The bookshop : a history of the American bookstore / Evan Friss.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Friss, Evan, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bookstores--United States--History.

Bookstores.

Booksellers and bookselling.

Books and reading--United States.

Books and reading.

Physical Description:

403 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

[New York, NY] : Viking, [2024]

Summary:

"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 The Bookshop, we see those stakes: what has been, and what might be lost. Evan Friss's history of the bookshop draws on oral histories, archival collections, municipal records, diaries, letters, catalogs, and interviews with leading booksellers to offer a fascinating look at this institution beloved by so many-not just as a merchant, but as a gathering place for likeminded people who cherish books. 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. The Bookshop is also a history of the leading figures in American bookselling, often impassioned eccentrics, and a history of how books have been marketed and sold over the course of more than two centuries-including, for example, a 3,000-pound elephant who appeared to sign books at Marshall Field's in 1944. The Bookshop is a book every bookstore will want to carry, as there has never been a more affectionate and engaging celebration of this beloved institution"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction. The UPS driver

Benjamin Franklin : the smell

The Old Corner : the buyer

Parnassus on Wheels : the artist + the suffragette

Marshall Field & Co. : The architect

Gotham Book Mart : the cat

The Strand : the kids

The Aryan Book Store : the grandmother

Oscar Wilde : the convener

Drum & Spear : the guy who never buys anything

Barnes & Noble : the weirdo

The Sidewalk : the wall

Amazon Books : the teacher

Parnassus : the bookstore book.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 319-385) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Friss, Evan. Bookshop

ISBN:

9780593299920

0593299922