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Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power
This epic biography, with its remarkable new research and vivid, fast-paced writing, will delight anyone who wants to understand the tangled history of politics and the press in modern America.” —Debby Applegate, author of The Most Famous Man in The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher “James McGrath Morris has given us everything we could have asked for in his new biography of Joseph Pulitzer. Gracefully written and thoroughly researched, his biography is easily the best we have on this remarkable man who so profoundly influenced the worlds of politics and publishing.” — David Nasaw, author of Andrew Carnegie Pulitzer is James McGrath Morris’s definitive biography of the Jewish Hungarian immigrant who created the modern American mass media—the first comprehensive biography of this remarkable historical icon in more than 40 years.
576 pages, Hardcover
First published February 9, 2010
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788 people want to read
About the author
James McGrath Morris
18 books61 followersI'm the author of several well-received biographies, including the New York Times bestseller and Editor's Choice "Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne, The First Lady of the Black Press," which received the Benjamin Hooks National Book Prize and was long-listed for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography; "The Ambulance Drivers: Hemingway, Dos Passos, and a Friendship Made and Lost in War,' as well as "Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power," "The Rose Man of Sing Sing: A True Tale of Life, Murder, and Redemption in the Age of Yellow Journalism," and "Jailhouse Journalism: The Fourth Estate Behind Bars."
My newest book is "Tony Hillerman: A Life."
My newest book is "Tony Hillerman: A Life."
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October 7, 2021
The life of Joseph Pulitzer can be divided into two halves. There is the first half, covering his birth in Hungary, his eventual immigration to the United States, his time fighting in the Civil War, his wanderings right after the war as a homeless and jobless young man, his eventual migration to St. Louis, his ascent in both politics and journalism, and his rise to becoming one of the most influential (through his newspapers) and wealthy men in the country. And then there is the second half, when he becomes blind and spends the remaining decades of his life aimless traversing the globe, constantly complaining of real and perceived ailments. James McGrath Morris covers all of this in a book so full of oddball characters that at times it seems like a novel.
He worked hard to become a journalist, and made some shrewd moves and investments when he had moved to St. Louis following the Civil War. Pulitzer was a politician as well, serving in Missouri's State House. Later, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives while he was living in New York (he hated the House because he couldn't be in control of it, so he resigned his seat after about four months, which left the district that he lived in unrepresented for almost two years as at that time there was no special election to the fill the vacancy). Pulitzer managed to finagle his way into buying the St. Louis Dispatch (later the Post-Dispatch which we would be familiar with today) while still quite young, and using it to lash out at entrenched interests in the city. Pulitzer molded himself into the guise of a reformer, both as a politician and as a journalist and then a publisher.
But Pulitzer was never a contented man in anything. He continually yearned for new challenges, and more power and money. Despite becoming wealthy and turning the Post-Dispatch into a top-selling newspaper, St. Louis was too small for him - he wanted to return to New York and buy a paper there, basically duplicating the success that he had in St. Louis. Pulitzer set about trying to purchase the New York World and once again he took a struggling, small paper and turned it into a behemoth.
Despite living an eventful life, especially the first half of it, I found reading about Pulitzer to be a bit exhausting. Why? Because the man was a huge jerk. Morris shows how, as soon as Pulitzer landed in the U.S., he had no problems lying about something to get what he wanted. The first example of this is that he lied about his age, saying he was older than he actually was, so he could get paid to be a substitute for another man in the Civil War. Pulitzer had no moral qualms about falsely swearing under oaths, although he later spared no criticism of people whom he thought also did that.
It was not just his penchant for lying. What bothered me more about Pulitzer was how poorly he treated others. It seemed that the more one tried to please him, the closer one was to him, the more work one did for him, the worse Pulitzer treated the person. This was especially true with his family. Pulitzer was flat-out nasty to his wife, Kate, and all of his children. This became pronounced after he lost his vision. Following that awful occurrence, Pulitzer would frequently dictate vile, rude telegrams to his family members and send them off. While he did not seem to be as mean in person, there were still occasional personal encounters that went poorly (Pulitzer spent most of his time away from his family, even his wife, in the last two decades of his life). The result was that, while his children respected him and what he had accomplished, he pushed them all away from him. Yet then he engaged in self-pity by attacking them for leaving him alone, despite his wife's repeated attempts to come visit him wherever he was at.
He also completely mistreated his younger brother Albert, who followed in his footsteps to America. First he would not help Albert get settled, nor help him find a job or even try to provide for the young man while he got on his feet. Later, Albert also became a journalist and was a good businessman in his own right as he purchased a paper in New York, the Journal and turned it into quite a successful venture (not quite on the scale of Pulitzer, but more than enough for him to become wealthy). When Pulitzer moved to New York, he hired away Albert's top editors and reporters, in an attempt to either teach him a lesson or ruin him. Essentially, the two never spoke again for the rest of their lives.
Pulitzer was no better with his editors and reporters. He had an explosive temper, and was a tyrant to work for. He would frequently give mixed signals, telling an editor to do one thing, then completely changing course. He paid people well, but his expectations were unreachable as nobody could ever satisfy him. He went through a series of editors. This merry-go-round was repeated once he went blind, in that he had an endless series of young assistants and secretaries who all burned out because of his constant verbal abuse and criticisms. I should note that Pulitzer was also capable of charity and he would frequently help people who were in need. Not everything he did was bad nor had an ulterior motive behind it. He was even kind to his longtime rival, William Randolph Hearst, late in life.
At age 40, Pulitzer began to lose vision almost overnight. The retina in his right eye became detached and he quickly lost all vision in that eye. The retina in his left eye became partially detached, leaving him with the ability to - in bright light - make out the outlines of human beings or large objects, but no more. After several years of this, he lost what little vision was remaining in his left eye when that retina also completely detached. Pulitzer had been a vigorous, powerful man prior to this, and was not used to relying on anyone for assistance in his daily life. That suddenly changed, and it turned him into an insomniac and a neurotic. He saw many eye specialists, and tried all kinds of "cures" and therapies, but nothing back then could help him. Despite how mean Pulitzer was towards others, I felt bad for him here. I do not wish blindness on anyone. Despite having all the money that a human being could ever dream of having, the one thing that he wanted most - to get his sight back, even partially - was out of his reach.
