Reluctant Capitalists

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. Yet unlike other retail industries, bookselling, many people believe, should be "above" questions of profit. In Reluctant Capitalists, Laura J. Miller investigates what drives this belief and how it is affected by the changing retail environment. Miller 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. Book jacket.

Laura J. Miller is assistant professor of sociology at Brandeis University.