Includes bibliographical references (p. 283-297) and index.

Commercial culture and its discontents -- From dry goods merchant to Internet mogul : bookselling through American history -- Providing for the sovereign consumer : selecting and recommending books -- Designing the bookstore for the standardized consumer -- Serving the entertained consumer : the multifunction bookstore -- Bargaining with the rational consumer : selling the low-cost book -- The revolt of the retailers : independent bookseller activism -- Pursuing the citizen-consumer : consumption as politics.

Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2009. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.