The book publishing industry, which has existed for five centuries, has faced the biggest economic and technological challenges in its history in the 21st century. With the advent of the digital age, they invariably predict a quick death. However, how fair are such forecasts and how does the book business work today? John Thompson's book explores the changes that the publishing industry has undergone over the past 40–50 years and how the roles of its key players—publishers, agents, and salespeople—have been redefined. To find answers, Thompson draws on a large corpus of interviews with a variety of publishing employees, headhunters, authors and booksellers, including key buyers from major retailers. Exploring the internal structure of the publishing world from the perspective of an anthropologist, the author tries to understand: why and how, despite the global transformation of the media field, traditional book publishing manages to remain the central sphere of human culture? John B. Thompson is an American sociologist, professor at the University of Cambridge and emeritus professor at Jesus College.