Johannes Gutenberg is famous as the inventor of Europe’s first
typographic printing method, and his life and legacy have long
fascinated a wide audience. Due to scant and vague fifteenth-century
documentation, however, Gutenberg’s career has long been obscured by
derivative storytelling, competing agendas, and scholarly guesswork.
This new biography removes these barriers to retell his story directly,
through his pioneering work on schoolbooks, pamphlets, indulgences,
broadsides, and, notably, the first printed Bible. The book also
describes Gutenberg’s posthumous fortunes and his eventual recognition
as Man of the Millennium. This much-needed corrective to old legend and
conjecture brings Gutenberg to life through the books that remain his
lasting monument.
Johannes Gutenberg: A Biography in Books. Von Eric Marshall White. Gebunden, 256 Seiten, Reaktion Books 2025.