History Of The Book In America

The Colonial Book in the Atlantic World carries the interrelated stories of publishing, writing, and reading from the beginning of the colonial period in America up to 1790. Three major themes run through the volume: the persisting connections between the book trade in the Old World and the New, evidenced in modes of intellectual and cultural exchange and the dominance of imported, chiefly English books; the gradual emergence of a competitive book trade in which newspapers were the largest form of production; and the institution of a "culture of the Word," organized around an essentially theological understanding of print, authorship, and reading, complemented by other frameworks of meaning that included the culture of republicanism. The Colonial Book in the Atlantic World also traces the histories of literary and learned culture, censorship and "freedom of the press," and literacy and orality.Contributors:Hugh AmoryRoss W. Beales, The College of the Holy CrossJohn Bidwell, Princeton University LibraryRichard D. Brown, University of ConnecticutCharles E. Clark, University of New HampshireJames N. Green, Library Company of PhiladelphiaDavid D. Hall, Harvard Divinity SchoolRussell L. Martin, Southern Methodist UniversityE. Jennifer Monaghan, Brooklyn College of The City University of New YorkJames Raven, University of EssexElizabeth Carroll Reilly, Hardwick, MassachusettsA. Gregg Roeber, Pennsylvania State UniversityDavid S. Shields, University of South CarolinaCalhoun Winton, University of Maryland

Volume Two of A History of the Book in America documents the development of a distinctive culture of print in the new American republic. Between 1790 and 1840 printing and publishing expanded, and literate publics provided a ready market for novels, almanacs, newspapers, tracts, and periodicals. Government, business, and reform drove the dissemination of print. Through laws and subsidies, state and federal authorities promoted an informed citizenry. Entrepreneurs responded to rising demand by investing in new technologies and altering the conduct of publishing. Voluntary societies launched libraries, lyceums, and schools, and relied on print to spread religion, redeem morals, and advance benevolent goals. Out of all this ferment emerged new and diverse communities of citizens linked together in a decentralized print culture where citizenship meant literacy and print meant power. Yet in a diverse and far-flung nation, regional differences persisted, and older forms of oral and handwritten communication offered alternatives to print. The early republic was a world of mixed media. Contributors: Elizabeth Barnes, College of William and Mary Georgia B. Barnhill, American Antiquarian Society John L. Brooke, The Ohio State University Dona Brown, University of Vermont Richard D. Brown, University of Connecticut Kenneth E. Carpenter, Harvard University Libraries Scott E. Casper, University of Nevada, Reno Mary Kupiec Cayton, Miami University Joanne Dobson, Brewster, New York James N. Green, Library Company of Philadelphia Dean Grodzins, Massachusetts Historical Society Robert A. Gross, University of Connecticut Grey Gundaker, College of William and Mary Leon Jackson, University of South Carolina Richard R. John, Columbia University Mary Kelley, University of Michigan Jack Larkin, Clark University David Leverenz, University of Florida Meredith L. McGill, Rutgers University Charles Monaghan, Charlottesville, Virginia E. Jennifer Monaghan, Brooklyn College of The City University of New York Gerald F. Moran, University of Michigan-Dearborn Karen Nipps, Harvard University David Paul Nord, Indiana University Barry O'Connell, Amherst College Jeffrey L. Pasley, University of Missouri-Columbia William S. Pretzer, Central Michigan University A. Gregg Roeber, Pennsylvania State University David S. Shields, University of South Carolina Andie Tucher, Columbia University Maris A. Vinovskis, University of Michigan Sandra A. Zagarell, Oberlin College

Volume 3 of A History of the Book in America narrates the emergence of a national book trade in the nineteenth century, as changes in manufacturing, distribution, and publishing conditioned, and were conditioned by, the evolving practices of authors and readers. Chapters trace the ascent of the "industrial book--a manufactured product arising from the gradual adoption of new printing, binding, and illustration technologies and encompassing the profusion of nineteenth-century printed materials--which relied on nationwide networks of financing, transportation, and communication. In tandem with increasing educational opportunities and rising literacy rates, the industrial book encouraged new sites of reading; gave voice to diverse communities of interest through periodicals, broadsides, pamphlets, and other printed forms; and played a vital role in the development of American culture.Contributors:Susan Belasco, University of NebraskaCandy Gunther Brown, Indiana UniversityKenneth E. Carpenter, Newton Center, MassachusettsScott E. Casper, University of Nevada, RenoJeannine Marie DeLombard, University of TorontoAnn Fabian, Rutgers UniversityJeffrey D. Groves, Harvey Mudd CollegePaul C. Gutjahr, Indiana UniversityDavid D. Hall, Harvard Divinity SchoolDavid M. Henkin, University of California, BerkeleyBruce Laurie, University of Massachusetts, AmherstEric Lupfer, Humanities TexasMeredith L. McGill, Rutgers UniversityJohn Nerone, University of IllinoisStephen W. Nissenbaum, University of MassachusettsLloyd Pratt, Michigan State UniversityBarbara Sicherman, Trinity CollegeLouise Stevenson, Franklin & Marshall CollegeAmy M. Thomas, Montana State UniversityTamara Plakins Thornton, State University of New York, BuffaloSusan S. Williams, Ohio State UniversityMichael Winship, University of Texas at Austin

