Afterword: Why Should We Listen to Mathew Carey?

This Afterword begins with Andrew Shankman’s question at the Philadelphia Carey conference, “Why should anyone have listened to Mathew Carey?” as a point of departure. Three major areas of research where “listening” to Carey and his career are of relevance to present-day scholarship are presented: the history of the book, the history of political economy, and the history of the Irish in America. The contributions to this special issue are situated within these contexts. They stand as the most recent, sophisticated work on the worlds of Mathew Carey.