A History of the Book in America

Volume 3

The Industrial Book, 1840 - 1880

Edited by Scott E. Casper, Jeffrey D. Groves, Stephen W. Nissenbaum & Michael Winship. The American Antiquarian Society and The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC. 2007 (this is a 6th printing). Hardcover in dust jacket. Black boards with gold lettering. 539 pages. B&W illustrations.

Despite an unbearable political upheaval (which also helped fuel it), the new nation's thirst for the printed word flourished. Periodicals finally took root, and newspapers became a commonplace. Literacy was not only a sign of good citizenship; it was, at long last, a necessity.

Again, two dozen contributors to this volume give it a diverse and thorough coverage of the subject.