Roger W. Straus Jr

An heir to the Guggenheim fortune, Straus decided to put his money where other people's mouths were: he co-founded a book publishing company, Farrar, Straus & Giroux. His goal for the company was to emphasize literary quality over profit, but found that the former very often led to the latter. He attracted some of the greatest writers of his time, names like T.S. Eliot, Isaac Bashevis Singer and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. "Many people have accused me of being an elitist," Straus once said. "I'm guilty. I am an elitist. I like good books." During his 50 years at the company's helm, books often won awards, including Pulitzers and National Book Awards. Straus died May 25 in New York from pneumonia. He was 87. From This is True for 23 May 2004 Suggestions for further reading: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah Amazon Price: $8.64 Customer Review: I wanted to read this novel for quite some time, and when I finally got to it I was not disappointed. Though rather short, "A Long Way Gone" is to the point and powerful, educational and thought-provoking. "A Long Way Gone" is a memoir,...   The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman Amazon Price: $9.47 Customer Review: This true story about a Central California Hmong family recounts the recent history of the Hmong people, and enlightens the reader about a culture vastly different than our own. The author describes the nomadic lifestyle of the Hmong, who have lived ...   Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow Amazon Price: Customer Review: I have just read most of the 103 reviews of Presumed Innocent. Although I agree with many of the sterling reviews, just saying it`s a great book doesn`t help the potential reader. Critiques of lack of character development are strange as this is fi...   The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years by Sonia Shah Amazon Price: $17.16 Customer Review: The author begins the book with a look at how malaria developed and how the transmission cycle occurs in the Anopheles mosquito. Tracing it roots in Africa thousands of years ago, the author follows malarias spread around the world and explains why i...   Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Art... by Justin Spring Amazon Price: $20.25   Newsfeed display by CaRP

About the HUs About This is True Subscribe Free to This is True Your E-mail: Prev: Highway engineer Marilyn Jorgenson Reece Next: Eye surgery pioneer Charles Kelman Complete Name List

Copyright 1998-2010 ThisisTrue.Inc, all rights reserved. May not be copied or archived without express, prior, written permission. "This is True" is a registered trademark of ThisisTrue.Inc, Ridgway Colorado. 3815