Book description
In 1450, all Europe's books were handcopied and amounted to only a
few thousand. By 1500 they were printed, and numbered in their
millions. The invention of one man - Johann Gutenberg - had caused a
revolution. Printing by movable type was a discovery waiting to happen.
Born in 1400 in Mainz, Germany, Gutenberg struggled against a
background of plague and religious upheaval to bring his remarkable
invention to light. His story is full of paradox: his ambition was to
reunite all Christendom, but his invention shattered it; he aimed to
make a fortune, but was cruelly denied the fruits of his life's work.
Yet history remembers him as a visionary; his discovery marks the
beginning of the modern world.
John Man
is the author of
Genghis Khan
,
Attila the Hun
,
Kublai Khan
,
The Terracotta Army
,
The Great Wall
and
Alpha Beta
.
