New Book Releases

Along with the Dodgers and Prospect Park, the Abraham & Straus department store was a legendary piece of Brooklyn's history and identity.

From Abraham Abraham's modest store of 1865, A&S developed into one of America's largest department stores, eventually becoming a charter member of the powerful Federated Department Stores Corporation in 1929. Known for unparalleled customer and employee loyalty, the stores rode a wave of demographic and economic changes. Today, the former Fulton Street Abraham & Straus operates as a Macy's and remains one of America's last downtown department stores. Author, historian and lecturer Michael J. Lisicky chronicles the rise and fall of Brooklyn's iconic store.

Buffalo boasts many attractions, from sports teams to unique culinary offerings. The city also once was a shopper's paradise, and those fond memories live on today for generations of locals. Buffalo native Seymour Knox helped his cousin Frank Woolworth open his famous chain of stores nationwide, and Cresbury Clothes remained a multigenerational family business for most of the twentieth century. Well-recognized national chains, like the A&P, and local department stores like AM&A's and Sattler's were among the great retailers that dotted the main streets of the Queen City. Others, like Tops Markets, were bought out by larger corporations. In this new, updated edition, join Buffalo native Michael Rizzo as he revisits the days when Buffalo's streets were lined with stores and its sidewalks crowded with shoppers.