- Hardcover: 328 pages
- Publisher: University of Chicago Press (21 April 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0226525902
- ISBN-13: 978-0226525907
- Product Dimensions: 18 x 2.4 x 23.6 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,653,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Reluctant Capitalists
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"From beginning to end, this book is a pleasure to read. Reluctant Capitalists is the first good history of American bookselling to appear in a very long time. Here, Laura Miller provides a fascinating analysis of conflicts within the book industry between the understanding of bookselling as a capitalist venture, and an almost diametrically opposed view of the same venture as something higher and worthier by virtue of books' content and place within our culture." - Elizabeth Long, author of Book Clubs"
Product Description
Over the past half-century, bookselling, like many retail industries, has evolved from an arena dominated by independent bookstores to one in which chain stores have significant market share. And as in other areas of retail, this transformation has often been a less-than-smooth process. This has been especially pronounced in bookselling, argues Laura J. Miller, because more than most other consumer goods, books are the focus of passionate debate. What drives that debate? And why do so many people believe that bookselling should be immune to questions of profit? In "Reluctant Capitalists", Miller looks at a century of book retailing, demonstrating that the independent/chain dynamic is not entirely new. It began one hundred years ago when department stores began selling books, continued through the 1960s with the emergence of national chain stores, and exploded with the formation of "super-stores" in the 1990s. The advent of the Internet has further spurred tremendous changes in how booksellers approach their business. All of these changes have met resistance from book professionals and readers who believe that the book business should somehow be "above" market forces and instead embrace more noble priorities. Miller uses interviews with bookstore customers and members of the book industry to explain why books evoke such distinct and heated reactions. She reveals why customers have such fierce loyalty to certain bookstores and why they identify so strongly with different types of books. In the process, she also teases out the meanings of retailing and consumption in American culture at large, underscoring her point that any type of consumer behavior is inevitably political, with consequences for communities as well as commercial institutions.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Customer Reviews
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.co.uk.
5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Informative and thought provoking
29 Dec 2006
Format:Hardcover
A very well-done study of the book selling industry. So clever to use books as a focal point for a discussion of the complexities of buying and selling. Refreshingly free of jargon, though there are occasional traces of academic production (I intend to show in the next chapter ...). But this is minor given the generally clear-headed writing and thinking the author displays. Along with all the fascinating information about the development of book selling, as a vocation and as mere commodity pushing, she has included excellent reflections on the nature of the consumer and the consumer's choices to exhibit pure marketplace rationality vs. politically informed cultural activity.
Personally, I remain caught in the complexities of these choices: I bought this book on Amazon but feel it's critical to support independent bookstores (I do that too). I've just returned from a cross country trip and it's dreary out there in places that have no independents. Coincidentally they seem to be places that have no city centers, no architecture, no newspapers, few cultural events ..., nothing but cars and roads and big box stores.
Personally, I remain caught in the complexities of these choices: I bought this book on Amazon but feel it's critical to support independent bookstores (I do that too). I've just returned from a cross country trip and it's dreary out there in places that have no independents. Coincidentally they seem to be places that have no city centers, no architecture, no newspapers, few cultural events ..., nothing but cars and roads and big box stores.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Highly recommended for booklovers concerned about the "bookstore wars"
12 Nov 2006
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Booklovers who wouldn't usually be inclined to read something about the bookselling industry will appreciate this detailed account of the business, particularly in light of the ongoing -- and often ruinous -- competition between independent bookstores, the mega-chains, the "big box" retailers and the online giants.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
A very interesting view
17 Aug 2006
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The author looks a bookselling and especially book buying from a very sophisticated standpoint taking many economic, social, and cultural factors into account. The idea that the book both is and isn't a commodity like any other is examined up down and sideways. One interesting point: the rise of giants Borders and Barnes and Noble has made buying a book an entertainment experience (e.g., people go on dates at Borders!).
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Business, Finance & Law > Economics
- Books > Business, Finance & Law > Management > Distribution > Retail
- Books > Reference > Publishing & Books > Booksellers & Bookselling
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Cultural Studies > Popular Culture
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Sociology
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
