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 the 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 and interviews with leading booksellers to offer a fascinating look at this institution beloved by so many. THE BOOKSHOP 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.