Small Profits Do Great Things

At The Guardian‘s Books blog, Nigel Beale posts on the history of the big bookshop.

Despite the collateral damage of some small publishers being screwed over, a narrowed selection of titles, and the eventual rationing of stuffed seats, this place, and others like it, revolutionised the book buying experience – mostly for the better. Nothing like it ever existed before, at least over here. In London, however, this kind of emporium is yesterday’s news. Late 18th-century news, to be precise.