As the sole repository of books, the medieval church was able to control what information reached the population. Outlines the history of the book industry starting in Europe and continuing into the United States. Eventually printing started here serving the growing libraries, the growing merchant class, and eventually an expanding middleclass market. Different publishers have responded to the dilemma in different ways. You might want to remember names like Frederick Douglass, a slave whose autobiography became a powerful voice, and Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Toms Cabin.
Paperbacks reflect social and economic change.
The inexpensive paperback democratized the industry. The dime novel, widely available, was criticized for its lack of quality. The book publishing industry initially sold its products to the wealthy social elites of developed countries. These upper classes used books to dominate the norms of culture and social behavior, thus controlling the distribution of information that reached the marketplace of ideas. Wide distribution of books depended on cheap postal rates, inexpensive book production, and portrayal of varied classes of people in fictional works.