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The Business of Books: How the International Conglomerates Took Over Publishing and Changed the Way We Read
by Andre Schiffrin
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Edition: Hardcover
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Product Details
- Hardcover: 208 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.79 x 7.81 x 5.64
- Publisher: Verso; (August 2000)
- ISBN: 1859847633
- In-Print Editions: Paperback | All Editions
- Average Customer Review:
Based on 14 reviews.
- Amazon.com Sales Rank: 98,036
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The descendant of a distinguished publishing family, Schiffrin has been the gadfly of American publishing ever since he quit his post as head of Random House's Pantheon imprint in a blaze of publicity 10 years ago, complaining that the publisher's new management wanted to trim his list severely, removing from it many of the socially conscious titles he was proud to publish. He went on to found and run the New Press, which, with strong foundation support, has continued to do many of the kinds of books that Schiffrin insists should be published, but which he claims have increasingly been abandoned by big commercial houses. In this brief but pithy treatise, some of which has already appeared in Europe, Schiffrin forcefully argues that publishing only for immediate commercial return is not only economically shortsighted but culturally disastrous. Without being unduly nostalgic for the "good old days," he insists that big American publishers used to offer lists that were much better balanced between popular entertainment and necessary social and political commentary than they are today. He further argues that the attempt to appeal to the lowest common denominator of taste, which has, he says, led network television and movies in such depressing directions, has dumbed down publishing to an alarming degree, robbing it of much of its standing as a vehicle for the expression of significant ideas and outlooks that may not have instant appeal. Whether the increasing use of the Internet for publishing will prove to expand this more enlightened mission remains to be seen, but based on past experience with the urgencies of the profit motive, Schiffrin is not optimistic. His book is a salutary and sensibly written reminder of the ideals that drew so many into publishing, and that, if he is right, are so seldom reflected in it today. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Village Voice, 19 September 2000
[A] riveting chronicle of the rise and fall of the American reader.
Book Description
Post-war American publishing has been ruthlessly transformed since Andre Schiffrin joined its ranks in 1956. Gone is a plethora of small but prestigious houses that often put ideas before profit in their publishing decisions, sometimes even deliberately. Now six behemoths share 80% of the market and profit margin is all. Andre Schiffrin can write about these changes with authority because he witnessed them from inside a conglomerate, as head of Pantheon, co-founded by his father, bought (and sold) by Random House. And he can write about them with candor because he is no longer on the inside, having quit corporate publishing in disgust to set up a flourishing independent house, The New Press. Schiffrin's evident affection for his authors sparkles throughout a story woven around publishing the work of those such as Studs Terkel, Noam Chomsky, Gunnar Myrdal, George Kennan, Juliet Mitchell, R.D.Laing, Eric Hobsbawm and E.P.Thompson. Part-memoir, part-history, here is an account of the collapsing standards of contemporary publishing that is irascible, acute and passionate. An engaging counterpoint to recent, celebratory memoirs of the industry written by those with more stock options and fewer scruples than Schiffrin, The Business of Books warns of the danger to adventurous, intelligent publishing in the bullring of today's marketplace.
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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers. 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Well written and insightfull, November 9, 2002
I enjoyed the book very much. The story telling was enjoyable. As to the "whine", I work in a completly different industry that suffers from the money only direction of the country. It is sad that no one is allowed to be in any vocation in this country for its own sake. Even if you make money, you have to make the most money, good is not good enough, only best will do. --This text refers to the Paperback edition
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
Bottom Line: Buy it, October 29, 2002
...At least from a writer's perspective, all of Schiffrin's assertions about the publishing industry are stunningly true. In fact, my agent quit the business some years ago after attending a lecture by a revoltingly wealthy and revoltingly arrogant agent who assured her and the rest of the audience that yes, money is indeed the bottom line.
As Mr. Schiffrin points out, publishers are simply not interested in authors anymore, they are interested only in the book being submitted. That is to say, there is no attempt-as in the days of Max Perkins, the legendary Scribner's editor of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe-to invest in an author whose first book may not be a great seller, nor even her second but who will nonetheless write books the house can be proud of and may some day turn produce that most marvelous of beasts, the literary bestseller (a la Gabriel Garcia Marquez, John Updike, Toni Morrison).
In a smooth, flowing voice that, while it may lack bells and whistles, is exceptionally lucid, Schiffrin tells the story of how publishing houses went from being, for the most part, "family owned and small, content with the modest profits that came from a business that still saw itself as linked to intellectual and cultural life" to an industry in which some of the executives, such as Alberto Vitale at Random House, freely admit they are too busy to read a book! I was riveted almost from the opening page.
Some of the reviewers have accused Schiffrin of being elitist-maybe because he lives on the Upper West Side or because he believes editors should have some say-beyond profitability--in what is being published. They find him distressingly left wing. The fact is, Schiffrin is arguing for all editors, EVERYwhere to get behind authors of their choice. Many small houses will present many diverse voices rather than 5 huge conglomerates chasing the same dollar with their celebrity memoirs and Tom Clancy thrillers. He argues for the freedom for editors and houses to express their tastes and to let the public decide whether that taste suits them or not. But if a book never sees the light of day because corporate executives, who often know nothing about books (Vitale, Schiffrin points out "did eventually agree to read the novels of Judith Krantz" published by his own company), decide it won't sell enough copies, then you have market censorship. When that happens on a large enough scale, it's not the end of democracy, but democracy is certainly weakened by a shrinking pool of ideas and opinions from which to draw. Schiffrin quotes the German publisher, Klaus Wagenbach: "If books with small print runs disappear, the future will die. Kafka's first book was published with a printing of 800 copies. Brecht's first work merited 600. What would have happened if someone had decided that was not worth it?" Somehow, advocating books with tiny print runs like this doesn't strike me as elitist.
If you are even slightly connected to the book business, if you are at all interested in books, if you give any thought at all to the future of the free exchange of ideas in this country and abroad, this is a must-read. I can't recommend it highly enough.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Strong views on publishing, September 10, 2002
Schiffrin's book is provocative and well written. There is a little too much "And then I published...." along with a lot of name dropping. But there are also eye-opening insights into changes that the last 30 years have brought to publishing, as well as some good behind-the-scenes stories. Schiffrin clearly has an axe to grind, but he also has a point of view worth hearing. Reviewers who suggest this is a "whine" or a leftist diatribe would seem to have axes of their own that they are working on. --This text refers to the Paperback edition
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Look to the underground., September 1, 2002
I think that all reviewers have some points here.
The book is a bit whiny. There isn't any documented research. But I think to discount what this book is saying would be denial. The facts that conglomerations own the majority of publishing is bound to inhibit the selection of books they produce or seek out. What this book gave to me is that I should seek out smaller publishers, whether at amazon.com or the library and see what they have to offer instead of assuming that the books in the prime POS spots at the bookstore or on the Best Of Lists are the only books worth seeking out. --This text refers to the Paperback edition
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