2010 - January/February
Dossier: The e-book Revolution
Until the end of paper has come
From the Gutenberg Project to e-book readers: electronic publishing on the rise.
More than 30 years ago, when the newly invented walkman helped bringing music out of the home, hardly anybody could imagine that like sound, also words might leave the shelf one day, and follow us in our daily movements. Even though the Gutenberg Project – launched in America in 1971 with the goal of digitizing the contents of copyright-free books – has arrived at more than 20,000 titles, the progress in computer science is actually responsible for relevant changes that are currently going on. Over the last decade, in fact, the contents of the printed book have started to migrate; thanks to the availability of several electronic formats, a new medium of reading is gradually spreading: the e-book reader. Full Story
Current Affairs
How to Tell Obama’s Story
Curated by SkyTG24 and distributed by the Corriere della Sera, the DVD “Obama - An American Dream” aims to tell the story that has led to the election of the first black President in United States history.
In an epoch in which we live in and consume numerous disposable sources of information, one of the most misused words is the adjective “historic.” Perhaps there should be a team of psychologists to explain this tendency and to assign greater influence to the reality to many events unable to leave marks on the history of a country or the world. Without fear of exaggeration, one can say that the DVD “Obama - An American Dream” is a concentrated substance of news, ideas and frames taken from the stream of information from the previous 2008, a year that has become important for the world’s history.
Full Story
Dossier: The e-book Revolution
Where books live
The advantages of the new multimedia are going to help the users and, perhaps, to improve the service of traditional bookshops.
The Italian market is still unknown, but the U.S. market has now been invaded by the new e-book format. This sector is now growing but has proven to grow rapidly, thanks to new entrepreneurs, professionals and readers, each of them ready to participate with new ideas. What is certain is that the era of the printed book seems destined to end, but maybe it’s just an opportunity to rethink a place that will continue to exist and exercise its charm. We spoke with Daniel Melamud, French department manager of Rizzoli Bookstore in New York. Full Story
In The Mirror
Survivor
The story of the Italian who was the last person to see George A. Custer alive.
It was a heavy burden on his life up to the very last moment; up to that cold December 27th, 1922, on which he was run over by a truck, he was always asked the same question. Nosey parkers, journalists, neighbours, everybody wanted him to recount, for the umpteenth time, the story of the ride that was to change his life, though he just fulfilled an order. Full Story