While Morris does provide a very brief summary of what happened to Pulitzer's immediate family following his death, he does not engage in any analysis of the mark that Pulitzer left on journalism and the newspaper publishing industry. The last few paragraphs cover the eventual sale of the World only two decades after Pulitzer died, so one can infer that Pulitzer, because he was a control freak, left the paper in a terrible spot to continue on once he left the scene. But I think Morris misses the mark when he fails to write about the annual Pulitzer Prizes and what impact they have had on writers in the century since they began. Establishing the Prize, and the school at Columbia, is one of the best things that Pulitzer did, so I think they were worth talking about at the end. Also, I found one factual error. On page 279, Morris writes that former NY Governor and 1876 Democratic Presidential nominee Samuel Tilden attended the opening of the new World building in 1889. Well, Tilden died in 1886, so I am not sure how he managed to attend that event!
Grade: A-
He worked hard to become a journalist, and made some shrewd moves and investments when he had moved to St. Louis following the Civil War. Pulitzer was a politician as well, serving in Missouri's State House. Later, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives while he was living in New York (he hated the House because he couldn't be in control of it, so he resigned his seat after about four months, which left the district that he lived in unrepresented for almost two years as at that time there was no special election to the fill the vacancy). Pulitzer managed to finagle his way into buying the St. Louis Dispatch (later the Post-Dispatch which we would be familiar with today) while still quite young, and using it to lash out at entrenched interests in the city. Pulitzer molded himself into the guise of a reformer, both as a politician and as a journalist and then a publisher.
But Pulitzer was never a contented man in anything. He continually yearned for new challenges, and more power and money. Despite becoming wealthy and turning the Post-Dispatch into a top-selling newspaper, St. Louis was too small for him - he wanted to return to New York and buy a paper there, basically duplicating the success that he had in St. Louis. Pulitzer set about trying to purchase the New York World and once again he took a struggling, small paper and turned it into a behemoth.
Despite living an eventful life, especially the first half of it, I found reading about Pulitzer to be a bit exhausting. Why? Because the man was a huge jerk. Morris shows how, as soon as Pulitzer landed in the U.S., he had no problems lying about something to get what he wanted. The first example of this is that he lied about his age, saying he was older than he actually was, so he could get paid to be a substitute for another man in the Civil War. Pulitzer had no moral qualms about falsely swearing under oaths, although he later spared no criticism of people whom he thought also did that.
It was not just his penchant for lying. What bothered me more about Pulitzer was how poorly he treated others. It seemed that the more one tried to please him, the closer one was to him, the more work one did for him, the worse Pulitzer treated the person. This was especially true with his family. Pulitzer was flat-out nasty to his wife, Kate, and all of his children. This became pronounced after he lost his vision. Following that awful occurrence, Pulitzer would frequently dictate vile, rude telegrams to his family members and send them off. While he did not seem to be as mean in person, there were still occasional personal encounters that went poorly (Pulitzer spent most of his time away from his family, even his wife, in the last two decades of his life). The result was that, while his children respected him and what he had accomplished, he pushed them all away from him. Yet then he engaged in self-pity by attacking them for leaving him alone, despite his wife's repeated attempts to come visit him wherever he was at.
He also completely mistreated his younger brother Albert, who followed in his footsteps to America. First he would not help Albert get settled, nor help him find a job or even try to provide for the young man while he got on his feet. Later, Albert also became a journalist and was a good businessman in his own right as he purchased a paper in New York, the Journal and turned it into quite a successful venture (not quite on the scale of Pulitzer, but more than enough for him to become wealthy). When Pulitzer moved to New York, he hired away Albert's top editors and reporters, in an attempt to either teach him a lesson or ruin him. Essentially, the two never spoke again for the rest of their lives.
Pulitzer was no better with his editors and reporters. He had an explosive temper, and was a tyrant to work for. He would frequently give mixed signals, telling an editor to do one thing, then completely changing course. He paid people well, but his expectations were unreachable as nobody could ever satisfy him. He went through a series of editors. This merry-go-round was repeated once he went blind, in that he had an endless series of young assistants and secretaries who all burned out because of his constant verbal abuse and criticisms. I should note that Pulitzer was also capable of charity and he would frequently help people who were in need. Not everything he did was bad nor had an ulterior motive behind it. He was even kind to his longtime rival, William Randolph Hearst, late in life.
At age 40, Pulitzer began to lose vision almost overnight. The retina in his right eye became detached and he quickly lost all vision in that eye. The retina in his left eye became partially detached, leaving him with the ability to - in bright light - make out the outlines of human beings or large objects, but no more. After several years of this, he lost what little vision was remaining in his left eye when that retina also completely detached. Pulitzer had been a vigorous, powerful man prior to this, and was not used to relying on anyone for assistance in his daily life. That suddenly changed, and it turned him into an insomniac and a neurotic. He saw many eye specialists, and tried all kinds of "cures" and therapies, but nothing back then could help him. Despite how mean Pulitzer was towards others, I felt bad for him here. I do not wish blindness on anyone. Despite having all the money that a human being could ever dream of having, the one thing that he wanted most - to get his sight back, even partially - was out of his reach.
While Morris does provide a very brief summary of what happened to Pulitzer's immediate family following his death, he does not engage in any analysis of the mark that Pulitzer left on journalism and the newspaper publishing industry. The last few paragraphs cover the eventual sale of the World only two decades after Pulitzer died, so one can infer that Pulitzer, because he was a control freak, left the paper in a terrible spot to continue on once he left the scene. But I think Morris misses the mark when he fails to write about the annual Pulitzer Prizes and what impact they have had on writers in the century since they began. Establishing the Prize, and the school at Columbia, is one of the best things that Pulitzer did, so I think they were worth talking about at the end. Also, I found one factual error. On page 279, Morris writes that former NY Governor and 1876 Democratic Presidential nominee Samuel Tilden attended the opening of the new World building in 1889. Well, Tilden died in 1886, so I am not sure how he managed to attend that event!
Grade: A-
January 21, 2013
While James McGrath Morris is somewhat like a first time author, this volume ranks with the work of Ron Chernow, David McCullough, and H.W. Brands. I do not believe there is a more complete work on Pulitzer. Besides the life of Pulitzer the parallel story, a history of modern journalism runs through this biography.
