The Bookshop - A History of the American Bookstore

An affectionate and engaging history of the American bookstore and its central place in American cultural life, from department stores to indies, from highbrow dealers trading in first editions to sidewalk vendors, and from chains to special-interest community destinations Bookstores have always been unlike any other kind of store, shaping readers and writers, and influencing our tastes, thoughts, and politics. They nurture local communities while creating new ones of their own. Bookshops are powerful spaces, but they are also endangered ones. In Evan Friss’s history of the bookshop draws on oral histories, archival collections, municipal records, diaries, letters, and interviews with leading booksellers to offer a fascinating look at this institution beloved by so many. The story begins with Benjamin Franklin''s first bookstore in Philadelphia, and takes us to a range of booksellers including The Strand, Chicago’s Marshall Field & Co., Gotham Book Mart, specialty stores like Oscar Wilde and Drum and Spear, sidewalk sellers of used books, Barnes & Noble, Amazon Books, and Parnassus.

Product details

• Authors: Evan Friss, Friss Evan
• Publisher: Viking USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 06.08.2024
• EAN: 9780593299920
• ISBN: 978-0-593-29992-0
• No. of pages: 416
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 26 mm
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; USA, 20th Century, HISTORY / Social History, Social & cultural history, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, HISTORY / United States / 20th Century, HISTORY / United States / State & Local / General, 20th century, c 1900 to c 1999, Local History, Social and cultural history, United States of America, USA, History of the Americas