Memoir
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Seven Stairs by Brent Stuart,
By bookdealers2 "I love books!" (Webster, Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Seven Stairs: An Adventure of the Heart (Touchstone Books) (Paperback)
Good books by book sellers are hard to find, and this one is not only good, but definitely a pleasure to read. I wish it had included more details about how to succeed in the business of selling books, but I quickly realized that the author lived in an entirely different era than the one we have now of internet book selling. The author started in business at a time when the world was not sure that television would last and many wiser than he had not survived in the business of selling books.Originally published in 1962, this book is the autobiography of Brent Stuart, a successful Chicago book seller. His venture into book selling started after World War II, when as a young man fresh out of the Army, he opened a small book and music store. He admits he knew almost nothing about business, and he shares what he learned while struggling to survive. He also shares about the people he knew, many of whom were very helpful to him in his early years. He drops a lot of names, no doubt many of whom were very well-known in that era, among the most famous of whom are Katherine Hepburn, Gore Vidal, and Ernest Hemingway. Unfortunately, the book does not have an Index, which would be helpful when one is looking to find an interesting part that is worth reading aloud to friends. One of the parts of the book I found most interesting was his account of his business and social dealings with Dr. Lionel Blitzsten, a wealthy psychoanalyst. Dr. Blitzsten encouraged and helped him to develop a current catalog of psychiatric books, and the sales of those books greatly helped his business to prosper. He describes his first impression of Dr. Blitzsten in almost poetic yet graphic details: "What was really arresting (and somewhat terrifying) about this fat, puffing little man was the face. Above the glasses, the skull seemed all forehead; beneath, the clean-shaven skin was baby pink and the mouth shaped like a rosebud and just as red. That was it, the mouth -- and when he spoke, the voice was musical, no longer deep, but rather high in pitch." Dr. Lionel hosted social gatherings which many clamored to attend. The author defines the social atmosphere at Dr. Lionel's home as a coterie, and his eloquent description of it is: "The machinery of a coterie is simple; the reasons behind its operation and its subtle influence on the lives of those drawn into its orbit are complex almost beyond endurance. Essentially, the coterie consists of a number of people who hold similar views on unimportant things. Everyone admitted must observe a cardinal prohibition: to say nothing fundamental about anything. All must follow the leader, employ a common stock of expressions, adopt the same mannerisms, profess the same prejudices, affect the same bearing, and recognize a common bond of impenetrable superficiality." The author also provides details about early television in Chicago and his role in a daily TV program titled "Books and Brent," in which he reviewed books. He also briefly gives details about his personal life, the businesses of publishing and writing books, his favorite cabin retreat at Bark Point in Wisconsin, and his adventures in a summer stock theater in suburban Chicago. Some of his secrets about how to succeed in the business of selling books include hosting chamber music parties and author signings at his book store, as well as having the help and support of good friends. Save this one for a treat on a long winter night. It is an easy and entertaining read, yet very interesting for its portrayal of the author and his era. While the author does not preach or make recommendations about how to succeed in the business of selling books, his philosophy is shared in the telling of his stories. His life is an American success story packed with interesting details about life and business in the 1950s.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
book lovers and money,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Seven Stairs: An Adventure of the Heart (Touchstone Books) (Paperback)
I like this book (about opening a Chicago bookshop in 1946), because it shows that people who love books often have no business knack at all, and they tend to be idealists, too, they cannot help it:Quote: " They bought many books that morning.... It was wonderful- but it was awful when I had to take their money!" "I am not interested in giving the public what it wants.... I have never had what the public wanted to read, and I lost out because of it.... I felt my job was to get people to jump- to read something, old or new, that could engage them in some real vision of human possibilities..." Boy, they don't make'em like that anymore. In 2006 no one could run a shop like that. Too bad!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Seven Stairs,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Seven Stairs: An Adventure of the Heart (Touchstone Books) (Paperback)
a charming book! I gave it to two book dealer friends for Christmas and kept one.If you are into books and /or Chicago lore this is a perfect choice.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
I MIGHT as well tell you what this book is about. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Seven Stairs, Bark Point, Stuart Brent, New York, Michigan Avenue, Ben Kartman, Nelson Algren, Jack Conroy, Miss Darnell, Rush Street, Ben Hecht, Clark Street, Ira Blitzsten, Lionel Blitzsten, Los Angeles, University of Chicago, Golden Arm, Harvey Lewis, Kafka's The Trial, Lake Superior, Red Quinlan, Sidney Morris, Studs Terkel, Bob Kohrman, Chicago Sun-Times New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
I MIGHT as well tell you what this book is about. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Seven Stairs, Bark Point, Stuart Brent, New York, Michigan Avenue, Ben Kartman, Nelson Algren, Jack Conroy, Miss Darnell, Rush Street, Ben Hecht, Clark Street, Ira Blitzsten, Lionel Blitzsten, Los Angeles, University of Chicago, Golden Arm, Harvey Lewis, Kafka's The Trial, Lake Superior, Red Quinlan, Sidney Morris, Studs Terkel, Bob Kohrman, Chicago Sun-Times New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
books:
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6
books
cite this book:
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- The Man with the Golden Arm (50th Anniversary Edition): 50th Anniversary Critical Edition by Nelson Algren on page 38, page 41, and page 46
- Literary Situation by Malcolm Cowley on page 88, and page 90
- Green Mansions (Dover Books on Literature & Drama) by W. H. Hudson on page 206, and Back Matter
- Sister Carrie (Signet Classics) by Theodore Dreiser on page 206, and Back Matter
- The Neon Wilderness by Nelson Algren on page 37, and page 89
See all 100 books this book cites
- Understanding Nelson Algren (Understanding Contemporary American Literature) by Brooke Horvath on 4 pages
- A Passion for Books: A Book Lover's Treasury of Stories, Essays, Humor, Lore, and Lists on Collecting, Reading, Borrowing, Lending, Caring for, and Appreciating Books by Harold Rabinowitz on page 17, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Rebel Bookseller: How to Improvise Your Own Indie Store and Beat Back the Chains by Andrew Laties in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- What Is What Was by Richard Stern in Back Matter
- Taken by Design: Photographs from the Institute of Design, 1937-1971 by David Travis on page 210
See all 6 books citing this book
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