Twelve Men

by Theodore Dreiser, Robert Coltrane (Editor)

Although world-famous for his novels Sister Carrie and Jennie Gerhardt , Theodore Dreiser was also highly accomplished in journalism, autobiography, and travel writing. In 1919, having recently accepted the publishing contract of a new publisher, Boni and Liveright, Dreiser proposed to publish a "book of characters" that would collect twelve biographical sketches of individuals who were major influences on Dreiser, both as a man and as a writer. The resulting narratives combine the best attributes of the character sketch, the autobiography, and the short story into miniature masterpieces of prose.

The men profiled in Twelve Men are a diverse and colorful from Dreiser's equally famous brother, the songwriter Paul Dresser ("My Brother Paul"), to the entirely obscure railroad foreman Michael Burke ("The Mighty Rourke"), on whose work crew Dreiser had labored in 1903. The twelve narratives are compelling portraits of the men portrayed, but they also reveal many insights into Dreiser's own life and work. These factors elevate the significance of Twelve Men to a level consistent with other major works in the Dreiser canon.

Genres: Classics, Biography, Nonfiction, American

456 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1919

About the author

Naturalistic novels of American writer and editor Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser portray life as a struggle against ungovernable forces. Value of his portrayed characters lies in their persistence against all obstacles, not their moral code, and literary situations more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of choice and agency; this American novelist and journalist so pioneered the naturalist school.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore...

Reviews

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

One reviewer said that all the characters in this book are "disciple-like do-gooders". I can only assume that he did not finish the book. If its ok here, let me quote the University of Pennsylvania website on this book http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/5..., "The men profiled in Twelve Men are a diverse and colorful group: from Dreiser's equally famous brother, the songwriter Paul Dresser ("My Brother Paul"), to the entirely obscure railroad foreman Michael Burke ("The Mighty Rourke"), on whose work crew Dreiser had labored in 1903. The twelve narratives are compelling portraits of the men portrayed, but they also reveal many insights into Dreiser's own life and work." And many insights into life in the early 20th century and the many different types of men, honest and not so much, kind and not so much, lucky and not that much, who were around at the time.

[Babs M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. I am so fascinated by the era in which he lived. It was very interesting to read about this twelve men in his live that he felt worth writing about. Tells you something of the times and the people.

[gss · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Twelve men by Dreiser shows the extraordinary qualities in ordinary characters and their struggle to pursue their ideals and goals facing many hurdles in their lives. The author sounds sometimes verbose but the effect is sustained throughout these character sketches. Many of the characters are shown as dead probably to elicit more sympathy and to show how they struggled till their end. The style is very apt matching with characters and circumstances. It would have been better if the descriptive and conversational parts are made a little brief.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

"We toil so much, we dream so richly, we hasten so fast, and lo! the green door is opened. We are through it, and its grassy surface ha sealed us forever from all which apparently we so much crave -
even as, breathlessly we are still running." (from W.L.S.)k

"Peace, peace. So shall it soon be with all of us. It was a dream. It is. I am. You are. And shall we grieve over or hark back to dreams?" (from My Brother Paul)
- Theodore Dreiser, Twelve Men

poignancy and pathos

[Chris Schaffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A long slog. Dreiser is brutally long winded at times. You can see the origins for characters from some of his major works in some of the sketches. Also I’m a bit dubious as to their actual existence given that so many of them die at the end. I liked it overall

[Stephan Ferreira · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Twelve Men" is 12 unrelated character sketches that are supposed to be Dreiser's ideal man, and ultimately, a portrait of himself. Which is to say generous, pious and totally boring. The men in these stories are all painted to be disciple-like do-gooders. Were all people like this in 1909? There were a few good observations on people. The only interesting sketch was of the character who, seeming human at all, had a temper and was unforgiving.

[Valentyna Zelena · Rating 2 out of 5]

i expected so much more from Theodore Dreiser. He is one of my favorite writers, so I was much excited about this book as well. It turned out to be a long and pretty boring read for me. The characters are all flat and very much alike. Maybe they each played a big role in writer's life, but reading about them was not fascinating. They all seemed so similarly good that it seems unrealistic. Oh, and also just after finishing reading I cannot remember any one separately and clearly...