It all began in 1640. That year a small printing press was imported from England to Cambridge, MA. It was a letterpress, and the type invented by Gutenberg. This chapter addressed the years after 1640 when the U.S. trade book publishing industry experienced periods of impressive growth, including: the creation of major book publishing centers in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia; publishing important literary works (including Moby Dick, The Great Gatsby, etc.); how this industry was resilient during the Great Depression and the war years; and how book publishing was able to create major publishing houses after World War I and into the end of the twentieth century and cope with the introduction of new technologies.