An autobiography that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1921.
Edward came to America as a child. His father made some bad investments and lost all his money back in the old country and came to the USA to make a new start. He didn't do all that well here but his son did OK. He worked his way up the publishing ladder until he took over the editorship of the Ladies Homes Journal. Under his leadership he increased the magazines sales to over 1,000,000; an unprecedented number at that time (1890-1920). He tells all about the changes he made in the magazine and about some of the famous people of the day. But if you want to know about Bok the man, forget it! This book isn't about Bok the family man, Bok the friend, Bok the human being. It's not really the autobiography of Edward Bok. It's the biography of Ladies Home Journal.
Why this book won a Pulitzer I don't know. Perhaps they thought it was a good example of the self-made man. Maybe they liked the little lecture on America's faults and strengths with which he closes the book. (Faults: Americans are lazy, wasteful, slackers, greedy, and don't know how to properly educate their children. Strengths: there's lots of opportunity.) It was an OK read but not a prize-winner.
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