In 1450, Peter Schoeffer is called home from the beginnings of a promising career as a scribe in Paris by his foster father who wants Peter to meet a "most amazing man." Peter is not happy and is, in fact, resentful at this intrusion into the life he saw himself leading. When he finds out what his father has in mind for him, he is even more upset. For his father, Johann Fust, wants him to work as an apprentice (an apprentice!) for Johann Gutenberg, his new business partner, as he prepares to use the first printing press.As someone dedicated to the beauty and wonder of writing, this new invention at first horrifies Peter. Gradually as the years progress he begins to see the benefits of this new system and even comes to see it as a sign of God's divine providence.
Gutenberg is a hard man to work for and it is even harder for Peter to navigate the paths between the two men. As the project drags slowly forward and Fust is called upon to supply more and more money tension between the two mounts.
In order to reach their goal - 180 copies of a uniformly printed Bible - they must work in secret. All around them are suspicious, from the Church to the craft guilds that control the city. And then the worst happens - Constantinople falls to the Infidel and it seems that the project will never be completed.
Only Peter, or so it seems to him, sees the real possibility of this new invention.
I enjoyed reading this book a great deal. As the book progressed, Peter became more and more sympathetic and Gutenberg less so. The dimensions of this man's personality were many and it was hard to tell what he was more interested in - creating a new process or making money. Fust's motives were much clearer - making money was the ultimate goal. What was always in question as I read this book was whether the Bible would actually be completed. Even though I knew the answer to that question I found myself reading faster and faster as the book progressed just to make sure that history really did happen.
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