Moe's Books

Moe's Books is a monument to the used book, a four-story cathedral of secondhand literature that has anchored Telegraph Avenue since 1959 and survived every upheaval that this famously turbulent street has witnessed. Founded by Moe Moskowitz, the store has grown into one of the largest and most respected used bookstores in America, with a collection so vast and deep that scholars, collectors, and casual browsers regularly lose entire days moving from floor to floor. The art section on the second floor is magnificent, featuring exhibition catalogs, monographs, and theoretical texts that art students and curators travel considerable distances to browse. The rare books room on the top floor is a treasure house, with antiquarian volumes, signed first editions, and ephemera that represent decades of expert buying. The history section covers every civilization and era with the kind of depth that only a great used bookstore can achieve. Moe's is not just a store but a Berkeley institution, as essential to the city's identity as the university itself.