200,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ 

Black Friday Sale on Now! Save up to 25% off Books, Toys, Board Games, & Puzzles! โœจ

The Gutenberg Parenthesis

The Age of Print and Its Lessons for the Age of the Internet
By Prof Jeff Jarvis
0.0 (0 reviews)
3.84 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 213 ratings, 49 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Gutenberg Parenthesis by Prof Jeff Jarvis explores the profound cultural and societal shifts caused by the advent of printing and examines the transitional era we are living in as digital technologies reshape communication. The book delves into how the shift from oral to written, and now from written to digital, influences our understanding of knowledge and the way we share and consume information. Through a cultural lens, it investigates the implications of living between these vast technological changes.
Read More
Format: Hardback
$5500
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

If you're fascinated by the impact of media and technology on our culture, you might enjoy this insightful exploration into how society was shaped by the printed word and how the digital age is influencing our future.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

"As we begin to leave the Gutenberg age, and into a era dominated by the Internet, we have much to learn from how we transitioned into the age of print and how it changed how we think and communicate"--

As we begin to leave the Gutenberg age, and into a era dominated by the Internet, we have much to learn from how we transitioned into the age of print and how it changed how we think and communicate.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A 2024 CHOICE OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC TITLE

PROSE AWARDS MEDIA AND CULTURAL STUDIES FINALIST 2024

The Gutenberg Parenthesis traces the epoch of print from its fateful beginnings to our digital present โ€“ and draws out lessons for the age to come.

The age of print is a grand exception in history. For five centuries it fostered what some call print culture โ€“ a worldview shaped by the completeness, permanence, and authority of the printed word. As a technology, print at its birth was as disruptive as the digital migration of today. Now, as the internet ushers us past print culture, journalist Jeff Jarvis offers important lessons from the era we leave behind.

To understand our transition out of the Gutenberg Age, Jarvis first examines the transition into it. Tracking Western industrialised print to its origins, he explores its invention, spread, and evolution, as well as the bureaucracy and censorship that followed. He also reveals how print gave rise to the idea of the mass โ€“ mass media, mass market, mass culture, mass politics, and so on โ€“ that came to dominate the public sphere.

What can we glean from the captivating, profound, and challenging history of our devotion to print? Could it be that we are returning to a time before mass media, to a society built on conversation, and that we are relearning how to hold that conversation with ourselves? Brimming with broader implications for todayโ€™s debates over communication, authorship, and ownership, Jarvisโ€™ exploration of print on a grand scale is also a complex, compelling history of technology and power.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Gutenberg Parenthesis by Prof Jeff Jarvis is praised for its engaging exploration of how the invention of print reconfigured society and its transition to the digital age. Critics highlight its fast tempo and compelling narrative, serving as both a profound reflection on communication's past and a blueprint for navigating media's future. Jarvis's book is noted for exploring the reversal of power dynamics from experts to the masses, offering hope and a critical examination of digital challenges. It's regarded as an essential, thought-provoking treatise for understanding the evolution and future of information culture.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781501394829

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 27 July 2023

Country: United States

Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 30.0mm

Width: 162.0mm

Height: 232.0mm

Weight: 640g

Pages: 328

Collections

Arts & Culture Education & Reference Engineering, Technology & Agriculture Non-Fiction Prof Jeff Jarvis

About the Author

Jeff Jarvis holds the Leonard Tow Chair in Journalism Innovation and directs the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism at the City University of New Yorkโ€™s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. He was creator and founding managing editor of Entertainment Weekly, TV critic for TV Guide and People, Sunday editor of the New York Daily News, a media columnist for The Guardian, and president and creative director of Advance.net. He blogs at Buzzmachine.com, cohosts the podcast This Week in Google, and is the author of five books: What Would Google Do? (2009), Public Parts: How Sharing in the Digital Age Improves the Way We Work and Live (2011), Geeks Bearing Gifts: Imagining New Futures for News (2014), and Magazine (forthcoming, 2023) in Bloomsburyโ€™s Object Lessons series.

Also by Prof Jeff Jarvis

View all
  • Magazine
    Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. For a century, magazines were the authors of culture and taste, of intelligence and policy โ€” until they were overthrown by the voices of the public themselves online. Here is a tribute to all that magazines were, from their origins in London and...
    By Prof Jeff Jarvis
    Paperback
    $2199
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Gutenberg Parenthesis
    A 2024 CHOICE OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC TITLE PROSE AWARDS MEDIA AND CULTURAL STUDIES FINALIST 2024 The Gutenberg Parenthesis traces the epoch of print from its fateful beginnings to our digital present โ€“ and draws out lessons for the age to come. The age of print is a grand exception in history. For five centuries it fostered what some call print culture...
    By Prof Jeff Jarvis
    Paperback
    $3699
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Hot Type
    Hot Type
    Hot Type is the epic story of the magnificent 19th-century machine that rendered Gutenbergโ€™s movable type obsolete and opened the portal to the long century of mass media. The Linotype mechanised the 400-year-old process of setting type one laborious letter at a time, and thus ignited an explosion of newspaper, book, and magazine empires. This is a tale populated with...
    By Prof Jeff Jarvis
    Hardback
    $4500
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

