Martyn Lyons Bücher

Nichts hat die Geschicke der Welt so nachhaltig verändert wie das geschriebene Wort. Seit der Erfindung der Schrift durch die Sumerer hat die Schreib- und Lesekultur eine faszinierende Entwicklung durchgemacht: Es wurden Alphabete geschaffen, die Schriftrolle vom Kodex abgelöst, Satzzeichen und Wortabstände eingeführt, der Buchdruck mit beweglichen Lettern erfunden und weite Bevölkerungsteile der westlichen Welt literalisiert. Martyn Lyons zeichnet die Geschichte des Buches bis zum heutigen E-Book detailliert, kurzweilig und aus internationaler Perspektive nach. Mit mehr als 250 überwiegend farbigen Bildern illustriert, fängt dieser Band die Macht und Magie des Buches ein. Aus dem Inhalt: Papyrus, Pergament, Papier - Japanische Faltbücher - Aus dem Alltag eines Schreibers - Das hebräische Buch - Die Lutherbibel - Atlanten und Karten - Die Inquisition und der Index - Don Quixote - Lese- und Schreibkundige in Europa - Verbotene Bücher - Bücher verlegen: Ein lukratives Geschäftsmodell - Der Kampf ums Urheberrecht - Südost- und Osteuropa - Buchillustratoren des 19. Jahrhunderts - Die Welt der Brüder Grimm - Groschenromane - Neue Technologien - Penguin Paperbacks - Japanische Mangas - Die moderne arabische Welt - Der Literaturnobelpreis - Kinderbücher - Digitalisierung und kein Ende?

This study assesses the impact of the French Revolution as a whole, and of the Terror in particular, on a large provincial centre: the city of Toulouse. It investigates in detail the specific background and nature of the sans-culotte movement in the city, and suggests how it was influenced both by the strength of traditional Ancien Régime institutions in the city, and by its proximity to the Pyrenean theatres of war. It deals with political repression, as well as the religious, economic and military aspects of the Terror. The scope of the study includes the periods of the White Terror and the Directory, in order to ask why the Revolution as a whole was more moderate in Toulouse than in other more violent Southern cities, which students of French Revolutionary history may too readily accept as the norm.

Historians have often assumed that the lives of the poor and illiterate can never be known because they have left little written record of their existence. The voices of the uneducated are there, however, and their written traces can be deciphered, if we take the trouble to look for them. This book will establish some of the main themes and frontiers of a new field of historical study: that of ‘ordinary writings’, (or écritures ordinaries) – the improvised and often ephemeral writings of the poor, the young and the hitherto silent people of history. This collection of new studies from France, Belgium, Finland, Spain, Iceland, Greece, Italy and Britain has a coherent focus on the transition to writing literacy in 19th and 20th century Europe. The overall theme is the access of ordinary people to writing, examined in the concrete forms which writing took and the specific functions which it performed. The uses of writing, and the cultural practices in which they were embedded, are explained in their context of social and political relations, gender relations and relations between the literate and the illiterate.

As a vehicle for outstanding creativity, the typewriter has been taken for granted and was, until now, a blind spot in the history of writing practices.

Focusing on the experiences of illiterate and semi-literate individuals, this book challenges the traditional binary view of literacy and illiteracy often held by historians. It highlights the struggles of those with limited reading and writing skills, shedding light on the vast population that exists between full literacy and complete illiteracy. By providing a historical perspective, it aims to debunk persistent myths about illiteracy, offering a revisionist take on its implications in modern society.

The study offers unique insights and references previously unavailable to English readers, focusing on a 'history from below' perspective. It emphasizes the personal experiences and perceptions of individual readers and writers, providing a fresh lens through which to understand historical narratives.

This original study examines different incarnations of the Pyrenees, beginning with the assumptions of 18th-century geologists, who treated the mountains like a laboratory, and romantic 19th-century tourists and habitués of the spa resorts, who went in search of the picturesque and the sublime. The book analyses the individual visions of the heroic Pyrenees which in turn fascinated 19th-century mountaineers and the racing cyclists of the early Tour de France. Martyn Lyons also investigates the role of the Pyrenees during the Second World War as an escape route from Nazi-occupied France, when for thousands of refugees these dangerous borderlands became 'the mountains of liberty', and considers the place of the Pyrenees in recent times right up to the present day. Drawing on travel writing, press reports and scientific texts in several languages, The Pyrenees in the Modern Era explores both the French and Spanish sides of the Pyrenees to provide a nuanced historical understanding of the cultural construction of one of Europe's most prominent border regions. This book will be of great interest to scholars and students of Europe's cultural history in a transnational context.

This book investigates the history of writing as a cultural practice in a variety of contexts and periods. It analyses the rituals and practices determining intimate or ‘ordinary’ writing as well as bureaucratic and religious writing. From the inscribed images of ‘pre-literate’ societies, to the democratization of writing in the modern era, access to writing technology and its public and private uses are examined. In ten studies, presented by leading historians of scribal culture from seven countries, the book investigates the uses of writing in non-alphabetical as well as alphabetical script, in societies ranging from Native America and ancient Korea to modern Europe. The authors emphasise the material characteristics of writing, and in so doing they pose questions about the definition of writing itself. Drawing on expertise in various disciplines, they give an up-to-date account of the current state of knowledge in a field at the forefront of ‘Book History’.

For more than 2,500 years, the book, in a wide range of forms, has been used to document, to educate and to entertain. This book explores the rich history of the book, one of the most efficient, influential and enduring technologies ever invented.

For more than 2,500 years, the book, in a wide range of forms, has been used to document, to educate and to entertain. This book explores the rich history of the book, one of the most efficient, influential and enduring technologies ever invented.