Denis Brian: Pulitzer: A Life

By MARGIE THOMSON

He began as a scrawny Hungarian Jewish immigrant to the United States in 1864, and ended as one of the most monumental figures in world publishing history, commemorated to this day in some of the most prestigious media awards on the planet.

The press he pioneered is recognisable to this day - what was, in his time, a "new journalism" that mixed sensational stunts and entertaining stories with serious financial, foreign and political news. This fascinating biography details the rivalry between Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst for market share, and reveals how Pulitzer, blind at 40, was able to continue running his empire with the help of some extraordinary secretaries.

He was one of the first to employ women reporters, and embodied an odd mix of principle ("no faking") with occasional lapses into competitive sensationalism which led one observer to describe the conflict between him and Hearst as a contest of madmen for the primacy of the sewer. A serious, painstaking biography with a wonderfully light touch.

Wiley

$63.95