Lucien Febvre was a French historian instrumental in establishing the Annales School of history. His work explored broad cultural and social histories, emphasizing long-term structural changes within human societies. Febvre investigated how mentalities and beliefs shaped historical development, advocating for interdisciplinary connections with other social sciences. His influence on modern historiography remains significant.
The emergence of the book was an event of world historical importance, and heralded the dawning of modernity. This title presents the history of that process, combining technological history, sociology and anthropology, with the study of modes of consciousness to root the development of printing in the ideological struggles of Western Europe.