In 1916, only 10,445 new book titles were published in America, and this was considered a glut.
James L. West III explained the problem in "A History of the Book in America, Volume 4," edited by Carl Kaestle and Janice Radway: "Potential book buyers were everywhere, especially in small towns and rural communities, but there seemed to be no efficient way to reach them with advertising or to get books to them with dispatch. Shipping single copies to individuals or bookshops was unprofitable."
Enter Harry Scherman. In 1926 he started the Amazon.com (AMZN) of its time, a system of selling books directly to readers at minimal cost.
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