Borges would approve. Stack upon stack of used books. A labyrinth tucked inside an alley. You enter and see a Tiffany lamp cast shadows on the dark wooden stacks. An older gentleman peers over his book. Ancient maps, esoteric histories, musty Persian rugs and philosophical tracts. A vintage chair invites you to sit.
Those are the fragments of my recollection of Bookman’s Alley bookstore in Evanston, Illinois.
During my Northwestern days, I would occasionally stroll into to that singular bookstore. One day, I walked in and picked up a copy of “History of the Yale Law School: The Tercentenary Lectures“ Little did I know that this obscure book (as randomly obtained as can be obtained by any stochastic process) would re-shape my entire outlook on the law as a subject rich in realism and experience.
I was sad to learn that Bookman’s Alley, as reported by Chicago Today, is scheduled to close in July.
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