Based on the author\'s popular series for The New Yorker (in which he profiled New York\'s best bookstores), Footnotes from the World\'s Greatest Bookstores is a collection of illustrations and anecdotes from around the world, celebrating beloved bookshops and the people who work (and shop) in them. Each shop is profiled with brief historical information, a charming illustration, and a one-of-a-kind anecdote. From Madonna and Sean Penn snarkily shopping for Bukowski novels in St. Mark\'s Bookshop in the 1980s, to Patti Smith working behind the counter at the Strand, the anecdotes provide a cheery, inside look into the world of buying, selling, and cherishing books.