{"product_id":"the-bookshop-a-history-of-the-american-bookstore-1","title":"The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eGoodreads Choice Award Winner in History \u0026amp; Biography\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e's 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn 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.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eThe Bookshop\u003c\/i\u003e argues persuasively that not only are these institutions a crucial part of U.S. social and political history, but that they are also worth fighting for in the face of a new generation of technological and financial threats.\"\u003c\/strong\u003e -- \u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBookstores 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 \u003ci\u003eThe Bookshop\u003c\/i\u003e, we see the stakes: what has been, and what might be lost.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvan 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 \u0026amp; Company, the Gotham Book Mart, specialty stores like Oscar Wilde and Drum and Spear, sidewalk sellers of used books, Barnes \u0026amp; Noble, Amazon Books, and Parnassus. \u003ci\u003eThe Bookshop\u003c\/i\u003e 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 signed books at Marshall Field's in 1944.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Bookshop\u003c\/i\u003e is a love letter to bookstores, a charming chronicle for anyone who cherishes these sanctuaries of literature, and essential reading to understand how these vital institutions have shaped American life--and why we still need them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEvan Friss\u003c\/b\u003e is a professor of history at James Madison University and the author of two other books: \u003ci\u003eThe Cycling City: Bicycles and Urban America in the 1890s\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eOn Bicycles: A 200-Year History of Cycling in New York City\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives with his wife (a bookseller) and two children (occasional booksellers) in Harrisonburg, Virginia.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Evan Friss","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51198174757149,"sku":"9780593299944","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0821\/9095\/8877\/files\/9780593299944.jpg?v=1776894018","url":"https:\/\/staging.anovelideaphilly.com\/products\/the-bookshop-a-history-of-the-american-bookstore-1","provider":"A Novel Idea on Passyunk","version":"1.0","type":"link"}