Hot Type: The Magnificent Machine that Gave Birth to Mass Media and Drove Mark Twain Mad

by Jeff Jarvis

Genres: Nonfiction, History

384 pages, Hardcover

Published August 20, 2026

About the author

Jeff Jarvis is an American journalist writing for publications such as New York Daily News, the San Francisco Examiner, and The Guardian. In 2006 he became an associate professor at City University of New York's Graduate School of Journalism, directing its new media program. He is a co-host on This Week in Google, a show on the TWiT Network.


Picture by Robert Scoble

Reviews

[Sharondblk]

I'm not sure why I requested this book. It must have sounded interesting to me at the time, but I certainly don't have any special concern with linotype machines or with Mark twain, or even with America in the late 1800's. So I found this book quite heavy going. There are a lot of men mentioned, and a lot of dense type. There are no pictures or illustrations, we must rely on descriptions of the machines. I did manage to get half way through, and realised I wasn't retaining any of the information at all. I think this book was well written, and would be enjoyed by someone who already know what a linotype machine is and wants a very deep dive into the history. After abandoning this book I read the (illustrated) Wikipedia article about the linotype, where I gained all the understanding I need. I'm the problem, not this book!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this free DRC in exchange for an honest review.

[Steve]

I enjoyed this book. I thought that the discussions around patents, legal maneuverings and personalities were quite good. I also enjoyed the history of companies I know today. I didn’t quite get how all the typesetting equipment worked, but I suspect that in order to explain this adequately would have taken a much longer book. The pacing was quite good except for the Coda, which I found too long. On the other hand, I found the Afterword, Acknowledgments and even the colophon very interesting. Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic for the advance reader copy.

[Zoe D]

I very much enjoyed this book, especially as it combines material culture, history, and mass media. It's Jeff Jarvis at his best.

[Kidlitter]

Absolute catnip for wonky tech types who will love the detailed accounts of how mass media came into being, with the likely figure of Mark Twain driving the machine.