Books: The Culture & Commerce of Publishing

by Lewis A. Coser, Charles Kadushin, Walter W. Powell

The Culture and Commerce of Lewis A. Coser and Bernard Kadushin and Walter W. The Culture and Commerce of Basic FIRST First Edition, First Printing. Not price-clipped. Published by Basic Books, 1982. Octavo. Hardcover. Book is very good with previous owner's name and date on front flyleaf. Dust jacket is very good with shelf/edgewear. Seller 401473 Business

411 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Cat]

Gives excellent all-round look at publishing industry in America in the early 1980s. Covers publishing houses, editorial role, agents, authors, external influences like reviewers and booksellers and more. In the introduction there's some talk about gatekeeping which is implicitly investigated but I couldn't find a section that looks at this in great detail. Very interesting stuff about how personal connections are the best way to get published (wonder how much this has changed!). Otherwise seems to do everything that the authors set out to achieve.

[Julie H. Ernstein]

For readers, history buff, and enthusiasts of what is known as Book Culture, this is a must-read. I wouldn't suggest tackling it in a single setting, as it's pretty dense, but over the course of several weeks (i.e., in manageable installments), this is a manageable--and interesting--read.