by Lília Old Evergreens poster from 2012. Image taken from our archives. Most of our customers know about our ABC Favorites, books we curate for their content as well as popularity. But why did we decide to have a whole section of Favorites? And how do we curate them? Who [...]
by Lynn Growing up in nearly all-white rural Minnesota, I didn’t know about the Holocaust until doing research for a paper on social resistance, age twenty. I could have known – Anne Frank’s diary was widely read by my 13-year old classmates but, being contrarian, I didn’t read it then. I [...]
by Júlia Spring is always a special time for our ABC family. As the days get longer and the world starts to bloom again, we find ourselves in full celebration mode. This season isn’t just about fresh starts — it’s party time for us. In April, we’re celebrating the birthdays [...]
by Iris A few years after ABC first opened its doors in Amsterdam in 1972, founders Mitch Crossfield and Sam Boltansky decided to expand operations to The Hague. They got their hands on a cheap place to rent in the city center, and in 1976 the new store opened [...]
By Sophie Recently we featured in a satirical news show as the butt of a joke about how we had space for our new Romantasy section in Amsterdam because we had chucked out all our books on human rights. Funny joke, and thank you for highlighting us and books, Romantasy in particular, [...]
Written by Lynn After stalking the owners of a prototype Espresso Book Machine (EBM) for several years until a new version was launched for use in bookstores and libraries in 2008, I traveled to London and to Cambridge, MA to see how it worked and to make a business case for [...]
by Iris Sharing food has always been an important part of any Thanksgiving celebration. At ABC, we host a Baked Goods Potluck in all three stores to represent that part of Thanksgiving Day. But starting in 1994 and lasting until well in the 2000s, we used to organize a full-blown dinner! [...]
by Iris While all ABC staff obviously looks very youthful and spry, some of us have actually been around for quite a while. Our Jitse is celebrating 25 years at ABC this year. A massive milestone! Read on to find out more about his highlights from the past 2.5 decades. [...]
In Memoriam: Derk Sauer On July 31, 2025, we heard that Derk Sauer, founder of The Moscow Times, died. This brought memories of our participation in the 1997 Moscow Book Fair (read our blog post about it here). We ran a small ad in The Moscow Times announcing that the American [...]
Written by Lynn I arrived in Amsterdam in 1972 with some history in the American women’s liberation movement, had even started an organization for equal pay back in the day, and sometimes collaborated with the gay liberation activists. But living my perception of a liberated life in a foreign culture was [...]
