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A book is a physical container for literature. The oral account ([word of mouth]?, tradition, hearsay?) is the oldest carrier of messages and stories. When writing Systems were invented in ancient civilizations, [clay tablet]?s or palimpsest scrolls were used, see for example the library of Alexandria. The handwritten codex, a bound book with pages and a spine?, of pretty much its present form was invented in the [middle ages]? (or earlier?), and was the random access memory of its time. The first books used expensive parchment or vellum (calf skin) for the pages. The introduction of paper made books less expensive, but it was not until Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 15th century that books started to be affordable. The following centuries were spent on improving both the printing press and the conditions for [freedom of the press]? through the gradual relaxation of restrictive laws. All books of the world are said to constitute the [Gutenberg Galaxy]?. |
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A book is a physical container for literature. The oral account ([word of mouth]?, tradition, hearsay?) is the oldest carrier of messages and stories?. When writing Systems were invented in ancient civilizations, [clay tablet]?s or palimpsest scrolls were used, see for example the library of Alexandria. The handwritten codex, a bound book with pages and a spine?, of pretty much its present form was invented in the [middle ages]? (or earlier? Some have said that Julius Caesar invented the first codex during the [Gallic Wars]?. He would issue scrolls folded up accordion style--like old computer print-outs might look--and use the "pages" as reference points), and was the random access memory of its time. The first books used expensive parchment or vellum (calf skin) for the pages. The introduction of paper made books less expensive, but it was not until Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 15th century that books started to be affordable. The following centuries were spent on improving both the printing press and the conditions for [freedom of the press]? through the gradual relaxation of restrictive laws. All books of the world are said to constitute the [Gutenberg Galaxy]?, or, to use a term coined by eBook author Rick Sutcliffe in the early 1980's, the Metalibrary (see http://www.metalibrary.ws). |
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There have also been new developments in the process of publishing books. Technologies such as [print on demand]? have made it easier for less known authors to make their work available to a larger audience. |
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There have also been new developments in the process of publishing books. Technologies such as [print on demand]? have made it easier for less known authors to make their work available to a larger audience. |
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