Morris traces Joseph Pulitzer from his roots in Hungary to his arrival in the US as a Civil War conscript through his career in the dual arts of journalism and politics. He is a hard driver of himself and others. Pulitzer is impossible to work for, be related to or be around in general. His generosity and concern for the common man stand in contrast to the many stories that illustrate his lack of consideration for others. As he aged, the emotional cruelty he dished out seemed to intensify. As he became wealthy, he became more sympathetic to the needs of business.
Pulitzer's relationship with his brother Albert certainly raised my curiosity. Here are two brothers, both arriving separately in the US not speaking English, and both independently (of each other) establishing successful English language newspapers. Joseph's treatment of his brother, like his treatment of almost everyone else, is abominable. Hopefully, someone, maybe Morris, will produce a book on this relationship alone.
The chapter on TR Roosevelt and the Canal Zone was fascinating. A movie could be made on this episode alone with wonderful espionage scenes in Panama and Colombia. Roosevelt was wrong to use the apparatus of government to prosecute, but the newspaper (and perhaps Pulitzer) was equally wrong to hammer away on unsubstantiated charges. In this instance, Pulitzer finally met his match.
Through Pulitzer's story you see both the power and limitations of the press. It is clear that it is not the pen that is mightier than the sword, but the ownership of that pen and the apparatus to distribute the writing. You also see the limitations of this power. Pulitzer could get his candidates elected but not always, and his editorials could only make a deciding factor in close elections. He had to worry about competition and as today, he withheld stories when he felt they would spur the ire of someone important to his business or as in the period of the Canal related litigation, legal concerns.
The story is huge and Morris delivers it at a good pace. It was hard to remember all the reappearing journalists and editors, but the good index helped.
I highly recommend this book for readers of biography and history. I'd like to see it nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Morris traces Joseph Pulitzer from his roots in Hungary to his arrival in the US as a Civil War conscript through his career in the dual arts of journalism and politics. He is a hard driver of himself and others. Pulitzer is impossible to work for, be related to or be around in general. His generosity and concern for the common man stand in contrast to the many stories that illustrate his lack of consideration for others. As he aged, the emotional cruelty he dished out seemed to intensify. As he became wealthy, he became more sympathetic to the needs of business.
Pulitzer's relationship with his brother Albert certainly raised my curiosity. Here are two brothers, both arriving separately in the US not speaking English, and both independently (of each other) establishing successful English language newspapers. Joseph's treatment of his brother, like his treatment of almost everyone else, is abominable. Hopefully, someone, maybe Morris, will produce a book on this relationship alone.
The chapter on TR Roosevelt and the Canal Zone was fascinating. A movie could be made on this episode alone with wonderful espionage scenes in Panama and Colombia. Roosevelt was wrong to use the apparatus of government to prosecute, but the newspaper (and perhaps Pulitzer) was equally wrong to hammer away on unsubstantiated charges. In this instance, Pulitzer finally met his match.
Through Pulitzer's story you see both the power and limitations of the press. It is clear that it is not the pen that is mightier than the sword, but the ownership of that pen and the apparatus to distribute the writing. You also see the limitations of this power. Pulitzer could get his candidates elected but not always, and his editorials could only make a deciding factor in close elections. He had to worry about competition and as today, he withheld stories when he felt they would spur the ire of someone important to his business or as in the period of the Canal related litigation, legal concerns.
The story is huge and Morris delivers it at a good pace. It was hard to remember all the reappearing journalists and editors, but the good index helped.
I highly recommend this book for readers of biography and history. I'd like to see it nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
April 12, 2010
Update: one of the best books I've read in a long time. Pulitzer shaped this country with his sharp intelligence and insistence on journalistic independence. I highly recommend it to biography lovers and anyone who wants to understand that time in America's history.
I won a copy through First Reads and it arrived today! I've just started it, but so far it's an entertaining, informative read. Looking forward to more of the same.
I won a copy through First Reads and it arrived today! I've just started it, but so far it's an entertaining, informative read. Looking forward to more of the same.
November 6, 2018
Finished: 06.11.2018
Genre: biography
Rating: C
#NonFicNov
Conclusion:
This book started slowly:
emigration from Hungary odd jobs in USA and
local politics in St. Louis Missouri.
The narrative finally got interesting once Pulitzer became
a newspaper mogul in NYC.
Pulitzer was obsessed with control over his empire and literally
worked himself to death. But what do you do with fame and fortune when your
health problems lock you up in a gilded cage?
#GoodButNotGreat
Last thoughts:
The most important lesson I learned?
The Pulitzer Formula:
Write a story so simply that anyone could read it
…and so colorfully that no one would forget it.
Genre: biography
Rating: C
#NonFicNov
Conclusion:
This book started slowly:
emigration from Hungary odd jobs in USA and
local politics in St. Louis Missouri.
The narrative finally got interesting once Pulitzer became
a newspaper mogul in NYC.
Pulitzer was obsessed with control over his empire and literally
worked himself to death. But what do you do with fame and fortune when your
health problems lock you up in a gilded cage?
#GoodButNotGreat
Last thoughts:
The most important lesson I learned?
The Pulitzer Formula:
Write a story so simply that anyone could read it
…and so colorfully that no one would forget it.
July 9, 2020
This is an impressive book about an amazing life, yet it somehow goes completely off the rails in the last third of it.
Joseph Pulitzer was a typical middle-class Hungarian Jewish child, enjoying the life of his small farming community and then the city of Pest (later united with Buda), until the death of his father plunged his family into penury. He also lost six of his seven siblings, and was forced to leave school and work for his keep. He finally agreed to fight for the American Union Army in exchange for transportation to New York in 1864. Afterwards, he bummed around, became a St. Louis reporter at the German-language Westliche Post, and eventually acquired a noted St. Louis English paper, where he broke stories about scandals in the Grant administration even while serving as a part-time state legislator. In 1883, just 35, he parlayed his growing fortune into buying the New York World, and turned it into the greatest circulation newspaper on Earth, sometimes reaching over half a million copies a day.
Pulitzer was almost frantic in his work habits. He would read every word of the next day's paper every night before going to bed, he would copy-edit picayune details, he would hire and fire people on a whim and monitor every dollar and every penny of inflow and outflow. All this work caused an almost complete breakdown just a few years after he acquired the World, and his stress helped cause his near total blindness in 1888. Pulitzer, although now one of the richest men on Earth, became a tragic figure, obsessed with total quiet, sailing the oceans in a sound-proof room on his immense private yacht. The problem is that book then details the last 23 years of his life as an endless series of doctors visits and reports of declining health, with almost no interesting moments about his public impact (except for President Theodore Roosevelt's outrageous and failed criminal libel prosecution against him and the World in 1909.)
