The Bookseller of Florence

基本信息

Format:Paperback 496 pages

Publisher:Random House

Imprint:Chatto & Windus

ISBN:9781784742669

Published:1 Apr 2021

Weight:776g

Dimensions:153 x 233 x 40 (mm)

頁面參數僅供參考，具體以實物為準

書籍簡介

一個令人振奮的、不為人知的佛羅倫薩書商在人類知識的前沿工作的故事，以及從文字到印刷品的劃時代的轉變，定義了文藝復興。

佛羅倫薩的文藝復興讓人聯想到美麗的壁畫和優雅的建築--這是這座城市的藝術家和建築師們令人眼花繚亂的手筆。但同樣重要的是另一類天才。佛羅倫薩的手稿獵人、抄寫員、學者和書商，他們吹散了千年歷史的塵埃，通過發現和傳播古代知識，想象出一個新的、開明的世界。

活動的核心是一位傑出的書商：維斯帕斯亞諾·達·比斯蒂奇。除了保存柏拉圖、亞里士多德和西塞羅等人的古代智慧外，他的書本身也是藝術品，由有才華的抄寫員抄寫，並由最好的微型畫師塗色。他的客户包括歐洲各地的教皇、國王和王子，他們希望通過建立宏偉的圖書館來提高自己的聲譽。當一項新的發明出現時，韋斯帕西亞諾達到了他作為歐洲最多產的知識商人的權力：印刷書。到1480年，"世界書商之王 "被這一史詩般的技術顛覆掃地出門。

《佛羅倫薩的書商》是一部驚心動魄的編年史，以那個時代戲劇性的政治和宗教動盪為背景，也是對書籍和圖書製作的頌揚，通過一個早已被歷史遺忘的非凡人物--文藝復興時期的真正巨頭之一--的生活，描繪了從文字到印刷的世界變革。

一部出色的敍事作品，將知識的爭論、技術的探索以及對倫理、政治和人類能力的新思維方式的興奮完美地交織在一起，"羅文·威廉姆斯

'If you want to celebrate the place that bookmaking and bookselling still have in our lives . . . immerse yourself in Ross King's rich history of Vespasiano da Bisticci, "the king of the world's booksellers," in 15th-century Florence . . . wonderful' SIMON SCHAMA, NEW YORK TIMES

'A spectacular life of the book trade's Renaissance man . . . King's supreme ability is to imagine himself into the past . . . The scope of his knowledge is staggering' JOHN CAREY, SUNDAY TIMES

An exhilarating and untold account of a Florentine bookseller working at the frontiers of human knowledge, and the epochal shift from to print that defined the Renaissance

The Renaissance in Florence conjures images of beautiful frescoes and elegant buildings - the dazzling handiwork of the city's artists and architects. But equally important were geniuses of another kind: Florence's manu hunters, scribes, scholars and booksellers, who blew the dust off a thousand years of history and, through the discovery and diffusion of ancient knowledge, imagined a new and enlightened world.

At the heart of this activity was a remarkable bookseller: Vespasiano da Bisticci. Besides repositories of ancient wisdom by the likes of Plato, Aristotle and Cicero, his books were works of art in their own right, copied by talented scribes and illuminated by the finest miniaturists. His clients included popes, kings, and princes across Europe who wished to burnish their reputations by founding magnificent libraries. Vespasiano reached the summit of his powers as Europe's most prolific merchant of knowledge when a new invention appeared: the printed book. By 1480, the 'king of the world's booksellers' was swept away by this epic technological disruption.

A thrilling chronicle of intellectual ferment set against the dramatic political and religious turmoil of the era, The Bookseller of Florence is also an ode to books and bookmaking that charts the world-changing shift from to print through the life of an extraordinary man long lost to history - one of the true titans of the Renaissance.

'A brilliant narrative that seamlessly weaves together intellectual debate, technological exploration and the excitement of new ways of thinking about ethics, politics and human capability' ROWAN WILLIAMS

媒體推薦

“優秀 ...... 迷人...... 雖然表面上是一本維斯帕斯亞諾的傳記，但他與其説是這本書的主題，不如説是它的方法：一個瞭解激進發酵時期的知識、政治和技術發展的窗口。這是金的精明選擇，正如金--有趣、詼諧和專業--是維斯帕斯亞諾的幸運之選”--Tim Smith-Laing ― Daily Telegraph

Excellent . . . a fascinating read . . . Though ostensibly a biography of Vespasiano, he is less the book's subject than its method: a window on to the intellectual, political and technological developments of a time in radical ferment. It is an astute choice by King, just as King - entertaining, witty and expert - is a fortunate fate for Vespasiano -- Tim Smith-Laing ― Daily Telegraph

“宏偉的. . . 金的細緻研究提供了一種身臨其境的閲讀體驗，他將家族爭權奪利和討好教皇的政治陰謀巧妙地編織成一部引人入勝的知識史，涵蓋了書籍的演變、文藝復興時期的意大利、古典哲學和文學，以及印刷術的發明。在那個時代，書籍被認為是有意義的生活所必需的，而知識和智慧本身就被當作目的來珍視，這是一項深刻的研究。”-- Bill Kelly ― Booklist

Magnificent . . . King's meticulous research provides an immersive reading experience as he expertly weaves the political intrigue of families vying for power and currying favour with the pope into a riveting intellectual history covering the evolution of books, Renaissance Italy, classical philosophy and literature, and the invention of the printing press. A profoundly engaging study of a time when books were considered essential to a meaningful life, and knowledge and wisdom were cherished as ends in themselves -- Bill Kelly ― Booklist

“在這本引人入勝的傳記中，金將維斯帕斯亞諾的故事編入他所處的那個動盪的時代。其結果是講述了一個人和他的書，以及更多的內容，包括法蘭克福書展的起源和歷史，以及約翰內斯-古騰堡和他的印刷機對歷史進程的影響”-- Linda Frederiksen ― Library Journal

In this fascinating biography, King weaves Vespasiano's story into the fabric of the tumultuous times in which he lived . . . The result is a narrative about a man and his books, and so much more, including the origins and history of the Frankfurt Book Fair and the influence of Johannes Gutenberg and his printing press on the arc of history -- Linda Frederiksen ― Library Journal

作者簡介

羅斯·金是意大利文藝復興時期的著名專家。他是眾多暢銷書的作者，其中包括《布魯內萊斯基的穹頂》、《米開朗基羅和教皇的天花板》、《萊昂納多和最後的晚餐》和《瘋狂的魅力》：克勞德·莫奈與睡蓮畫》。他對文藝復興時期的佛羅倫薩的熱愛，他已經研究、寫作和講課超過20年，使維斯帕斯亞諾長期被遺忘的故事--以前從未寫過--成為不可抗拒的下一個主題。他就住在牛津郊外。

Ross King is a renowned expert in the Italian Renaissance. He is the author of numerous bestselling and acclaimed books include Brunelleschi’s Dome, Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling, Leonardo and the Last Supper and Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies. His love of Renaissance Florence, which he has been studying, writing and lecturing about for over twenty years, made Vespasiano’s long-forgotten story – never written about before – an irresistible next subject. He lives just outside Oxford.