Sign in with Facebook
Callum's Column's Reviews > The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore
by
by
This book combines three passions of mine: bookshops, history, and America. Beginning with Benjamin Franklin as a printer and Founding Father, and ending with the rise of Amazon under the tutelage of Jeff Bezos, the American bookshop has played a central role not just in America's development but also global development. It is, unfortunately, a tale of liberty eroded by the advancement of oligarchic, perhaps even monopolistic, capitalism. Independent bookstores are losing market share to behemoths like Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Nonetheless, the bookshop remains central to American culture for entertainment or political persuasion.
This book could have been better. Its chapters are primarily oriented around specific bookstores and people. This is a reasonable layout if the information presented is comprehensive. The author, Evan Friss, rightly provides chapters on black, feminist and LGBT+ bookstores. However, he totally ignores conservative or religious bookstores (only a pro-Nazi bookstore is spotlighted). One cannot claim to write a history of the American bookstore and just highlight those underpinned by progressive politics. Also, almost all the bookstores examined were either located in New York or the New England region—that is hardly a representation of America.
Despite these criticisms, this book was a good read (pun intended). It is an ode to joy for our love of books and the places and people we go to get them. Books shape the world and promote liberty; there is a reason why ideologues want to burn them. My two favourite bookstores are independent and second-hand—Mainly Books in North Perth, and Bill Campbell Books in Fremantle. Each has a wonderful selection of politics, philosophy, and history. Those are my reading interests, yet we are all on Goodreads because we share a love of books and recognise the importance of reading in society. The bookstore is our lifeblood.
Thanks for reading Callum’s Column! Subscribe for free (only your email is required) for new book reviews and political analyses on Australia and the United States: https://callumscolumn.substack.com/
This book could have been better. Its chapters are primarily oriented around specific bookstores and people. This is a reasonable layout if the information presented is comprehensive. The author, Evan Friss, rightly provides chapters on black, feminist and LGBT+ bookstores. However, he totally ignores conservative or religious bookstores (only a pro-Nazi bookstore is spotlighted). One cannot claim to write a history of the American bookstore and just highlight those underpinned by progressive politics. Also, almost all the bookstores examined were either located in New York or the New England region—that is hardly a representation of America.
Despite these criticisms, this book was a good read (pun intended). It is an ode to joy for our love of books and the places and people we go to get them. Books shape the world and promote liberty; there is a reason why ideologues want to burn them. My two favourite bookstores are independent and second-hand—Mainly Books in North Perth, and Bill Campbell Books in Fremantle. Each has a wonderful selection of politics, philosophy, and history. Those are my reading interests, yet we are all on Goodreads because we share a love of books and recognise the importance of reading in society. The bookstore is our lifeblood.
Thanks for reading Callum’s Column! Subscribe for free (only your email is required) for new book reviews and political analyses on Australia and the United States: https://callumscolumn.substack.com/
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
The Bookshop.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
Comments Showing 1-11 of 11 (11 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Jill H.
(new)
Mar 23, 2025 07:00PM
A fine review, Callum. This book is on my tbr and I need to read it sooner than later.
reply
|
flag
Thanks for this fine, detailed review. I was counting on West Coast bookstores being profiled, e.g. “Stacy’s”, “The Albatross”, “Green Apple Books” in SF that I recall from the 1970s and “The Last Bookstore” in LA. That provincial, conservative leaning bookstores were “shelved” by the author is a bit off putting and I may reconsider this title now after all.
Great review. I am currently reading the book. I just went on a 17-day vacation. I called it my book safari. Came back with 11 new books.
Thanks for your comments, all. It's definitely worth the read, Jill; maybe Friss can release a second volume filling the gaps from the first, Michael, and it sounds like a lovely vacation, Mike. :)
I just bought this book and have been dying to crack it open, but I haven’t had time 😭 Going to have to open it up soon for sure. Great review, Callum!
Thanks, Allison :)
Thanks, Claire :)
Excellent review Callum....it was quite helpful in pointing out he covered a variety of shops yet conveniently left out any Christian or conservative ones; rather biased for my liking as well as not branching to further locations as no doubt the book stores in father away areas of the country would have been different!
I think the word you are looking for is corporatism. Corporatism is but one aspect of fascism, but it a tool that can lead to authoritarianism. Fewer than 10-20% of Americans know that our system isn't capitalism anymore. People sometimes call it "crony capitalism," it is when the government picks winners and losers instead of the market.