Pulitzer innovated reporting in many ways, such as his pithy writing style, his banner headlines, his "ears" (or the commentary around the title of the paper on the first page), and simply in his ability to summon exciting campaigns (like fundraising for the Statute of Liberty), but the author should have focused on those innovations instead of his gradual descent into invalidity. After all, the first half of Pulitzer's life is exciting enough for a biography in its own right, even if the last half isn't.
Joseph Pulitzer was a typical middle-class Hungarian Jewish child, enjoying the life of his small farming community and then the city of Pest (later united with Buda), until the death of his father plunged his family into penury. He also lost six of his seven siblings, and was forced to leave school and work for his keep. He finally agreed to fight for the American Union Army in exchange for transportation to New York in 1864. Afterwards, he bummed around, became a St. Louis reporter at the German-language Westliche Post, and eventually acquired a noted St. Louis English paper, where he broke stories about scandals in the Grant administration even while serving as a part-time state legislator. In 1883, just 35, he parlayed his growing fortune into buying the New York World, and turned it into the greatest circulation newspaper on Earth, sometimes reaching over half a million copies a day.
Pulitzer was almost frantic in his work habits. He would read every word of the next day's paper every night before going to bed, he would copy-edit picayune details, he would hire and fire people on a whim and monitor every dollar and every penny of inflow and outflow. All this work caused an almost complete breakdown just a few years after he acquired the World, and his stress helped cause his near total blindness in 1888. Pulitzer, although now one of the richest men on Earth, became a tragic figure, obsessed with total quiet, sailing the oceans in a sound-proof room on his immense private yacht. The problem is that book then details the last 23 years of his life as an endless series of doctors visits and reports of declining health, with almost no interesting moments about his public impact (except for President Theodore Roosevelt's outrageous and failed criminal libel prosecution against him and the World in 1909.)
Pulitzer innovated reporting in many ways, such as his pithy writing style, his banner headlines, his "ears" (or the commentary around the title of the paper on the first page), and simply in his ability to summon exciting campaigns (like fundraising for the Statute of Liberty), but the author should have focused on those innovations instead of his gradual descent into invalidity. After all, the first half of Pulitzer's life is exciting enough for a biography in its own right, even if the last half isn't.
January 26, 2022
Being honest, this really dragged. I was very energized to read this book as it was well thought of and I had wanted to read it for a couple years. I had a difficult time getting into it. The beginning is a regular format for how Joseph Pulitzer came from Pest, Hungary and the fascinating story of how he (and how his brother, Albert, did later) came to the United States and set off to distinguish himself. He did have his time of struggles, then moved to St. Louis because of its large German population (at the time).
The early phases of his writing, editing, publishing career was interesting, but the writing begins to peter out once he becomes involved as a publisher with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. For me, not enough of how he ran the paper, why he ran it that way, and what early effects he had in St. Louis was mentioned, but not sufficiently.
Once in New York, his risks taken to secure the paper that would take the New York World to become the World, was also fascinating. However, once this takes place (1883), it begins to get stuck in the minutiae of his autocratic style (which is important to tell, but not over, and over, and oh yeah, OVER). That seemed to become the story.
Further, once Pulitzer begins to lose his sight, this minutiae becomes the theme of the book. I finished it wanting to look more up on Wikipedia, or some other "reputable" source. Heck, that is why I read the book, and not just the "wiki-version". Anyway, obviously I was mildly disappointed with what I find a fascinating subject in Joseph Pulitzer.
Spoiler alert: Pulitzer emigrates to USA, distinguishes himself after many struggles, finds some success, transforms into a bigger a-hole than he was before (true statement), then loses his sight, and fights with Teddy Roosevelt. Done.
The early phases of his writing, editing, publishing career was interesting, but the writing begins to peter out once he becomes involved as a publisher with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. For me, not enough of how he ran the paper, why he ran it that way, and what early effects he had in St. Louis was mentioned, but not sufficiently.
Once in New York, his risks taken to secure the paper that would take the New York World to become the World, was also fascinating. However, once this takes place (1883), it begins to get stuck in the minutiae of his autocratic style (which is important to tell, but not over, and over, and oh yeah, OVER). That seemed to become the story.
Further, once Pulitzer begins to lose his sight, this minutiae becomes the theme of the book. I finished it wanting to look more up on Wikipedia, or some other "reputable" source. Heck, that is why I read the book, and not just the "wiki-version". Anyway, obviously I was mildly disappointed with what I find a fascinating subject in Joseph Pulitzer.
Spoiler alert: Pulitzer emigrates to USA, distinguishes himself after many struggles, finds some success, transforms into a bigger a-hole than he was before (true statement), then loses his sight, and fights with Teddy Roosevelt. Done.
January 30, 2011
Finally I finished this! I'm torn between 4 and 5 stars...this took me longer than i had intended and kept me from other reading i need/want to be doing, but i don't regret a single moment i spent with this book.
I put it on my "impulse-buy" shelf, but i didn't buy it. I took it impulsively from the library. and then renewed it twice without starting it. Thinking i would finish it within a week, i really procrastinated. Two days before it was originally due (no more renewals), i still had half the book to read. So i have read nothing else but this book since Thursday. I was supposed to return it yesterday, but when I logged into my library account online, i saw a message that extended my loan period to tomorrow because of snow days in the past week that closed the county government. yay! so i've finished it without rushing too much AND i won't have any fines to pay.
I really thought it was excellent; very readable for people interested in politics and the legislative process. Pulitzer was very engaged in the political process, which i had not been aware of. Also, the author did a fantastic job of creating an engaging tension throughout the book, despite very repetitive themes in Pulitzer's life--medical ailments, travels around the world, emotional abuse of his family--that could have become very tiresome.
Pulitzer lived in a very interesting time, so I learned (or was reminded of events i once learned about in school) a lot about American history during a certain time period and got to see how professional journalism developed in that time. Pulitzer immigrated to the U.S. from Hungary just in time to fight in the Civil War on the Union side. His experiences as an immigrant from an monarchical empire and as a soldier in the Civil War affected his political views deeply. Initially he joined the Republican party, which was experiencing some internal fractiousness--split between Radicals and Liberals--but later joined the Democratic party and supported the Labor movement (although at times that support was questionable). He died just three years before World War 1 broke out.
