In the Chronicle of Higher Education‘s opinion section, art historian Jacob L. Wright advocates for print and enhanced ebook publication. Fascinating perspective, although I dread the consistency issues–not to mention the fairly serious issues around a self-designed book being published on a proprietary platform without consulting preservation experts:
My book was produced in two forms. One version is in paperback, hardback, and a traditional e-book format, while the other is a fully enhanced version that I produced myself, using Apple’s iBooks Author program…. (The Cambridge Press version, which bears a different title, includes three additional chapters on the relationship between David and Caleb.) …. In the enhanced e-book version, I reconstruct the history of the biblical text alongside a wide selection of striking images [and linked documents]. Without leaving the page, the reader can study the layered history of the text alongside artistic interpretations spanning millennia, along with a bit of contemporary kitsch. The juxtaposition sparks the imagination in new ways.
I love what the scholar is doing for his students and colleagues, but I’m troubled that he locked-in all this content with Apple’s iBooks platform. The comments on this article are worth checking for alternatives to Apple’s iBooks. Read the article. (May be paywalled.)
