Robert A Gross

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....

Winner of the Bancroft Prize On April 19, 1775, the American Revolution began at the Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts. The "shot heard round the world" catapulted this sleepy New England town into the midst of revolutionary fervor, and Concord went on to become the intellectual capital of the new republic. The town-future home to Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne-soon came to symbolize devotion to liberty, intellectual freedom, and the stubborn...

Tells the story of King Arthur with all the elements of Sir Thomas Malory's classic tale: Removing the sword Excalibur from the stone; The Round Table's noble birth and tragic decline; The heroic attemps to recover the Holy Grail; The shifting balance of power between Merlin and Morgana.