The title is very poor for what is, in reality, an excellent set of essays on book culture, collecting, and shops. The introductory polemic against Amazon is fine, if a bit standard, but the book moves sharply along to a varied set of essays, interviews, and travelogues that I found extremely pleasant. I don't side with Carrión on everything (for example, his maybe-maybe-not tongue-in-cheek dislike for used bookshops over new; he says of used shops, "they are death") but he always provides food for thought. I loved the interview with Alberto Manguel (I know he's Argentine by birth, but allow me a little Canadian pride here) and I loved the essay on Borges. This is only Carrión's second book in English and I hope more is translated soon! ( )

Interessante obra do sobre o impacto da gigante eletrónica no negócio livreiro.

A edição brasileira é bonita e competente no que diz respeito ao núcleo central da obra, mas fica muito prejudicada por ter incluído no conjunto alguns ensaios delirantes de autores brasileiros, cujo único intuito é fazer proselitismo político-ideológico, esquecendo o objetivo primário (e nobre!) do autor. ( )

The list of existential threats is long. Global warming and the Coronavirus can be grappled with and accommodated but Amazon is remorseless. I wonder if the name Amazon is not a misnomer, and intentionally so since it conveys a sense of benign inevitability. Wouldn't it be more accurate and honest to call it that denizen of the Amazon rainforest, anaconda? ( )