Last Bookseller : A Life in the Rare Book Trade

$18.00 CAD

pp. 182, “When Gary Goodman wandered into a run-down, used-book shop that was going out of business in East St. Paul in 1982, he had no idea the visit would change his life. He walked in as a psychiatric counselor and walked out as the store’s new owner. In The Last Bookseller, Goodman describes his sometimes desperate, sometimes hilarious career as a used and rare book dealer in Minnesota.

Here we meet the infamous St. Paul Book Bandit, Stephen Blumberg, who stole 24,000 rare books worth more than 50 million dollars; John Jenkins, the Texas rare book dealer who (probably) was murdered while standing in the middle of the Colorado River; and the eccentric Melvin McCosh, who filled his dilapidated mansion with half a million books. In 1990, with a couple of partners, Goodman opened St. Croix Antiquarian Books in Stillwater, one of the Twin Cities region’s most venerable bookshops until it closed in 2017.

The internet changed the book business forever, and Goodman details how, after 2000, the internet made stores like his obsolete. In the 1990s, the Twin Cities had nearly 50 secondhand bookshops; today, there are fewer than 10. As both a memoir and a history of booksellers and book scouts, criminals and collectors, The Last Bookseller offers an ultimately poignant account of the used and rare book business during its final Golden Age.”

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SKU: 293766 Category:

Book Information

ISBN 1517912571
ISBN13 9781517912574
Number of pages 182
Original Title Last Bookseller : A Life in the Rare Book Trade
Published Date 2021
Book Condition Very Good
Jacket Condition Very Good
Binding Hardcover
Size Smaller 8vo
Place of Publication Minneapolis
Edition First edition
Category:
Author:
Publisher:

Description

pp. 182, “When Gary Goodman wandered into a run-down, used-book shop that was going out of business in East St. Paul in 1982, he had no idea the visit would change his life. He walked in as a psychiatric counselor and walked out as the store’s new owner. In The Last Bookseller, Goodman describes his sometimes desperate, sometimes hilarious career as a used and rare book dealer in Minnesota.

Here we meet the infamous St. Paul Book Bandit, Stephen Blumberg, who stole 24,000 rare books worth more than 50 million dollars; John Jenkins, the Texas rare book dealer who (probably) was murdered while standing in the middle of the Colorado River; and the eccentric Melvin McCosh, who filled his dilapidated mansion with half a million books. In 1990, with a couple of partners, Goodman opened St. Croix Antiquarian Books in Stillwater, one of the Twin Cities region’s most venerable bookshops until it closed in 2017.

The internet changed the book business forever, and Goodman details how, after 2000, the internet made stores like his obsolete. In the 1990s, the Twin Cities had nearly 50 secondhand bookshops; today, there are fewer than 10. As both a memoir and a history of booksellers and book scouts, criminals and collectors, The Last Bookseller offers an ultimately poignant account of the used and rare book business during its final Golden Age.”

Additional information

Weight 1 kg

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