The publishing industry, with its five-century-long history, has faced its greatest economic and technological challenges in the 21st century. With the advent of the digital age, it is often predicted to face imminent demise. But how accurate are these forecasts, and how is the book business structured today?

John Thompson's book explores the transformations the publishing industry has undergone over the past 40–50 years and how the roles of its main actors—publishers, agents, and sellers—have been redefined. In his quest for answers, Thompson draws on a vast collection of interviews with various publishing employees, headhunters, authors, and booksellers, including key buyers from major retail chains.

Examining the internal structure of the publishing world from an anthropological perspective, the author seeks to understand why and how, despite the global transformation of the media landscape, traditional publishing manages to remain a central sphere of human culture.

John B. Thompson is a British sociologist, a professor at the University of Cambridge, and an honorary fellow of Jesus College.