Books: Cheap Books

In Phenix City, Ala., a prosperous town of 13,862 inhabitants, you can buy pretty much everything in the way of standard U. S. commodities, entertainment, even a good many luxuries. But if you want to read a book in Phenix City, you must either borrow one or go across the Chattahoochee River to Columbus, Ga. Phenix City has no bookstore. It has no library either.

Phenix City is a good example of a bookless U. S. town, but it is by no means unusual. Literary deserts also are Shelbyville, Tenn. (pop. 5,010), Picher, Okla....

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