LAREDO, Texas — The final chapter has been written for the lone
bookstore on the streets of Laredo.

With a population of nearly a quarter-million people, this city could
soon be the largest in the nation without a single bookseller.

The situation is so grim that schoolchildren have pleaded for a
reprieve from next month's planned shutdown of the B. Dalton
bookstore. After that, the nearest store will be 150 miles away in San
Antonio.