"The point is Powell's probably is the world's greatest bookstore. It is a place of staggering ambition, hidden in the very humble wrapper of a worn-out warehouse. Any library we seek tax money to build ought to measure up to Powell's or it isn't worth it." The Seattle Times

"This site boasts a huge collection of used, out-of-print, rare and autographed books. A search service tracks down out-of-print titles. . . Powell's is a must for out-of-print editions. Time Magazine, December 13, 1999
 
 
 
"[A] Portland institution, one of the finest bookstores in the West, Web site to match." The San Francisco Chronicle, December 6, 1999
 
 
 
"Used and rare bookstores have been swept up in the Internet revolution. And leading the way is Powell's, a Pacific Northwest institution that keeps breaking all the rules and getting away with it." The Seattle Times, July 13, 1999
 
 
 
"Powell's caters to such a breadth of reading tastes that at first sight it can be overwhelming. (It does, after all, encompass an entire city block.) Visitors often consult the maps neatly stacked just inside the front door..." The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 7, 1999
 
 
 
"Powell's, a quirky Oregon-based retailer, has become a Web powerhouse, selling used books through its site - and through Amazon.com. " The Industry Standard, March 8, 1999
 
 
 
"They are just one of the finest operations in the country, the most innovative and creative..." The Wall Street Journal, September 21, 1998
 
 
 
"Who says the traditional bookshop is dead? In this age of chain superstores and online selling, it often seems that the days of the old-style independent dealer are numbered. But one American bookseller, at least, refuses to believe that." The Independent (London), September 6, 1998
 
 
 
"His specialty as a generalist let Michael Powell's store grow voluminously. Now, at a 'critical phase,' he is facing online, chain challenges by growing in two directions." The Los Angeles Times, August 7, 1998
 
 
 
"Powell's Books plans to increase floor space at its landmark downtown store by 58 percent at a time when many independent booksellers are surrendering to the relentless expansion of national chains." The Oregonian, June 4, 1998
 
 
 
"...you get an inkling you've arrived at an unusual place when, just inside the front door, someone hands you a map....shelves devoted to appliance repair and Arthurian legends, comics and cognitive science, etiquette and ethnobotany, paper dolls and power tools, voodoo and vaudeville. " Houston Chronicle, October 5, 1997

"We went way past the traditional size of bookstores to find the limit of what people would be interested in, and we've never found that limit." Inc. Technology, No. 2 for 1997

"We don't have to compete with Amazon or Barnes & Noble; we can just sit back and watch the battle." Wired News, May 21, 1997

"Powell's stocks more than a million new and used books in over 4,000 sections, and buys 3,000 books a day over the counter. Of the one million books a year that it sells, more than half are used." Philiadelphia Online (The Philadelphia Inquirer), May 15, 1997

"...if there's a new edition of the Bible, people expect God to be at Powell's to sign books." The Nation, March 17, 1997

A BOOK MECCA: "Oregon is home to the largest used bookstore for English Language books" Die Zeit, February 2, 1996

"....a Powell's shopper can choose to pay $24.95 for a new hardback, $15 for the same volume used, and even less if the same book is available in paperback."The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 12, 1995

"To call Powell's City of Books a bookstore is rather like calling Mount Hood a nice hill. Powell's is not quaint, not cute, not anything you might expect a beloved literary landmark to be. It is a 43,000-square-foot, block-long, dull yellow building that looks as though it should be filled with drill presses or Linotype machines but that is instead filled with books: new books, old books, aisles of books, rooms of books." Sunset Magazine, May 1994

"My reason for wanting to return to Portland can be summed up in one word-books. Portland has one of the largest bookstores in the world..... Powell's bookstore, the reason I went to Portland in the first place, deserves special mention. The store is so big you need a map to get around. Powell's City of books is the biggest bookstore in the country, with 500,000 individual titles and perhaps 1 million new and used volumes on its shelves. Powell's was started in Chicago as a used bookstore near the University of Chicago campus by Michael Powell during his graduate student days. Powell opened his first Portland store in 1971. The building was a former garage that covered a city block. It has been carved into seven rooms, including the Anne Hughes Coffee Room where one can sip an espresso or cafe latte, nibble on cookies, or browse at the tables. Patrons are issued maps to find their way through the rooms filled with clearly marked three-metre tall wooden bookcases; 1.8-metre ladders provide access to the upper shelves." The Bangkok Post, May 2, 1994

"Considering all the concern about the decline of reading and the too-easy urgency of electronics, who can explain, please, how it is that great bookstores survive today at the threshold of the 21st Century? Better, who can explain Portland, the Mr. Medium of U.S. cities, and how a contender for America's greatest bookstore not only survives here, but thrives?" The Los Angeles Times, June 15, 1992