Joseph J. Ellis After the Revolution: Profiles of Early American Culture. W. W. Norton & Company, 1979. Author-inscribed first printing. 0393952002 xvi/256 pages. Softcover volume, measuring approximately 5.25" x 8.5", exhibits very light shelfwear, with very small spot to top edge of text block. Binding is sound. Interior is clean and bright. Inscription on half title page reads: Jan. 1982 / Best wishes / Here, as you will see, is a / book which might have been / entitled "Great Expectations." / I hope you never lose yours, / because the college is / depending on you to help / the revolution along. / Love, / Joe". "Through portraits of four figures—Charles Willson Peale, Hugh Henry Brackenridge, William Dunlap, and Noah Webster—Joseph Ellis provides a unique perspective on the role of culture in post-Revolutionary America, both its high expectations and its frustrations. Each life is fascinating in its own right, and each is used to brightly illuminate the historical context."