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Reading Becomes a Necessity of LifeMaterial and Cultural Life in Rural New England, 1780–1835Gilmore, William J. Paper Edition, $25.00s Paper ISBN: 0-87049-768-5 Status: In Print Publication Date: 
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DescriptionReading Becomes a Necessity of LifeMaterial and Cultural Life in Rural New England, 1780-1835 William J. Gilmore Drawing on massive research in primary sources, the author explores various forms of participation in print culture to be found in the Upper Connecticut River Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire between 1780 and 1835, devoting particular attention to the contents of family libraries. "There is no current book in American history, and few in European studies, which takes so striking a view of cultural history and probes so deeply and closely into the nature of cultural conditions and their development and change. It is novel in conception and execution, and will be recognized immediately as a major interdisciplinary historical effort." —Harvey J. Graff, University of Texas at Dallas. "Gilmore's book is a significant and innovative contribution to the History of the Book, a compelling combination of economic, social, and cultural history (and geography) revealing the impact of print culture on rural New England in the early national period. . . . The breadth and depth of both primary and secondary sources Gilmore utilizes are astonishing. His book is innovative in the way that it analyzes and interprets the data collected from these sources to present a detailed picture of the role of print culture in the transformation of rural New England society. This book will have a large impact on the study of American cultural history." —Robert B. Winans, American Literature "As historians shift to cultural studies, and as literary critics move to popular texts, they are finding common ground in the social history of reading. William J. Gilmore's Reading Becomes a Necessity of Life will occupy a prominent place in that new field. . . . This is valuable information; with it Gilmore makes the first map of reading in the early republic. That is a solid accomplishment, and scholars will want to look at it." —Paul Johnson, Journal of American History " . . . a well-conceived, substantial, and remarkable piece of historical exegesis." —James R. Kelly, Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America " . . . the best book ever written on the cultural and material life of small-town and rural Americans in the half century after the Revolution and the most important study ever undertaken on the history of Vermont." —Randolph Roth, Vermont History "The greatest virtue of Reading Becomes, however, is as a treasure trove of statistical information about reading matter in the early republic, the mechanisms by which it was made available, and its distribution among different classes of people. . . . this book now becomes the court of first resort for those interested in studying 'who read what' among the farms and villages of the early republic." —Lawrence Buell, American Quarterly "Gilmore does much to increase our understanding of the role of reading in American culture. . . . The history of books, reading, literacy, and libraries continues to be an essential aspect of American cultural history. Studies such as Reading Becomes a Necessity of Life add to that body of knowledge and do much to extend an often disregarded aspect of cultural life. Gilmore's book not only adds to our history but also serves as the basis to ask more questions about related issues." —Boyd Childress, Book Research Quarterly "The remarkable scope and depth of Gilmore's research is everywhere apparent; this book is lavishly illustrated with thirty plates, twenty-three maps, five graphs, and forty-six tables. . . .Gilmore has provided an unparalleled source for investigating means and results of cultural change in the early republic, and this work will set a new standard for researchers in material culture." —James D. Wallace, New England Quarterly "By analyzing the economic, occupational, topographic and demographic differences between readers and non-readers in one district of southern Vermont, he provides an exhaustively detailed picture of who was reading in the early Republic. One of the things Mr. Gilmore discovered was that reading led to prosperity and prosperity led to even more reading." —New York Times Book Review | |
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