From: The Horn Book Magazine | Date: September 1, 1993| Author: | COPYRIGHT 1993 Horn Book, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

Fisher's biography of Johann Gutenberg, the creator of movable type, is marked by careful research, clear writing, and striking illustrations. The handsome book explores the life of Gutenberg and places him within a context both of fifteenth-century Europe and of the evolution of modern printing. Fisher explains that the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans had developed hand-printing techniques approximately 750 years before Gutenberg began as a printer. Gutenberg himself was a goldsmith when he tackled the problem of creating letters that would allow him to make identical copies ...