Gutenberg the Geek

Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the printing press, is treated here as the original technology entrepreneur: the first geek, and a founder facing problems that today's startup people would recognise. Jeff Jarvis, a media critic, retells the life through that comparison.

The account follows Gutenberg through the technical hurdles of casting type and pressing ink. It also covers his move from secrecy to openness, his search for investors, and the risks of building something nobody has made before.

Jarvis argues that the press arrived in stages, with no single miraculous moment behind it. He also holds that Gutenberg's cash flow and equity arrangements brought about his downfall.

This is non-fiction, a short Kindle Single. Jarvis draws his history from other writers and uses it as a lens on the present, setting Gutenberg beside Silicon Valley and today's media startups throughout. It suits readers curious about the origins of print, or about how new technology gets funded and why its makers can still lose.