The founder of The Book Shop began his bookselling career in 1963 as a pre-teen apprentice cataloging acquisitions in a small Des Moines bookstore. The first incarnation of what would become The Book Shop was as a textbook reseller out of a dormitory room on the campus of the University of Iowa in 1969. Soon after, we concentrated on collecting beautiful first edition prose and poetry, offered to our clients primarily by catalog (the early form of distance selling) as well as at book fairs and by appointment. Persuaded by customer requests, by the time we opened our first full-time walk-in bookstore our non-fiction selections had grown to more than quadruple the size of our fiction collection, and our writer's reference department has become a very satisfying source of information and inspiration.

In May of 1986, we laid claim to our present location, a wee two-story bungalow that was built in 1859 and originally served as a Pony Express and stagecoach layover station. Within the fitting shell of this small slice of history, we built an eponymical brick-and-mortar store offering collectible and popular books in every category and genre.

We hope it's our selection, a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, and our dedication to exceeding our in-store clients' book needs that has kept us in business all these years. It's either that, or a couple generations of book cats who love to meet new people and greet old friends. We trust that our honesty, speed of service and attention to detail will continue to delight our online customers (even if they can't pet the cats).

Our sincere goal at The Book Shop is to serve as a trusted source of books for all your needs. We're fond of books and we're all readers. We know what it's like when the stack of books we can't wait to read grows thin and we discover new authors and new treatments. We know the satisfaction of acquiring from someone we trust that long-sought volume needed to complete a series, a set or an author's body of work. And, we know the simple relief of hearing a great gift idea. We're here to be that kind of source to you, and we welcome the opportunity. If you're ever in Iowa City, we hope you'll stop in and visit. And, thank you for visiting our website where exciting developments are in the works.