The Seven Stairs: An Adventure of the Heart

by Stuart Brent

In a new, updated edition is the famous story of an ex-GI named Stuart Brent who turned his passion for reading into a bookstore that became a mecca for book lovers across America.

The Seven Stairs is Stuart Brent's exuberant memoir reveals the strategies and beliefs that made him one of the nation's most colorful and revered independent booksellers.

Genres: Books About Books, Nonfiction, Autobiography

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

Reviews

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely memoir of a bookish life, led at an interesting time in Chicago literature (the early 1950s to the late 1980s). Stuart Brent ran a bookstore (first on Rush Street, then on Michigan Avenue) that was beloved by many. Studs Terkel and Nelson Algren numbered among his many good friends, as well as the critic Fanny Butcher and other such literary luminaries. He also hosted a book-chat show on public television, which I would have liked to have seen. His personality and passion really come through in his tales of the ups and downs (mostly downs, of course) of the book trade.

I was lucky to work near the Michigan Avenue store when I was in my 20s, and often shopped there before it closed. I once went in with a friend who bought a couple of unusual, highbrow books (something by Andre Gide, perhaps? I can't remember). The clerk called out, "Mr. Brent! Come see this!" Stuart Brent came out from behind his table in the back, shook my friend's hand, and said, "You have renewed my faith in the reading public!" I was pretty jealous.

[Melissa Delaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made me want to open a book store

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun! Found it at a used bookstore and thought it would have been an interesting story. A bookseller in post-WWII Chicago definitely had a lot of stories to tell. Been really enjoying reading memoirs/non-fiction written in the pre- or early internet years and this one also had some interesting opinions on attention and quality that makes me think he is rolling in his grave at the state of the world. Writing had a lot of dry humor which made me laugh.

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was a little boy, any my parents had errands to run in Chicago, rather than cart me around to lawyers, accountants, and doctors they would leave me for a few hours in the wonderland of the basement childrens book section of Stuart Brent Books on Michigan Avenue. As I grew up, my taste in books grew as well and I became a denzien of the regular adult section on the main floor. I didn't know it at the time, because booksellers like Brent had spoiled me and Borders did not yet exist but Brent's taste in books was exquisite and he would sometimes come over, take whatever you were reading out of your hands, and replace it with something else he thought was better. He was usually right.

About the time he closed his bookstore, in advance of a giant Borders opening up across from the Water Tower Mall, I got my first job and I happened to find a copy of his biography, or really the biography of The Seven Stairs, his first bookshop, and I snapped it right up. Like Somerset Maugham he wrote hsi autobiography a bit early (it was first published in 1962, he died in 2010 at the age of 98.) Maugham wrote in his final memoirs "The Summing Up" that he always regretted writing his autobiographical novel "Of Human Bondage" before his powers developed fully as a writer. Brent had no such regrets. He felt that only the young can believe that everything they do is being done for the first time, and that exuberance for life and literature comes out in Brent's book about his early career.

The book business is different today though there are still people like Brent running bookstores if you know where to look. Brent, though totally constant in his love of literature is a fickle lover of the book business itself. But the main stories he tells in the book, about his shaky start in the book business, his cultivation of the literary and psychoanalytic subcultures in Chicago, his stint as a TV book reviewer, and his discovery and purchase of a ramshackle farm in upstate Wisconsin are all told with a verve that is entrancing.

I don't know if this book is for everyone. As a person who is himself embarking on new things, rereading a book by a familiar voice, himself enthralled with what was new to him in 1962, was just the book for me.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I envy everyone who was able to visit Mr Brent bookshop. I love bookstores and he was a true book lover. We are a secret society.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for my library book club. It sounded interesting, but I don't think it lived up to that promise. Brent's writing ability was not great, and he came across as someone who would do anything to appease someone who could further his business, even changing the name that he and his wife had chosen for their child. That is just weird.
Oh, but I did like the reference to "The Little Prince." :)

[Jakki Tauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book several years ago and am just getting around to updating my goodreads:) Since I know the author, this book holds a special meaning to me.

I met Stuart back in the late 90's and he gave me a copy of this book as a gift. Through life circumstances, I was able to spend quite a bit of time at his house in northern Wisconsin one Summer. He was truly one of the nicest men I have met.

This is a great book and would recommend it has a weekend read.

[Susan C Lance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non-fiction. A Life with Books

[Treasure Island Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming account of the life and times of a bookstore and a bookseller.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skipped the portions about tv and his lake house in Wisconsin. Dug the rest. This should be reissued.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This memoir was originally published in 1962 so it's to be expected that this book is a look back at a specific period in bookselling and publishing. While it's certainly dated it's also fascinating when you consider how much change the industry has seen over the years. (Being a book collector I'm very curious where the emergence of e-readers and e-books will take us in the coming years.)

A great read for anyone interested in one person's experience in bookselling.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful memoir of an interesting man who made many Chicago children lifelong readers. Features intriguing glimpses of sketchy Rush Street habitués, Lake Shore Drive Socialites, moody academics, authors and psychiatrists (!) who crossed the threshold of Brent's first bookstore. Eventhough the book was written in 1962, Brent's observations about publishing and retail could apply today. Fun, fast, intimate read - especially if you are interested in post-WWII Chicago.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

love bookseller storys and book store struggles that triumph in unexpected ways. love to read about publishing and author's personalities. you'd like this book if you like those things, if not, it might be a little slow go for you.

[Beth Shields-Szostak]

1st edition, signed by author

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful realistic look at how hard it is to make a living being a bookseller, writer and author, a realistic look at living life as a dreamer and not giving up.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story about The Seven Stairs bookstore in Chicago.