In a period characterized by expanding markets, national consolidation, and social upheaval, print culture picked up momentum as the nineteenth century turned into the twentieth. Books, magazines, and newspapers were produced more quickly and more cheaply, reaching ever-increasing numbers of readers. Volume 4 of A History of the Book in America traces the complex, even contradictory consequences of these changes in the production, circulation, and use of print. Contributors to this volume explain that although mass production encouraged consolidation and standardization, readers increasingly adapted print to serve their own purposes, allowing for increased diversity in the midst of concentration and integration. Considering the book in larger social and cultural networks, essays address the rise of consumer culture, the extension of literacy and reading through schooling, the expansion of secondary and postsecondary education and the growth of the textbook industry, the growing influence of the professions and their dependence on print culture, and the history of relevant technology. As the essays here attest, the expansion of print culture between 1880 and 1940 enabled it to become part of Americans' everyday business, social, political, and religious lives. Contributors:Megan Benton, Pacific Lutheran UniversityPaul S. Boyer, University of Wisconsin-MadisonUna M. Cadegan, University of DaytonPhyllis Dain, Columbia UniversityJames P. Danky, University of Wisconsin-MadisonEllen Gruber Garvey, New Jersey City UniversityPeter Jaszi, American UniversityCarl F. Kaestle, Brown UniversityNicolas Kanellos, University of HoustonRichard L. Kaplan, ABC-Clio PublishingMarcel Chotkowski LaFollette, Washington, D.C.Elizabeth Long, Rice UniversityElizabeth McHenry, New York UniversitySally M. Miller, University of the PacificRichard Ohmann, Wesleyan UniversityJanice A. Radway, Duke UniversityJoan Shelley Rubin, University of RochesterJonathan D. Sarna, Brandeis UniversityCharles A. Seavey, University of Missouri, ColumbiaMichael Schudson, University of California, San DiegoWilliam Vance Trollinger Jr., University of DaytonRichard L. Venezky (1938-2004)James L. W. West III, Pennsylvania State UniversityWayne A. Wiegand, Florida State UniversityMichael Winship, University of Texas at AustinMartha Woodmansee, Case Western Reserve UniversityThe contributors are Megan Benton, Paul S. Boyer, Una M. Cadegan, Phyllis Dain, James P. Danky, Ellen Gruber Garvey, Peter Jaszi, Carl F. Kaestle, Nicolas Kanellos, Richard L. Kaplan, Marcel Chotkowski LaFollette, Elizabeth Long, Elizabeth McHenry, Sally M. Miller, Richard Ohmann, Janice A. Radway, Joan Shelley Rubin, Jonathan D. Sarna, Charles A. Seavey, Michael Schudson, William Vance Trollinger Jr., Richard L. Venezky, James L. W. West III, Wayne A. Wiegand, Michael Winship, and Martha Woodmansee.-->

The fifth volume of A History of the Book in America addresses the economic, social, and cultural shifts affecting print culture from World War II to the present. During this period factors such as the expansion of government, the growth of higher education, the climate of the Cold War, globalization, and the development of multimedia and digital technologies influenced the patterns of consolidation and diversification established earlier.The thirty-three contributors to the volume explore the evolution of the publishing industry and the business of bookselling. The histories of government publishing, law and policy, the periodical press, literary criticism, and reading--in settings such as schools, libraries, book clubs, self-help programs, and collectors' societies--receive imaginative scrutiny as well. The Enduring Book demonstrates that the corporate consolidations of the last half-century have left space for the independent publisher, that multiplicity continues to define American print culture, and that even in the digital age, the book endures.Contributors:David Abrahamson, Northwestern UniversityJames L. Baughman, University of Wisconsin-MadisonKenneth Cmiel (d. 2006)James Danky, University of Wisconsin-MadisonRobert DeMaria Jr., Vassar CollegeDonald A. Downs, University of Wisconsin-MadisonRobert W. Frase (d. 2003)Paul C. Gutjahr, Indiana UniversityDavid D. Hall, Harvard Divinity SchoolJohn B. Hench, American Antiquarian SocietyPatrick Henry, New York City College of TechnologyDan Lacy (d. 2001)Marshall Leaffer, Indiana UniversityBruce Lewenstein, Cornell UniversityElizabeth Long, Rice UniversityBeth Luey, Arizona State UniversityTom McCarthy, Beirut, LebanonLaura J. Miller, Brandeis UniversityPriscilla Coit Murphy, Chapel Hill, N.C.David Paul Nord, Indiana UniversityCarol Polsgrove, Indiana UniversityDavid Reinking, Clemson UniversityJane Rhodes, Macalester CollegeJohn V. Richardson Jr., University of California, Los AngelesJoan Shelley Rubin, University of RochesterMichael Schudson, University of California, San Diego, and Columbia UniversityLinda Scott, University of OxfordDan Simon, Seven Stories PressIlan Stavans, Amherst CollegeHarvey M. Teres, Syracuse UniversityJohn B. Thompson, University of CambridgeTrysh Travis, University of FloridaJonathan Zimmerman, New York University