The most important improvement that has occurred is that the text material has been integrated with the rate tables, so that one doesn't have to look at two separate parts of the book to evaluate a cover for a certain rate or fee. Also, the binding is the much stronger binding used for the international volume.

However, the improvements in the book go well beyond the cosmetic. There is now information on merchandise receipts, the penalty for early redemption of a postal savings account, the inquiry form for forwarding an undeliverable registered item, the process of remailing a post card, and the rules for readdressing first-class mail, either in appropriate chapters or in an appendix. Extensive additional information concerning fee mail and registry processes is included, plus a discussion of Standard Mail and a fine chapter on Mailer's Permit Postmarks courtesy of Ken Lawrence.

Also, if the collector has a parcel post label or other such usage, it should now be possible to determine the parcel post zone for the piece without going to an atlas, for any well-known city and any city with a population of more than 5,000 in 1913. There is now a perpetual calendar available in Appendix 7 from which the interested reader can determine the day (e.g., Sunday) for any date from 1870 to 2009.

As Tony Wawrukiewicz began to judge philatelic exhibits, he became more knowledgeable about two methods of paying for or indicating payment for U. S. Postal Service services, namely Meter Stamps and Permits Imprints. Over the past five years, he began to realize how important these two methods are as there are many services for which examples cannot be found franked with adhesive stamps. Therefore, there are two appendices that discuss the basics of these methods for those who might desire such an introduction and/or wish to expand their knowledge in these areas.