Pulitzer believed strongly that a newspaper's job was to keep tabs on political forces; the dynamic was fascinating. In fact, the book opens and closes with the story of the acrimony that existed between Pulitzer and Theodore Roosevelt and the libel case that Roosevelt tried to develop against Pulitzer's World newspaper during his presidency.
I won't say anything more. Except maybe, that Pulitzer was a very strange man.
I put it on my "impulse-buy" shelf, but i didn't buy it. I took it impulsively from the library. and then renewed it twice without starting it. Thinking i would finish it within a week, i really procrastinated. Two days before it was originally due (no more renewals), i still had half the book to read. So i have read nothing else but this book since Thursday. I was supposed to return it yesterday, but when I logged into my library account online, i saw a message that extended my loan period to tomorrow because of snow days in the past week that closed the county government. yay! so i've finished it without rushing too much AND i won't have any fines to pay.
I really thought it was excellent; very readable for people interested in politics and the legislative process. Pulitzer was very engaged in the political process, which i had not been aware of. Also, the author did a fantastic job of creating an engaging tension throughout the book, despite very repetitive themes in Pulitzer's life--medical ailments, travels around the world, emotional abuse of his family--that could have become very tiresome.
Pulitzer lived in a very interesting time, so I learned (or was reminded of events i once learned about in school) a lot about American history during a certain time period and got to see how professional journalism developed in that time. Pulitzer immigrated to the U.S. from Hungary just in time to fight in the Civil War on the Union side. His experiences as an immigrant from an monarchical empire and as a soldier in the Civil War affected his political views deeply. Initially he joined the Republican party, which was experiencing some internal fractiousness--split between Radicals and Liberals--but later joined the Democratic party and supported the Labor movement (although at times that support was questionable). He died just three years before World War 1 broke out.
Pulitzer believed strongly that a newspaper's job was to keep tabs on political forces; the dynamic was fascinating. In fact, the book opens and closes with the story of the acrimony that existed between Pulitzer and Theodore Roosevelt and the libel case that Roosevelt tried to develop against Pulitzer's World newspaper during his presidency.
I won't say anything more. Except maybe, that Pulitzer was a very strange man.
April 27, 2010
Given last week’s awarding of the Pulitzer Prizes (congratulations New York Times and Washington Post), now seemed like a good time to look deeper into the life of the award’s namesake, Joseph Pulitzer.
We begin by pointing out that there has not been a complete biography published on the turn-of-the-century media scion in nearly forty years. That is, until the recent release of James McGrath Morris’ new book ‘Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print and Power.’ (Harper). (A book, much like Walter Issakson’s ‘Einstein,’ that is at least partially the result of the discovery of a mass of new papers, in this case, discovered in the incestertial archives of Pulitzer’s late brother, Albert.)
In it, Morris (an award winning biographer and editor of the publication ‘The Biographer’s Craft’) covers the range of Pulitzer’s life from his arrival as a Jewish Hungarian immigrant to America in 1864, to his early days in St. Louis political circles to his 1878 purchase at auction of the St. Louis Evening Dispatch (which he later merged to form the region’s Post-Dispatch), his eventual move to and creation of a New York power-base with the New York World, to his ultimate untimely bout with blindness and an eventual lonely death.
Along the way, Morris details the vast influences on Pulitzer’s life, from the emergence of the industrial revolution, to his calls for political reform to his many run-ins with powerful political figures (even resulting in then President Teddy Roosevelt attempting to put Pulitzer in prison for his many anti-TR pontifications!) Eerily reminiscent of some of the media barons of today, Pulitzer was both an engaging activist and a sometimes pugnacious media lord (a precursor to the Murdochs and Turners of today’s media world) though his ultimate demise much more closely resembles the life of another tormented recluse, Howard Hughes.
Either way, young journalists or even the prize winners themselves, would be well served by Morris’ detailed account of a man who long ago forged the way for the Hearsts, Paleys, Luces and the other media moguls of the 20th century to do what they did in the name of journalist endeavor. And for all those who know little more than the name (much like, say, Alfred Nobel), ‘Pulitzer’ fills the gaps in an important piece of our domestic history.
We begin by pointing out that there has not been a complete biography published on the turn-of-the-century media scion in nearly forty years. That is, until the recent release of James McGrath Morris’ new book ‘Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print and Power.’ (Harper). (A book, much like Walter Issakson’s ‘Einstein,’ that is at least partially the result of the discovery of a mass of new papers, in this case, discovered in the incestertial archives of Pulitzer’s late brother, Albert.)
In it, Morris (an award winning biographer and editor of the publication ‘The Biographer’s Craft’) covers the range of Pulitzer’s life from his arrival as a Jewish Hungarian immigrant to America in 1864, to his early days in St. Louis political circles to his 1878 purchase at auction of the St. Louis Evening Dispatch (which he later merged to form the region’s Post-Dispatch), his eventual move to and creation of a New York power-base with the New York World, to his ultimate untimely bout with blindness and an eventual lonely death.
Along the way, Morris details the vast influences on Pulitzer’s life, from the emergence of the industrial revolution, to his calls for political reform to his many run-ins with powerful political figures (even resulting in then President Teddy Roosevelt attempting to put Pulitzer in prison for his many anti-TR pontifications!) Eerily reminiscent of some of the media barons of today, Pulitzer was both an engaging activist and a sometimes pugnacious media lord (a precursor to the Murdochs and Turners of today’s media world) though his ultimate demise much more closely resembles the life of another tormented recluse, Howard Hughes.
Either way, young journalists or even the prize winners themselves, would be well served by Morris’ detailed account of a man who long ago forged the way for the Hearsts, Paleys, Luces and the other media moguls of the 20th century to do what they did in the name of journalist endeavor. And for all those who know little more than the name (much like, say, Alfred Nobel), ‘Pulitzer’ fills the gaps in an important piece of our domestic history.
August 30, 2024
This was a well-written biography, portraying both the strength and serious flaws of this influential man. I honestly wanted to reach back through history and slap him for his hypocrisy and selfishness, yet at the same time, it is undeniable the impact he had on America.
One quote of his struck me as so true:
“An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right, and the courage should do it, can preserve that public virtue, without which popular government is a shame and a mockery. A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people as base as itself.”
