Gutenberg as the evidence allows: stripping away myth and guesswork, this book is invigorating and hard to put down. * Erik Kwakkel, Professor at the University of British Columbia School of Information, and author of Books Before Print * There is no better guide to the inventive genius of Johannes Gutenberg than Eric Marshall White, and this wise, beautifully written and deeply learned work will be an instant classic. * Andrew Pettegree, Bishop Wardlaw Professor of History, University of St Andrews, and author of Brand Luther and The Book at War *


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