The Invention of News. How the World Learned About Itself

The book by Professor of Modern History at the University of St. Andrews, acclaimed writer specializing in the Renaissance period Andrew Pettegree, was first published in 2015 and was met with enthusiastic reviews from critics and American media. The New... Yorker magazine called it a "revealing story," while literary critic Adam Kirsch noted that the book serves as an "outstanding preface to the past, helping to understand our future."
The author covers a period of nearly four centuries – from the pre-printing era to 1800, from the end of the Middle Ages to the French Revolution, intricately exploring the human instinct to seek news and the desire to be informed. A fascinating panorama of centuries unfolds before the reader, showcasing a truly multimedia exchange that includes all available means of disseminating news – conversations and rumors, civil ceremonies and celebrations, church sermons and proclamations in squares, and with the advent of the printing era – pamphlets, ballads, newspapers, and leaflets.