Introduction

As men and women have moved around the world, so have books. Books, periodicals and newspapers have served as ambassadors of thought, religion and nationhood, and they have connected peoples separated by land and sea and by political and sectarian borders. At the same time, books, in manuscript and in print, have created artificial boundaries and reinforced prejudices. Writers, publishers and readers have all used the trade in books — often in surprising ways — to promote political, literary and linguistic agendas. Written texts have ensured powerful bonds of shared identity between all those involved in their production, circulation and consumption.