Interviews

Marie LebertProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 194K words
Chapters: 20

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Interviews (1998-2001) by Marie LebertAuthor: Lebert, Marie,Language: English, Class: TK: Technology: Electrical, Electronics and Nuclear engineering, Release Date: Oct 26, 2008

Editor's review

This book collects interviews conducted by Marie Lebert between 1998 and 2001, centering on the early development of eBooks and digital publishing and holding clear documentary value. Its contents mirror the history of Project Gutenberg—Michael Hart pioneered eBook practice in 1971—and these interviews capture firsthand voices of the technologies, ideas, and practitioners of the years that followed. Its strength lies in contemporaneous primary records: readers see how the participants themselves described the possibilities, difficulties, and debates surrounding eBooks, rather than retrospective accounts. The language is English, and the book is classed under TK technology, yet its form is mainly dialogue, so the technical threshold is low. It suits as supplementary material for research on the history of digital publishing, libraries, and internet culture, and is also suitable for general readers curious about the origins of eBooks. There is no need to read it linearly; readers can dip in by interviewee or theme and cross-reference public Project Gutenberg materials.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars and students studying the early history of digital publishing and eBooks
Readers interested in Project Gutenberg and internet culture
Library and information management professionals seeking industry background
General readers who enjoy the interview format and want to hear participants speak directly

Not a good fit for

Beginners seeking systematic instruction in eBook production techniques
Readers expecting a complete general history or a rigorously argued monograph
Readers who need a Chinese translation and are not comfortable reading the English original

Reading tips

Start with the table of contents and dip in by interviewee or theme rather than reading from cover to cover.
Cross-reference public historical materials on Project Gutenberg while reading to understand the context in which the interviews took place.
Compare the book's judgments about the future of eBooks with developments today, making brief notes.
For research use, record interview dates and subjects so the original sources can be checked when citing.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What does this book mainly collect?

It collects interviews Marie Lebert conducted between 1998 and 2001 on eBooks, digital publishing, and related Project Gutenberg practices, presenting firsthand views on the early development of digital reading in the form of conversations with participants.

Does reading this book require a technical background?

Not strictly. Although the book is classed as technology, its main body is interview dialogue with limited technical terminology. Basic English reading ability is enough to grasp the gist, and technical concepts can be looked up as you read.

What is the relationship between this book and Project Gutenberg?

The book is released by Project Gutenberg and also concerns that platform's history. Michael Hart pioneered eBook practice in 1971, and the interviews cover a period in the early development of eBooks; the two can be read in parallel.

Is it suitable as a source for academic citation?

It can be used as reference for primary interview material, but when citing, note that the interviews took place between 1998 and 2001 and that their views are time-bound. Check the original sources and use them alongside later research literature.

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About the author

Marie Lebert Author · French

Marie Lebert is a French translator and researcher of books and digital publishing. She holds a doctorate in linguistics from the Sorbonne and has worked in translation and library roles at international organizations in several countries; she now lives in Australia. Her research focuses on multilingualism online, e-books and the history of translation, and her writing for general readers traces how books have moved from print to digital form. Representative works include La Jérusalem médiévale, Del libro impreso al libro digital, Le Projet Gutenberg and Le Livre 010101: Enquête, and 47 of her titles are held in the collection. Her e-books and writings on Project Gutenberg are distributed free of charge through the University of Toronto's NEF and Project Gutenberg, making them easy to access online. Public information about her is limited, and her works centre on digital publishing and changing reading practices.