Suzy Gershman | 'Born to Shop' author, 64

Suzy Gershman, 64, the author of 16 Born to Shop guides, published over 26 years and compiled during hundreds of thousands of miles of worldwide wandering and backstreet meandering, has died.

Mrs. Gershman died of cancer last Wednesday in San Antonio, said Sarah Lahey, who for the last eight years helped research and write the books.

Six of the guides became standards that have been revised every other year - for New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, France, and Italy. In all, more than four million copies of the books, first published by Bantam and then Frommer's, have been sold.

The guides point shoppers toward local markets, specialty boutiques, and out-of-the-way shops with merchandise by artisans. They recommend affordable hotels and offer shopping tips.

"The basic idea of the book," Mrs. Gershman once said, "is that it should read like we were having lunch and I was telling you about my shopping day."

Just that kind of encounter inspired the series. "She was living in Beverly Hills, working as the West Coast style editor for People magazine," Lahey said. "She was having lunch with girlfriends, and they decided to write a shopping guide for Beverly Hills. She was the one who did the writing."

Suzy Kalter was born on April 13, 1948, in San Antonio. She was one of three children of Gloria and S.S. Kalter.

She graduated from the University of Texas in 1969 with a degree in journalism, then moved to New York to work in advertising and public relations. There she met Michael Gershman, whom she married in 1975. He died in 2000. Mrs. Gershman is survived by a son, Aaron; a brother; and a granddaughter. - N.Y. Times News Service