One quote of his struck me as so true:
“An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right, and the courage should do it, can preserve that public virtue, without which popular government is a shame and a mockery. A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people as base as itself.”
January 17, 2013
This was a good book. Pulitzer was a real pill! He did have serious eye problems. His eyesight was poor to begin with. Eventually, both of his retina's detached and he lost his sight completely. This was traumatic but he became a demanding, irascible, and usually unpleasant person. But he was a newspaper genius, that's for sure. There's never been another that has come close to his ability and insight as a newspaper man. I did not know that Pulitzer endowed the Journalism School at Columbia U. If you are interested in this type of history, it's worth reading.
March 20, 2010
Interesting look at someone who influenced journalism, but all most of us know about him is the yellow journalism and helping Hearst to start the Spanish American war with the sinking of the Maine. This goes far beyond that, digging into his childhood in Hungary and his life as a Jewish millionaire in turn of the century New York. While there were some slow portions, the look at his early life and young manhood was outstanding read.
Read
March 2, 2010Watch Bethanne Patrick interview James McGrath Morris about his book "Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power" on The Book Studio.
Want to read
February 25, 2010Wednesday, 24 Feb 2010. Learned about this book from Jeffrey Brown's interview with the author on the PBS NewsHour.
October 1, 2019
A solid biography of a leading figure in late 19th century politics and business who would be largely forgotten were it not for the contemporary significance of his last name. The author accomplishes the two main things I seek in a good biography: a relatively objective portrayal of the subject and a well-presented account of the social/economic/political environment in which the subject lived. Credit is given where it's due, but Pulitzer's shortcomings as husband, father, and business owner are equally presented, usually without defense (since there is none, in most cases). The last quarter of the book deals mostly with Pulitzer's travels and interactions (or lack of) with his family and business associates, since he had largely begun to separate himself from the business he created. It's during this time, however, that two things are lacking for me. First, I would have liked to have had a little more detail on Pulitzer's fight with Teddy Roosevelt over the latter's attempt to use the federal government's prosecuting powers to indict Pulitzer for libel due to disparaging remarks about TR's involvement in the Panama Canal acquisition. The second, while beyond the true scope of the book, is the eventual financial hardship and sale of Pulitzer's newspaper by his heirs Overall, a great look into a largely-overlooked figure who transformed America's social and political irony. In a bit of irony, I find it interesting that Pulitzer is known more for his endowment of the Columbia School of Journalism and the award named after him after his death than he is for the groundbreaking newspaper business and editorial style that he created in life.
March 18, 2021
When most people hear the name Pulitzer today they naturally think of the Pulitzer prizes, awarded each year to distinguished journalists. Fewer, however, probably think of the man who created the prizes, Joseph Pulitzer.
If you love newspaper history, you will greatly enjoy "Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print and Power." Even if you aren't particularly interested in newspapers, you will enjoy reading the story of a self-make millionaire who was a poor immigrant and created a financially-successful publishing empire.
To be sure there was a lot to dislike about Pulitzer. He was demanding, short-tempered and frequently tactless. He often insulted his most trusted employees and for long stretches of his career ignored his wife and family.
But the author also paints a sympathetic portrait of Pulitzer as a man who overcame his blindness and many other illnesses to become a force in journalism and politics.
Perhaps the most revealing thing about this biography is Pulitzer's transition in journalism. Early in his career, he engaged in a circulation war with William Randolph Hearst and employed in some questionable journalistic practices giving rise to the term "yellow journalism." However, in later years, he insisted on accuracy and fairness, two qualities which evaded him for many years.
Having worked for many editors in my newspaper career, I'm not sure I would have been able to put up with Pulitzer but I have to admit I would have greatly respected his values.
If you love newspaper history, you will greatly enjoy "Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print and Power." Even if you aren't particularly interested in newspapers, you will enjoy reading the story of a self-make millionaire who was a poor immigrant and created a financially-successful publishing empire.
To be sure there was a lot to dislike about Pulitzer. He was demanding, short-tempered and frequently tactless. He often insulted his most trusted employees and for long stretches of his career ignored his wife and family.
But the author also paints a sympathetic portrait of Pulitzer as a man who overcame his blindness and many other illnesses to become a force in journalism and politics.
Perhaps the most revealing thing about this biography is Pulitzer's transition in journalism. Early in his career, he engaged in a circulation war with William Randolph Hearst and employed in some questionable journalistic practices giving rise to the term "yellow journalism." However, in later years, he insisted on accuracy and fairness, two qualities which evaded him for many years.
Having worked for many editors in my newspaper career, I'm not sure I would have been able to put up with Pulitzer but I have to admit I would have greatly respected his values.
September 12, 2017
Hungarian young Pulitzer comes penniless to America. He came to fight in the Civil War, that bought his passage. After the war he found himself in St. Louis where he found a job in one of the many German newspapers. His first coup consisted in buying a paper and selling it a week later making some nice profit. The trick was that the dead paper hat access to a news agency the paper he sold the acquired one did not. Eventually he became a publisher, first with St. Louis Post-Dispatch than in New York with the New York Word (bought from Jay Gould). This would, of course, become the most successful paper ever. Funny, that his younger brother, who committed suicide later on, also became a publisher, founding the Journal that later was to become the rival paper to the World under Hearst. Interesting war between these two guys. In the course of the war price of paper would be reduced to 1 cent for example. And other papers, like struggling New York Times had to cut prices as well.
Pulitzer was also a politician for a while. His political enemy was Roosevelt. Became blind early in life. Spent most on his later years on board of gigantic yacht. Liberty.
The prize is dedicated to a daughter.
Pulitzer was also a politician for a while. His political enemy was Roosevelt. Became blind early in life. Spent most on his later years on board of gigantic yacht. Liberty.
The prize is dedicated to a daughter.
December 29, 2017
This long and fascinating biography about a strange and powerful man is well worth reading for the historical context. Pulitzer had a lot to do with the development of what we now experience as modern media, and that's not a compliment. It was thought he set up the Pulitzer Prize and the first university School of Journalism to atone for his egregious behavior as a newspaperman. Later in life, blind, neurotic and mostly alone, he had some perspective on his actions, though he never gave up his controlling tendencies in his own life. Here are some quotes:
"Out republic and its press will rise or fall together."
"An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which popular government is a shame and a mockery. A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people as base as itself."
"Out republic and its press will rise or fall together."
"An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which popular government is a shame and a mockery. A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people as base as itself."
