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Merchants of Culture 1st Edition

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John B. Thompson (Author)
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John B. Thompson (Author)
12 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0745647869
ISBN-10: 0745647863
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 440 pages
  • Publisher: Polity; 1 edition (September 14, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0745647863
  • ISBN-13: 978-0745647869
  • Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.5 x 9.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #896,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Merchants 1, Culture 0
By B. Bennetts on July 31, 2011
Format: Hardcover
An enormous amount has been written, both online and in print, about the publishing industry in recent years - some of it perceptive; a little (a very little) well-informed; much of it complete rubbish, ranging from the ignorant to the merely opinionated.

The vast majority of this body of commentary has one common factor: its authors have a relationship with the industry, whether as insiders (publishers, agents, authors, booksellers) or as outsiders (mostly self-published authors). That is to say, everyone has some kind of an angle to play, a stance or interest (vested, conflicted or otherwise) to defend, or in plenty of cases an axe to grind.

That stops here. John B. Thompson has written Merchants of Culture: The Publishing Business in the Twenty-First Century from perhaps the only possible and credible disinterested perspective - that of the academic. He has examined publishing as a business phenomenon, and based his work not on opinion nor on wishful thinking, but on five years' systematic research, including some 280 interviews with industry insiders amounting to 500 hours of first-hand evidence.

Wisely, Professor Thompson has restricted himself to one field of publishing, and has clearly defined that field at the outset. The book focuses on English-language trade publishing in the USA and UK, i.e. general-interest publishing of both fiction and non-fiction, intended for a general readership and sold through the mainstream distribution network. He includes independent presses in his scope, along with print-on-demand and the e-book phenomenon, but excludes self-publishing; he includes Amazon and other online retailers, but excludes channels such as Lulu and Smashwords.Read more ›
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Fields of Dreams
By Christian Schlect VINE VOICE on October 19, 2010
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
A serious book that, if read, would be found enjoyable by people employed in the publishing industry, those interested generally in fast-changing business sectors, writers, and all others with an eye to cultural shifts.

John B. Thompson's effort explains much of the mystery of how books get published, what goes into marketing titles, and why some authors make millions. More important, Professor Thompson clearly explains, with little use of academic jargon, the epic changes (computers, business consolidation, the Internet, Kindle, etc.) of the last few decades in book publishing---from the corner independent bookstore to Amazon.com. Wisely, he sticks with the New York and London centers of serious print publishing instead of trying to cover India, China, and the rest of the known world.

I, for one, will be interested to read in about five-years time Professor Thompson's then thinking on the full range of changes to publishers and writers as wrought by Kindle and other such apparently transformational products.
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Five Stars
By J.D. on December 26, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Excellent author. Really knows the publishing industry throughout.

J.D.
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READ THIS NOW BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!
By R. Z. Halleson on July 11, 2011
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This is a book for TODAY, because in another five years, the publishing industry will have changed so much that the contents will be history. As such, if you want an excellent look at what is happening in print publishing, this is the book for you. I learned much about how publishing works, doesn't work, and the challenges facing the industry including the rise of self-publishing which is gaining legitimacy in spite of the bad reputation it has had due to a lot of really-bad writers. More and more serious authors are using self-publishing as this seems to be the only way to get their works to the public in a timely fashion. If you are one of the serious authors, you will definitely want to read this book to find out what you are up against.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Very detailed and well written
By M. Helmke on September 16, 2011
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Thompson takes a complex topic and breaks it down into manageable chunks. He then describes each chunk clearly, always giving enough detail to make the reader feel as if he understands both what Thompson is saying as well as the context for the ideas presented. If you are interested in the publishing business and the changes it has experienced and is currently undergoing, you will probably be quite pleased.
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0 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Two Stars
By David on September 22, 2014
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Yuck!
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