How the Post Office Created America

May 2, 2016
The post office may not have actually “created” America, but journalist Gallagher (New: Understanding Our Need for Novelty and Change) makes a strong case for its historical importance in this brisk history. Forging early links among the colonies and then uniting the nation and its frontier as settlers moved west, the post office has by necessity survived by modernizing and developing in parallel with the nation. The institution single-mindedly pursued more efficient systems of delivery for generations, though it struggled with the demands of independent contractors—whether stagecoach operators or airlines—and opportunistic competitors that were able to adapt faster than the federal bureaucracy. The 1970 transformation of the Post Office Department into the U.S. Postal Service, a business run by the government, was meant to ameliorate these problems. But, as Gallagher explains, this shift in emphasis from innovation to the bottom line may have doomed the post office as it entered the digital age. Despite its waning relevance, Gallagher still sees the post office as a pride-inducing institution. Socially progressive since its inception, the post office represents one of the purest distillations of America and takes on one of modern democracy’s most necessary (and tedious) tasks: the convenient distribution of information and ideas to every American with a mailbox. Agent: Kristine Dahl, ICM.

February 15, 2016

Gallagher, who has written well-received books blending science and cultural study (e.g., Just the Way You Are), does something different here, offering a thoroughgoing study of the U.S. Post Office that argues for its important role in the country's formation. For instance, Benjamin Franklin was the Crown's first postmaster general, a position long part of the cabinet, and women and African Americans participated in democracy in significant ways through the post office. Originally scheduled for July but bumped up to June.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2016

This fascinating narrative history of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) describes the political and technological challenges the agency faced while trying to deliver mail to an expanding nation. Gallagher (New: Understanding Our Need for Novelty and Change) shows that throughout its history, factors such as a dependence on congressional budgets and both executive-branch action and inaction along with a cumbersome patronage system have kept the USPS from fully controlling its own services. The agency frequently attempted to use technological innovation, including vast rail, road, and air systems, to deliver communications quickly and efficiently. Resistance from the private sector prevented or delayed many improvements such as attempts to integrate telegraphy and computerization or the establishment of postal savings banks. These frustrations lasted throughout the 20th century. Despite setbacks, the system continued to update with the times, although never as rapidly as critics would have liked. Gallagher contends that criticism should often be directed at those outside the USPS. VERDICT This readable book relays the complicated history of an institution that is thoroughly integrated into American life; in this sense it is superior to Devin Leonard's Neither Snow Nor Rain [reviewed below]. Highly recommended for public libraries and general readers. [See Prepub Alert, 1/25/15.]--Charles K. Piehl, Minnesota State Univ., Mankato

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.