February 10, 2018
Pulitzer is an interesting book, but no so interesting that you couldn't put it down. It was also not so tedious that you would put it down to seek another book to read.
The information in the book was valuable and opened up some areas of study that I now want to pursue further.
The problem for me was that it didn't seem that the author had any passion, positive or negative, for his subject. The pursuit of Pulitzer's life was as if it were performed in a laboratory examining a bug under the microscope.
And yet, if you have a love for history, if you are interested in the history of the United States from 1850 to the early 1900s—especially during this great age of newspapers—you will find this a book well worth the reading.
The information in the book was valuable and opened up some areas of study that I now want to pursue further.
The problem for me was that it didn't seem that the author had any passion, positive or negative, for his subject. The pursuit of Pulitzer's life was as if it were performed in a laboratory examining a bug under the microscope.
And yet, if you have a love for history, if you are interested in the history of the United States from 1850 to the early 1900s—especially during this great age of newspapers—you will find this a book well worth the reading.
October 6, 2019
An informative, yet somewhat boring biography. As newspaper mogul in NYC, Pulitzer was obsessed with control over both his empire and the "news" that was printed. "Yellow Journalism" was the beginning of "fake news" and sensationalized stories meant to stir emotion and drive public opinion to support.
Clearing being awarded the "Pulitzer Prize" should be considered a mark of shame.
Clearing being awarded the "Pulitzer Prize" should be considered a mark of shame.
to-buy
August 3, 2019Podcast biographers international
April 10, 2024
Go back in time to period when newspapers were powerful and somewhat quirky representatives of the owners. If you have an interest in journalism history, this is a fascinating bio.
November 14, 2025
Why too much data............
March 7, 2011
For most Americans--even journalists--Joseph Pulitzer is mostly remembered as the guy who founded the Pulitzer Prizes. Oddly enough, that's kind of how he wanted it. The Prizes were his bid for immortality, even as his associates begged him to focus on making his newspaper, the New York World, his legacy. But the World went defunct not long after Pulitzer's death, whereas the Pulitzer Prizes and Columbia University's premiere journalism school -- which he also created -- remain as strong as ever.
James McGrath Morris, the author of Pulitzer's new biography, clearly feels that Pulitzer is under-appreciated. If people remember him at all, it's normally in the same breath as William Randolph Hearst and other purveyors of yellow journalism. "Pulitzer: A life in Politics, Print, and Power" is hardly a love letter -- it clearly demonstrates just how ruthless his methods could be, at times. But in his telling, it's also hard not to find a sneaking admiration for the self-made millionaire, whose life reads like an almost perfect example of the American Dream. An Austrian Jew who came to New York almost literally penniless, Pulitzer made a fortune through his ferocious intelligence and incredible drive -- and not by drilling oil or forging steel, but by busting corruption and giving working class readers a voice. The whole story is considerably less rosy than that summary, but it's hard not to get enthralled with the story of how Pulitzer revolutionized the media.
Despite his almost ridiculous money-making skills, Pulitzer always saw the business side as a way to influence politics, not the other way around. He wanted to be a kingmaker, not a business titan. In that way, he's probably very similar to Roger Ailes. Pulitzer helped transform newspapers from partisan mouthpieces to a force to be reckoned with on their own. The Republican-turned-Democrat, who held public office twice, (as a Missouri state legislator and as a New York congressman), he was obsessed with politics, and had a keen understanding of how people vote. Perhaps the best example of his king-making ability was when he helped turn an quip made by a minister at a political rally -- "Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion" -- into an election-swinging slur. It may have been the first political "gotcha!" moment in American history.
And then, of course, if you've seen Citizen Kane--(which was sort of an amalgam of both Pulitzer and Hearst's life)--you know the irony of the man who makes a fortune battling rich elitists, only to find himself among their ranks as well. Despite his humble origins, Pulitzer yearned to live with the upper crust, even as he attacked them with a ferocity that was unprecedented. The disconnect left him alienated and friendless, and as he eventually went blind and became increasingly neurotic, he lost touch with family and dozens of proteges he tried (unsuccessfully) to groom as successors. Although he had a taste for sensationalism, Morris argues that it was only pressure from Hearst that forced him into the yellow journalism which has tarred his legacy. (Morris portrays Hearst as a copycat who used his unlimited family fortune to beat Pulitzer at his own game, for a while--although it's probably good to read David Nasaw's The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst before drawing any conclusions about him.) Ironically enough, unlike William "I'll furnish the War*" Hearst, Pulitzer was somewhat of a peacenik, who railed against what he saw as growing American militarism and imperialism, especially when his arch-nemesis Theodore Roosevelt was in the White House.
The book not only captures Pulitzer's life, but also the rollicking era of journalism, when newspapers were hyper-partisan and sarcastically vicious--a lot like today's bloggers. Pulitzer didn't invent this, but he was one of its masters and took it to new heights. A great read for anyone interested in American history.
*Which Hearst probably never said.
James McGrath Morris, the author of Pulitzer's new biography, clearly feels that Pulitzer is under-appreciated. If people remember him at all, it's normally in the same breath as William Randolph Hearst and other purveyors of yellow journalism. "Pulitzer: A life in Politics, Print, and Power" is hardly a love letter -- it clearly demonstrates just how ruthless his methods could be, at times. But in his telling, it's also hard not to find a sneaking admiration for the self-made millionaire, whose life reads like an almost perfect example of the American Dream. An Austrian Jew who came to New York almost literally penniless, Pulitzer made a fortune through his ferocious intelligence and incredible drive -- and not by drilling oil or forging steel, but by busting corruption and giving working class readers a voice. The whole story is considerably less rosy than that summary, but it's hard not to get enthralled with the story of how Pulitzer revolutionized the media.
Despite his almost ridiculous money-making skills, Pulitzer always saw the business side as a way to influence politics, not the other way around. He wanted to be a kingmaker, not a business titan. In that way, he's probably very similar to Roger Ailes. Pulitzer helped transform newspapers from partisan mouthpieces to a force to be reckoned with on their own. The Republican-turned-Democrat, who held public office twice, (as a Missouri state legislator and as a New York congressman), he was obsessed with politics, and had a keen understanding of how people vote. Perhaps the best example of his king-making ability was when he helped turn an quip made by a minister at a political rally -- "Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion" -- into an election-swinging slur. It may have been the first political "gotcha!" moment in American history.
