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The Americanization of Edward Bok: An Autobiography
by
Edward Bok
This Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography charmingly chronicles the life of Edward Bok, the longtime editor of The Ladies Home Journal and a noted philanthropist. Bok wrote of his eventful life, "Every life has some interest and significance; mine, perhaps, a special one. Here was a little Dutch boy unceremoniously set down in America unable to make himself understood or e
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Paperback
,
338 pages
Published
1965
by The American Foundation Inc.
(first published 1920)
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Community Reviews
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Jan 09, 2013
Carla
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
life-changing-favorites
Every American should read this book.
Anyone seeking to become an American should read this book.
Every family should read this book aloud for family reading time.
Every homeschooling family should read this book aloud and also use it as a unit study.
Every high school student should read this book.
Every business major in college should read this book.
Every politician should read this book.
Every journalist should read this book.
Every writer or aspiring writer should read this book.
I wish I possess ...more
I LOVE this book. I am reading it to Hannah and it is a great autobiography ( written in third person though). He was a brilliant, hard-working man who worked hard and is in inspiration to us. I encourage you to read it. It makes me smile.
What a surprise to discover this gem! I usually read fiction, but this title showed up in a list of Pulitzer Price winners and I couldn't resist. This is one of those books that we need to read and re-read as America ages (we're getting old and grumpy about immigrants) and its citizens are no longer hungry for freedom. Our ancestors mostly came to America generations abo, and now we don't understand the new immigrants coming to our shores. We are starting to not act in the American spirit. I rec
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I first noticed this book in the gift shop of Bok Tower, a beautiful garden park and carillon tower commissioned and installed by the eponymous Edward Bok in Lake Wales, FL. Never having heard of him, I bought Bok's book (sorry, couldn't resist that one). With apologies for boring those more knowledgeable than I, it turns out that Mr. Bok, born in Holland and brought to the United States in poverty at the age of seven in 1870, worked hard and became very successful, first in publishing and most
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What an incredibly intelligent gentleman far beyond his years. This is one man we all could learn from. Very very interesting. Held my attention from page 1.
Dec 25, 2013
Jan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
autobiographies
,
pulitzer-biographies
I read this autobiography by Edward Bok as part of my Pulitzer Challenge (see my blog at
http://pulitzer-challenge.blogspot.de/
). It won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography and Autobiography 1921 and I have to say it absolutely deserved it!
Bok, editor of the Ladies' Home Journal for nearly 30 years, chose to write his memoirs in third person. His style is very readable. The reader is taken along his lifeline from his arrival in the United States, his first job at a bakery to support the family, int ...more
Bok, editor of the Ladies' Home Journal for nearly 30 years, chose to write his memoirs in third person. His style is very readable. The reader is taken along his lifeline from his arrival in the United States, his first job at a bakery to support the family, int ...more
I really enjoyed this book. This is an autobiography of a longtime editor of the Ladies' Home Journal from late Victorian times through WWI. He emigrated from Holland at age 6, hence the "Americanization" part. Of course, the book suffers (for readers of today) from the conventions of the time: the tendency to only praise, and to overlook some of the faults, of famous people (this is no tell-all), and the rampant sexism (there's a lot of references to "the feminine nature," "the mother instinct,
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In 1920, the former editor of the Ladies' Home Journal, Edward Bok, published his fascinating memoir, an exceptionally well-written book through which he candidly yet eloquently recounted the step-by-step process of his 'Americanization' from penurious immigrant Dutch boy to affluent pioneering American editor and philanthropist; hence, it is not a surprise that the work secured for its author both the coveted 1921 Pulitzer Prize for Biography/Autobiography as well as the Gold Medal of the Acade
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Loved this book. An autobiography of the first editor of the Ladies Home Journal, which was a premier magazine in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Edward Bok immigrated to the US from the Netherlands as a 6 year old and was a motivated entrepreneur, even as a boy. It was fascinating to read about him and the influence he had on American society. Highly recommend.
Read to learn more about the man my hometown has been forever blessed by. Mr. Bok created our beautiful Singing Tower & gardens in Lake Wales, Florida. The middle school I helped create is named after this amazing man. Growing up hearing about him & the many hours I've spent on the grounds of the tower were never fully appreciated until I read his biography. What a complex but very simple man who delights the reader with name dropping like a regular Hollywood wannabe. However his encount
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I have read this book twice. There is so much to enjoy. Mr. Bok's stories of his encounters, as both a youth and an adult, with famous people. The success story of an immigrant family. The spotlight on history, including not only World War One but aslo ideas such as widespread use of disposable drinking cups or certain fashion trends.
The author would surely be appalled at the Ladies Home Journal today and this book provices an amazing opportunity to see how much less wise and thoughtful today's ...more
The author would surely be appalled at the Ladies Home Journal today and this book provices an amazing opportunity to see how much less wise and thoughtful today's ...more
A very upbeat bio. Not sure how true it all was but it was very nice to read. So much info of the publishing of magazines in the 1880 to 1920 period. Of course the author was friends with ALL the important literary people of the time along with Government heads of state, military leaders, just anybody of importance and of course all loved him, IT was pretty much Bok who was responsible for all the improvements made in the united states during that time. YEAH?????
Take out the autobiography self-promotion and you have some fascinating side stories about writers, artists, politicians, etc. It was also interesting to read about how women were perceived by an editor who undoubtedly made a fortune from them. I enjoyed the book.
A very entertaining read on a piece of history I had no knowledge. Bok's story is impressive though the book and is certainly dated and drags a bit towards the end.
As usual in an autobiography, he's full of himself, but it's a fascinating view of being in the magazine business in the 1850s. and just how life was lived at that time.
Aug 27, 2010
Miss Clark
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone
3.5 stars
Make the world a bit more beautiful and better because you have been in it." Edward William Bok's motto
Make the world a bit more beautiful and better because you have been in it." Edward William Bok's motto
I was hoping for some serious dish about being an editor of some significant American periodicals, but Mr. Bok does not dish.
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“Bok strongly believed that good art should find a place in public buildings where large numbers of persons might find easy access to it.”
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“some interest and significance; mine, perhaps, a special one. Here was a little Dutch boy unceremoniously set down in America unable to make himself”
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