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Neither Snow nor Rain
Neither Snow nor Rain: A History of the United States Postal Service | Devin Leonard
6 posts | 1 read | 19 to read
The United States Postal Service is a wondrous American creation. Seven days a week, its army of 300,000 letter carriers delivers 513 million pieces of mail, forty percent of the worlds volume. It is far more efficient than any other mail servicemore than twice as efficient as the Japanese and easily outpacing the Germans and British. And the USPS has a storied history. Founded by Benjamin Franklin, it was the information network that bound far-flung Americans together, fostered a common culture, and helped American business to prosper. A first class stamp remains one of the greatest bargains of all time, and yet, the USPS is slowly vanishing. Critics say it is slow and archaic. Mail volume is down. The workforce is shrinking. Post offices are closing. In Neither Snow Nor Rain, journalist Devin Leonard tackles the fascinating, centuries-long history of the USPS, from the first letter carriers through Franklins days, when postmasters worked out of their homes and post roads cut new paths through the wilderness. Under Andrew Jackson, the post office was molded into a vast patronage machine, and by the 1870s, over seventy percent of federal employees were postal workers. As the country boomed, USPS aggressively developed new technology, from mobile post offices on railroads and air mail service to mechanical sorting machines and optical character readers. Neither Snow Nor Rain is a rich, multifaceted history, full of remarkable characters, from the stamp-collecting FDR, to the revolutionaries who challenged USPSs monopoly on mail, to the renegade union members who brought the systemand the countryto a halt in the 1970s. An exciting and engrossing read, Neither Snow Nor Rain is the first major history of the USPS in over fifty years.
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quietjenn
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Last break before my holiday! Reading something that will entertain, but won't make me want to take it home with me.

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8little_paws
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#todayinsj 1970 postal workers begin to strike in NYC, the largest wildcat strike in US history.

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Suetara
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Don't you love when you find the perfect present for someone? My great uncle worked for the USPS for many years and is a big reader. He usually reads non-fiction about WWII, but I think that he'll get a kick out of this book that I found a few months ago. Can't wait to give it to him! ❤️📚☃️🎁

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MrBook
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#TBRtemptation post! Now this looks like a quick history lesson that will pack a punch and open eyes to one of the most important institutions we have. Since it's been snowing and raining out every day for a week now, this title kind of jumped out at me 😂. Well, this has my stamp of approval for an upcoming future read 😊👍🏻! I hope the post office delivers it quickly. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

Suetara My great uncle worked for and retired from the USPS. This book is part of his Christmas from us. So excited to give it to him! (And, I want to read it myself.) 8y
Hooked_on_books Does it explain why they held my Litsy Goes Postal book hostage in Seattle for 2 weeks? 8y
LitsyGoesPostal 😎👍🏻 8y
See All 7 Comments
MrBook @Suetara Oh, wow! You are awesome 😁👏🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻!!! 8y
MrBook @Hooked_on_books Oh no! What the heck happened?! 🤔😩 8y
Hooked_on_books @MrBook Sadly, this remains an unanswered question, with the tracking number reading, "in transit, delayed" during that time. At least I finally have it! 8y
MrBook I'm very glad you received it though 😁🙌🏻! These are the things we keep an eye on in the #LGP Family 8y
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CitizenNate
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From Ben Franklin to Jeff bezos, the post office is America ( not Budweiser). The usps makes the ecommerce world go round. A must read

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kaylaraeintheway
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I used to want to be a mail person when I was little. I'm geeking out so much right now

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