The Bookseller of Florence: Vespasiano da Bisticci and the Manuscripts that Illuminated the Renaissance

Review 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, inch the king of the world’s booksellers, inch in 15th-century Florence . . . wonderful — Simon Schama ― New York Times 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 . . . entertaining, witty and expert — Tim Smith-Laing ― Daily Telegraph 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 A terrific and utterly absorbing read, full of narrative pace and remarkable breadth and depth of scholarship. It deserves to make the bestseller lists . . . I haven’t enjoyed a history book as much for years — John Guy The Bookseller of Florence is a way of entering the world of Renaissance humanism and its fascination with the writings of the past at a time when these were still – but not for much longer – handwritten — Charles Saumarez Smith ― Oldie About the Author 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. —- ISBN: 9781784709372 | ISBN10: 1784709379 | ISBN-13: 978-1784709372