"This is the first serious biography of the exuberant man who
transformed the Sears, Roebuck company into the country's most important retailer.
He was also one of the early 20th century's notable philanthropists.... The richness
of primary evidence continually delights." -- Judith Sealander, author of
Private Wealth and Public Life
"[No] mere philanthropist [but
a] subtle, stinging critic of our racial democracy." -- W. E. B. DuBois on
Julius Rosenwald
In this richly revealing biography of a major,
but little-known, American businessman and philanthropist, Peter Ascoli brings to
life a portrait of Julius Rosenwald, the man and his work. The son of
first-generation German Jewish immigrants, Julius Rosenwald, known to his friends as
"JR," apprenticed for his uncles, who were major clothing manufacturers in
New York City. It would be as a men's clothing salesperson that JR would make his
fateful encounter with Sears, Roebuck and Company, which he eventually fashioned
into the greatest mail order firm in the world. He also founded Chicago's Museum of
Science and Industry. And in the American South Rosenwald helped support the
building of the more than 5,300 schools that bore his name. Yet the charitable fund
he created during World War I went out of existence in 1948 at his expressed wish.
Ascoli provides a fascinating account of Rosenwald's meteoric rise in American
business, but he also portrays a man devoted to family and with a desire to help his
community that led to a lifelong devotion to philanthropy. He tells about
Rosenwald's important philanthropic activities, especially those connected with the
Rosenwald schools and Booker T. Washington, and later through the Rosenwald
Fund.
Ascoli's account of Rosenwald is an inspiring story of hard
work and success, and of giving back to the nation in which he prospered.
"This is the first serious biography of the exuberant man who
transformed the Sears, Roebuck company into the country's most important retailer.
He was also one of the early 20th century's notable philanthropists.... The richness
of primary evidence continually delights." -- Judith Sealander, author of
Private Wealth and Public Life
"[No] mere philanthropist [but
a] subtle, stinging critic of our racial democracy." -- W. E. B. DuBois on
Julius Rosenwald
In this richly revealing biography of a major,
but little-known, American businessman and philanthropist, Peter Ascoli brings to
life a portrait of Julius Rosenwald, the man and his work. The son of
first-generation German Jewish immigrants, Julius Rosenwald, known to his friends as
"JR," apprenticed for his uncles, who were major clothing manufacturers in
New York City. It would be as a men's clothing salesperson that JR would make his
fateful encounter with Sears, Roebuck and Company, which he eventually fashioned
into the greatest mail order firm in the world. He also founded Chicago's Museum of
Science and Industry. And in the American South Rosenwald helped support the
building of the more than 5,300 schools that bore his name. Yet the charitable fund
he created during World War I went out of existence in 1948 at his expressed wish.
Ascoli provides a fascinating account of Rosenwald's meteoric rise in American
business, but he also portrays a man devoted to family and with a desire to help his
community that led to a lifelong devotion to philanthropy. He tells about
Rosenwald's important philanthropic activities, especially those connected with the
Rosenwald schools and Booker T. Washington, and later through the Rosenwald
Fund.
Ascoli's account of Rosenwald is an inspiring story of hard
work and success, and of giving back to the nation in which he prospered.
Julius Rosenwald: The Man Who Built Sears, Roebuck and Advanced the Cause of Black Education in the American South
472Julius Rosenwald: The Man Who Built Sears, Roebuck and Advanced the Cause of Black Education in the American South
472eBook
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Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780253112040 |
---|---|
Publisher: | Indiana University Press |
Publication date: | 05/23/2006 |
Series: | Philanthropic and Nonprofit Studies |
Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
Format: | eBook |
Pages: | 472 |
File size: | 3 MB |