Foreword
At the turn of the last century, Time–Life magazine picked Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the printing press as the most important invention of the second millennium. Their pick outranked many other inventions that have changed humankind. Anesthesia and vaccinations that have revolutionized the medical field, automobiles and airplanes that have increased mobility, and even the electric light that has powered countless social changes all ranked below Gutenberg's invention, which allowed the great expansion of literacy.
The concept of interchangeable parts in the printing press was what made the press adaptable and such a revolutionary change. Previously, books were hand copied and could easily take a year's labor to produce, making their ...
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