The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe

Although the importance of the advent of printing for the Western world has long been recognized, it was Elizabeth Eisenstein, in her monumental, two-volume work, The Printing Press as an Agent of Change, who provided the first full-scale treatment of the subject. This edition gives a stimulating survey of the communications revolution of the fifteenth century. After summarizing the initial changes introduce by the establishment of printing shops, it goes on to discuss how printing effected three major cultural movements: the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the rise of modern science. Specific examples show how the use of the new presses enabled churchmen, scholars, and craftsmen to move beyond the limits handcopying had imposed and thus to pose new challenges to traditional institutions.