64 Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada 37/2 rather than the articles -Reed has aimed for a higher level of precision in such calculations. Thus armed, he is able to trace both the "macrocosmic shifts" in the magazine inidustry's most successful titles -which he is reluctant to attribute to the incisive vision of particular editors and publishers -and the more subtle, microcosmic content changes manifested in specific titles. Although this leads him to lard his text with a sometimes

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... izzying array of percentages and decimal points, it lends statistical credibility to his iconoclasm, for he challenges numerous popular assumptions, such as the impact of new printing technologies and of mass literacy. He is also able to compare and contrast the relative development and progress of the American and British industries with more than impressionistic generalizations, and to relate these changes to the larger social and economic developments in both countries. The book itself is a handsome production, enhanced with eight pages of colour plates, forty-nine well-chosen, monochrome illustrations, and a comprehensive bibliography. Reed's study raises the bar for those who follow in this endlessly large and fascinating branch of cultural and bibliographic history. MERRILL DISTAD University ofAlberta Library