ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes the significant dispute about the nature of books, of reading and of print culture' that turns out to be an argument about geography. It explores how deeply geography is involved in the production, distribution and consumption of books, and how that makes a difference to the ways in which books and their histories should be understood. The geography of the book is as old as the history of the book. The geography of the book was from the outset associated with the cartography of print production and mobility. With the aid of distribution maps, showing where and when printing was established, Febvre and Martin demonstrated the adoption of printing in Europe in the decades before 1500. The geography of printing was always shaped by the benefits of supplying a popular market with cheap little books that could be frequently reprinted.