And then, of course, if you've seen Citizen Kane--(which was sort of an amalgam of both Pulitzer and Hearst's life)--you know the irony of the man who makes a fortune battling rich elitists, only to find himself among their ranks as well. Despite his humble origins, Pulitzer yearned to live with the upper crust, even as he attacked them with a ferocity that was unprecedented. The disconnect left him alienated and friendless, and as he eventually went blind and became increasingly neurotic, he lost touch with family and dozens of proteges he tried (unsuccessfully) to groom as successors. Although he had a taste for sensationalism, Morris argues that it was only pressure from Hearst that forced him into the yellow journalism which has tarred his legacy. (Morris portrays Hearst as a copycat who used his unlimited family fortune to beat Pulitzer at his own game, for a while--although it's probably good to read David Nasaw's The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst before drawing any conclusions about him.) Ironically enough, unlike William "I'll furnish the War*" Hearst, Pulitzer was somewhat of a peacenik, who railed against what he saw as growing American militarism and imperialism, especially when his arch-nemesis Theodore Roosevelt was in the White House.
The book not only captures Pulitzer's life, but also the rollicking era of journalism, when newspapers were hyper-partisan and sarcastically vicious--a lot like today's bloggers. Pulitzer didn't invent this, but he was one of its masters and took it to new heights. A great read for anyone interested in American history.
*Which Hearst probably never said.
March 20, 2011
This book was a big long but fascinating and filled with great details about the man who created modern journalism.
It covers his early days as a Hungarian Jew, watching his father die of TB and losing eight siblings. He came to Boston, ended up serving in the Civil War after enlisting at Harpers Ferry WVA and moved to St Louis where his career as a newspaper man started.
He wrote for a German language paper and became known for his crusades against government waste - for example attacking cost overuns at a mental asylum.
He was a Republican but very progressive and later became a member of the state assembly - using his paper to blatently advocate for his issues.
In the late 1800's, Pulitizer built a new headquarters for his paper, New York World, that at 13 stories was the tallest building in the city.
So when immigrants arrived in NYC, the first thing they saw was a golden dome atop a skyscraper filled with newspapermen. Hard to imagine.
It covers his early days as a Hungarian Jew, watching his father die of TB and losing eight siblings. He came to Boston, ended up serving in the Civil War after enlisting at Harpers Ferry WVA and moved to St Louis where his career as a newspaper man started.
He wrote for a German language paper and became known for his crusades against government waste - for example attacking cost overuns at a mental asylum.
He was a Republican but very progressive and later became a member of the state assembly - using his paper to blatently advocate for his issues.
In the late 1800's, Pulitizer built a new headquarters for his paper, New York World, that at 13 stories was the tallest building in the city.
So when immigrants arrived in NYC, the first thing they saw was a golden dome atop a skyscraper filled with newspapermen. Hard to imagine.
January 7, 2011
Having taken a journalism history course in college I thought I was knowledgeable about Pulitzer. Didn’t know about his dark side. What I studied was that he was an innovative editor who played human interest news to the hilt. Once he’d caught reader interest he led them to think. The World in New York City during his time was the leading “must read” political newspaper and widely quoted throughout the nation, just as the New York Times is today. Later in life he became less admirable. As a miserable and self-absorbed blind man with real and imagined ailments, he was insensitive to suffering of others. Editors and reporters quit because they couldn’t tolerate his eccentric management style. His paper declined in influence and became stodgy. His wife put up with his cantankerousness by mostly living apart from him. Though his children held him in affection they were mostly alienated.
November 27, 2024
This book, while packed with information, reads like a gripping novel!
It's an extraordinary account of an immigrant youth who, penniless and unable to speak English, arrived in the US and not only transformed his own life but also made a lasting impact on the land of opportunities.
This is a story of his relentless ambition and fierce determination that revolutionized the press through a dog-eat-dog rivalry, turning it into a powerful tool that shaped public opinion and leaving a lasting legacy – all at the expense of his health.
It's one of the most captivating biographies I've ever read, enriched by its insightful exploration of the historical period.
It's an extraordinary account of an immigrant youth who, penniless and unable to speak English, arrived in the US and not only transformed his own life but also made a lasting impact on the land of opportunities.
This is a story of his relentless ambition and fierce determination that revolutionized the press through a dog-eat-dog rivalry, turning it into a powerful tool that shaped public opinion and leaving a lasting legacy – all at the expense of his health.
It's one of the most captivating biographies I've ever read, enriched by its insightful exploration of the historical period.
November 4, 2010
With having the time to write a full review, McGrath treats Pulitzer with the objectivity consistent with more modern, Western associations of journalism. Pulitzer, unlike the figures of most biographical treatments, is not the hero. He is, however, the unmistakable protagonist (of course). McGrath excels in developing the relationship between Pulitzer and his family, his two newspapers, his personal assistants, and details quite well the interplay between he and William Randolph Hearst. The most notable of McGrath's reflections comes as he artfully works Pulitzer's mental and physical afflictions into each aspect of the giant's life.
February 15, 2015
Not just the name on a prize, this biography tells the story of a talented, yet flawed man. A king maker and opinion shaper, Pulitzer realized the power of the press, used the fourth institution to shape opinions and politics, and along the way changed journalism for better or worse. This is an easy to understand biography, with a moderate pace that paints a balanced picture of who the real Joseph Pulitzer was. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys learning more about the lives of people who changed the world.
Read
December 31, 2012A well written bio about a powerful, intelligent, tyrannical man, who influenced the politics and journalism of his time to an extent we are hardly aware of today. Worth reading, if only for the harshly realistic view of his arch enemy, Teddy Roosevelt, who tried to have him personally prosecuted for criminal libel for the accusations his paper made about corruption and bribery in the making of the Panama Canal. (History has long since vindicated Pulitzer, although we still regard Roosevelt with respect, maybe because he is on Mt Rushmore).
February 4, 2016
I am not being derogatory when I say that James McGrath Morris's Pulitzer is a 500-page book that reads rather more like a thousand-page book. It offers a meticulous and methodical portrait of the life of one of the nineteenth century's most notable men, and it is clearly the result of far-ranging, painstaking archival research. I can't imagine any reason that another author would ever write a book about Joseph Pulitzer, as this one seems nearly impossible to extend or improve. Highly recommended for readers interested in the era and fans of epic biographies of the rich and powerful.
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