About this item
An enthralling literary debut that evokes one of the most momentous events in history, the birth of printing in medieval Germany - a story of invention, intrigue, and betrayal, rich in atmosphere and historical detail, told through the lives of the three men who made it possible.Youthful, ambitious Peter Schoeffer is on the verge of professional success as a scribe in Paris when his foster father, wealthy merchant and bookseller Johann Fust, summons him home to corrupt, feud-plagued Mainz to meet "a most amazing man."Johann Gutenberg, a driven and caustic inventor, has devised a revolutionary - and to some, blasphemous - method of bookmaking: a machine he calls a printing press. Fust is financing Gutenberg's workshop and he orders Peter, his adopted son, to become Gutenberg's apprentice.
About the Author
Alix Christie grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and is an author, journalist and letterpress printer. She learned the craft of letterpress printing as an apprentice to two master California printers, and owns and operates a 1910 Chandler & Price letterpress. A longtime print journalist, Christie has contributed to many publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Guardian of London, Washington Post, and Salon.com. She attended the Squaw Valley Community of Writers and earned her MFA from St Mary's College of California, where she studied under Michael Chabon and Susan Straight. She currently lives in London, where she reviews books and arts for The Economist. For more on Alix Christie and the world of the book, visit: www.GutenbergsApprentice.com
