A Man from Maine

by Edward William Bok

Before William Randolph Hearst there was Cyrus Curtis. This biography, written by his devoted son-in-law is an intimate portrait of the man and his beliefs, a story of business acumen coupled with the passion and desire to succeed. Cyrus Curtis built a business empire that would be estimated at over $50 billion dollars today, from humble beginnings with grit and determination. Although written in 1923, the business lessons displayed and explained in this book are as applicable to today’s business environment as ever. Born in Portland, Maine, Curtis was compelled to leave high school after his first year to start working in 1866. He held a variety of newspaper and advertising jobs in Portland and Boston before starting his first publication, a weekly called the People's Ledger, in Boston in 1872.

In 1883, Curtis’ wife (Louisa Knapp) contributed a one-page supplement to the Tribune and Farmer, a magazine published by Curtis. The following year, the supplement was expanded as an independent publication with Louisa as the editor. Thus the Ladies’ Home Journal was born. It rapidly became the leading magazine of its type, reaching a circulation of one million subscriptions within ten years. It was the first American magazine to do so.

Curtis founded the Curtis Publishing Company in 1891; it would eventually publish Ladies’ Home Journal , T he Saturday Evening Post, Holiday , and others. A separate company founded by Curtis, Curtis-Martin Newspapers, controlled several newspapers, including for a time the Philadelphia Public Ledger, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and the New York Evening Post .

Genres: Biography

278 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1923

About the author

Edward William Bok (born Eduard Willem Gerard Cesar Hidde Bok; 1863–1930) was a Dutch-born American editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. He was editor of the Ladies' Home Journal for 30 years (1889–1919). He also distributed popular home-building plans and created Bok Tower Gardens in central Florida.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bok

Reviews

[Darlene Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in 1928 of a true story of Cyrus Curtis, most famouse for creating the Ladies Home Journal. A man who was way ahead of his time in his thoughts about business, health and family. Loved it.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very inspiring but kind of dragged on at the end.