How the Post Office Created America

“[How the Post Office Created America is] an ode to a little-heralded but flagship government enterprise. [Gallagher] reminds us … that the post office forged a communications revolution just as far-reaching as the later telegraph and internet revolutions.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Gallagher delivers…fascinating anecdotes. Engaging, well-written.”—Washington Post

“Impressively researched…Gallagher connects the transformations of the Post Office with broader economic, socio-cultural, and political changes affecting the country.”—The Nation

“Fascinating…. This readable book relays the complicated history of an institution that is thoroughly integrated into American life.”—Library Journal

“Invigorating.”—O, The Oprah Magazine

“’The history of its Post Office is nothing less than the story of America,’ Ms. Gallagher’s opening sentence declares, and in this lively book she makes the case well.”—Wall Street Journal

“Gallagher makes a strong case for [the post office’s] historical importance in this brisk history.”—Publishers Weekly

“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

“Winifred Gallagher’s How the Post Office Created America is a book of amazing revelations. Gallagher writes with great wisdom and verve. Highly recommended.” —Douglas Brinkley, author of Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America

“Winifred Gallagher makes a big claim in the first sentence of her new book—‘The history of the Post Office is nothing less than the story of America.’ And then, in a sweeping tour of American and postal history from the colonial period to the present, she makes us all believers. Highly recommended for students, scholars, and those who care about this nation’s past.”—David Nasaw, author of The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy and Andrew Carnegie

“At first glance, a book on the history of the post office seems an unpromising prospect for a page-turner. But I found it so fascinating that I could hardly put it down. This book is a winner, based on deep knowledge and research that will reach a broad audience with a story that will enhance their appreciation and understanding of the post office and its contribution to American life.”—James McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of Tried by War and Embattled Rebel

Winifred Gallagher’s books include:

• Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life (a New York Times bestseller)
• New: Understanding Our Need for Novelty and Change
• House Thinking
• Just the Way You Are (a New York Times Notable Book)
• The Power of Place

She has written for numerous publications, including The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times. She lives in New York City and Dubois, Wyoming.

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