Summary This key book examines the role of the printed book in contemporary societies, its demographics and its relation to the other media. It analyzes the differences among various national book industries throughout Europe and the USA, and the reasons and impact of the differences. Both the impact of digital technologies and the reasons why e-books did not substitute the printed book, as was predicted in mid-nineties, are examined. Key Features No other book up until now has provided a comprehensive overview of the diversities and similarities that exist among various national book industries and among various publishing fields throughout the developed world. The book will therefore be helpful both for those who are interested in understanding the globalization of media and for those publishers who conduct business across national borders The book analyzes the development of all book professions (librarians + booksellers + publishers) The book builds a link between research methodologies used in book history and on contemporary publishing research The book brings practical guidance on how book marketing and book content should be adapted to various local circumstances The book is based on a comparative approach. Up until now, all books on publishing industries analyzed a single book market or specific segments of publishing industries without trying to analyze them in a global context The Author Before joining academia, Dr Kovac was editorial director of Mladinska knjiga, the biggest publishing house in South-East Europe. Dr Kovac lectures at the Department for Library and Information Science and Book Studies, School of Arts, University of Ljubljana. He has been a visiting scholar atOxford Brookes Centre for Publishing Studies and the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also worked as a consultant for the World Bank and the Soros Foundation in various East-European countries. In 2005, he also became editor in chief of the Slovene edition of National Geographic Magazine. Readership This book is aimed at publishing professionals, at all managerial and supervisory levels, and students of LIS, publishing studies and media studies at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Contents Introduction The book: this charming old lady - methodology for defining the book; new religions, new information tools; the origins of the press; the market and information revolution; notes and references Printing and the birth of modernity - changes in the production of knowledge; Protestantism, the Renaissance and the printing press; the communication circuit of the book; fast is beautiful, the content and the platform; the e-bookcatcher; The European and American Book Markets - book publishing in the United States; Publishing in the EU; Weaknesses of book industry indicators; new criteria and context; Social context of the book - reading habits research; the demography of book readers; competitiveness and the book; education and book reading in the USA; book reading and other media; conclusions An anorexic dachshund with a long tail - controversies surrounding conglomeration theories; the end of diversity indeed? Two books about the abundance of books; an anorexic dachshund and digital communism; the book between the market and the sacred; The e-book is a paper tiger - an e-book business model?