AustLit

'In August 2000 a group of top executives from Microsoft along with Barnesandnoble.com and several American book publishers organised a press conference in NewYork to usher in the coming age of the electronic book. Jack Romanos. president of Simon & Schuster, told journalists :‘We believe the e-book revolution will have an impact on the book industry as great as the paperback revolution of the 60s.’ Laurence Kirshbaum, chairman of the books division of AOL Time Warner, pledged to lead the charge: ‘We want to see electronic publishing blow the covers off of books'. Andersen Consulting estimated that by the year 2005 digital books would account for 10 per cent of all book sales.' (Introduction 118)