Browse lists from our team

The Latest at Book Hero

View all

More from Arts & Culture

View all
  • Dylan's Pick
    Bold Types
    A tribute to 32 truly independent bookshops throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, from north of Auckland down to Dunedin, and coast to coast. Jane Ussher's photographs show every bookstore in its unique nature - including behind the counter, smoko rooms, the mess which tells the hardworking story behind the joy of matching books with customers. Jemma Moreira's careful editing has crafted...
    By Jane Ussher
    Hardback
    $6399
    Elsewhere:
    $7000
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    22% off
    New Release
    Iโ€™ll Believe in Anything
    From Jacob Tierney, the creator ofย Heated Rivalry, in partnership with Brendan Brady and Accentย Aigu, comesย Iโ€™llย Believe in Anything, an official and complete collection of annotated scripts for the biggest cultural sensation of the year, with all new exclusive behind-the-scenes content.Based on Rachel Reidโ€™s blockbuster Game Changers book series,ย Heated Rivalryย premiered on Crave and HBO in late 2025 andย immediatelyย took the world by storm.ย Iโ€™ll...
    By Jacob Tierney
    Hardback
    $4300
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    20% off
    The Odyssey
    Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travellers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative....
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $3599
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    12% off
    New Release
    Shirl's Pick Shirl's Pick
    Home Again
    Join rock-legend, former Shihad frontman and lead singer of The Adults, Jon Toogood in this unflinching and no-holds-barred memoirย Home Again.This is more than a rock story.ย Toogood looks back on a 37-year career that helped define New Zealand rock music, and the personal cost that came with it.ย From a music-obsessed childhood in Wellington to the deafening roar of international stages, this...
    By Jon Toogood
    Paperback
    $2800
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    A Life in Lyrics
    Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest showmen of the twentieth century. With his unparalleled voice and searing on-stage energy, he was a great pretender, a killer queen and a champion of the world. But behind the glamour lived a musician and lyricist talented beyond measure, and the creative force behind one of the most culturally significant and musically diverse...
    By Freddie Mercury
    Hardback
    $5000
    Elsewhere:
    $6500
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    24% off
    The Iliad
    When Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017โ€”revealing the ancient poem in a contemporary idiom that was "fresh, unpretentious and lean" (Madeline Miller, Washington Post)โ€”critics lauded it as "a revelation" (Susan Chira, New York Times) and "a cultural landmark" (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an...
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    On Sale
    22% off
    Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far youโ€™ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...
    By Monique Fiso
    Hardback
    $3500
    Elsewhere:
    $5299
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Artist's Way
    The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron is a transformative guidebook that has captivated millions, including luminaries such as Elizabeth Gilbert and Tim Ferriss. With its profound ability to inspire and elevate, this book invites readers to embark on an enriching creative journey, fostering a deeper connection to one's artistic process and sense of purpose. The heart of Cameron's groundbreaking programme...
    By Julia Cameron
    Paperback
    $3700
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    25% off
    This Angry Pen of Mine
    This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...
    By Layne Staley
    Hardback
    $5500
    Elsewhere:
    $8999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Beautiful Chaos
    New Release
    Beautiful Chaos
    Featuring five exclusive new poems, this stunning foil-embossed hardback edition is a collector's item and a gorgeous gift. The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller. Selected poems on motherhood from bestselling author and Instagram poet, Jessica Urlichs. 'Reading Jess's poems makes me feel like she's somehow reached into my own personal reflections and articulated them in a way I never could.' โ€“...
    By Jessica Urlichs
    Hardback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Mah Jong Player's Companion
    Since the arrival on the market of Patricia Thompson and Betty Maloney's two previous books, The Game of Mah Jong Illustrated and Improve Your Mah Jong, a wide range of hands from many parts of the world has been sent to them. In this player's companion, the authors have put together a cross-filled reference guide where over 120 hands, illustrated...
    By Patricia Thompson and Betty Maloney
    Paperback
    $1999
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    24% off
    Beautiful Chaos
    The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller Selected poems from bestselling author and Instagram poet, Jessica Urlichs. 'These words awaken the magic of life by celebrating the ordinary.' - Giovanna Fletcher Motherhood is messy and beautiful, and hard and humbling. We adore our children and sometimes we miss ourselves. Beautiful Chaos is a collection of raw, honest poems about motherhood, capturing everything...
    By Jessica Urlichs
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships Monday

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 200,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.