How the Post Office Created America

A History

By: Winifred Gallagher

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

A masterful history of a long underappreciated institution, How the Post Office Created America examines the surprising role of the postal service in our nation's political, social, economic, and physical development.

The founders established the Post Office before they had even signed the Declaration of Independence, and for a very long time it was the US government's largest and most important endeavor - indeed, it was the government for most citizens. This was no conventional mail network but the central nervous system of the new body politic, designed to bind 13 quarrelsome colonies into the United States by delivering news about public affairs to every citizen - a radical idea that appalled Europe's great powers. America's uniquely democratic post powerfully shaped its lively, argumentative culture of uncensored ideas and opinions and made it the world's information and communications superpower with astonishing speed.

Winifred Gallagher presents the history of the Post Office as America's own story, told from a fresh perspective over more than two centuries. The mandate to deliver the mail - then "the media" - imposed the federal footprint on vast, often contested parts of the continent and transformed a wilderness into a social landscape of post roads and villages centered on post offices. The post was the catalyst of the nation's transportation grid, from the stagecoach lines to the airlines, and the lifeline of the great migration from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It enabled America to shift from an agrarian to an industrial economy and to develop the publishing industry, consumer culture, and the political party system. Still one of the country's two major civilian employers, the post was the first to hire women, African Americans, and other minorities for positions in public life.

Starved by two world wars and the Great Depression, confronted with the country's increasingly anti-institutional mind-set, and struggling with its doubled mail volume, the post stumbled badly in the turbulent 1960s. Distracted by the ensuing modernization of its traditional services, however, it failed to transition from paper mail to email, which prescient observers saw as its logical next step. Now the Post Office is at a crossroads. Before deciding its future, Americans should understand what this grand yet overlooked institution has accomplished since 1775 and consider what it should and could contribute in the 21st century.

Gallagher argues that now, more than ever before, the imperiled Post Office deserves this effort, because just as the founders anticipated, it created forward-looking, communication-oriented, idea-driven America.

©2016 Winifred Gallagher (P)2016 Gildan Media LLC

Critic reviews

"Long the most important activity of the federal government, the Post Office knit together America's geographically spread out democracy. Winifred Gallagher fluently illuminates not only the fascinating, picturesque past, but also the various possible futures of the American postal service." (Daniel Walker Howe, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848)

useful for all

the postal service has played a larger role in educating Americans and shaping politics than many Americans realize. it has been a part of our social history too. it has ensured that rural areas are connected to the US as a whole. It's well worth reading this book to find out, particularly at this time over so much controversy about vote by mail.

Narrator feels sped up and unatural

I’ve been very interested in this book and think I’ll just pick up the paper back instead.I’m not terribly fussy about narration but I found this one very difficult to handle. I tried slowing it down one notch but then it just sounded creepy. The performance just came across and reading something quickly without paying attention to it.

Terrible Reader

Interesting concept for a book, a little light on content, but good. Sadly, the reader's performance makes it nearly unlistenable. Speedy cadence, over-enunciation, and just plain annoying delivery made it tough to get through.

A Very Important Book!

While today, and for some time now, the US Post Office has struggled to remain competitive, I ask you to set that aside and become completely engrossed in this beautifully written and thoroughly researched book about communication’s critical role in the development of the largest, freest republic in the history of mankind. This book has the perfect title. I loved every page of it! Kudos!!!

So good. So interesting.

Well told story about the history or the US Postal Service. What a resource we are not investing in and paying attention to.

Everything you need to know about the post office

Heard a bunch of razzmatazz about the post office going on and wanted to find out the full story. Extremely well written. Engaging and informative. Had a blast listening to it.

Interesting enough

Probably more than I needed to know. Cracks me up that historians give numbers from 200 years ago like 645,292. How do they know it was not 645,302? They do not.

Fascinating Book with Poor Delivery

This history of the USPS is fascinating with many interesting anecdotes. The flow of the narrative is well done even if not always chronological.

The one drawback to the audiobook is the annoying, authoritarian, sanctimonious voice of the narrator. While I wanted to hear the story, I found the voice irritating enough that I reluctantly returned to the book. It was like being lectured by your third grade teacher!

interesting

lots of interesting facts timeline jumps around a bit. I would recommend makes you wish the post office would get a real progressive leader to drive it into the future rural 5G comes to mind.

Very Informative History

I learned so much about our post office system. Many bits and pieces I already knew were nicely tied together.