Culture merchants. Book publishing business in the 21st century. Thompson J.B.

The existing book of book publishing has already been faced in the 21st century with the largest economic and technological challenges in its history. With the onset of the digital century, they will invariably prophesies an imminent death. However, how fair such forecasts are and how the book business is arranged today? John Thompson's book talks about what changes the publishing case has survived over the past 40-50 years and how the roles of the main actors-publishers, agents and sellers have been rethought in it.

In search of answers, Thompson relies on a large interview with various employees of publishing houses, headhangers, authors and book traders, including key purchasers from large retail chains. Exploring the internal structure of the publishing world from the perspective of an anthropologist, the author tries to understand: why and how, despite the global transformation of the media field, traditional book publishing manages to remain the central sphere of human culture?

John B. Thompson - British sociologist, professor of Cambridge University and Honorary Professor of Jesus College.