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At Random: The Reminiscences of Bennett Cerf
“I’ve got the name for our publishing operation. We just said we were going to publish a few books on the side at random. Let’s call it Random House.” So recounts Bennett Cerf in this wonderfully amusing memoir of the making of a great publishing house. An incomparable raconteur, possessed of an irrepressible wit and an abiding love of books and authors, Cerf brilliantly e...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
March 5th 2002
by Random House Trade Paperbacks
(first published 1977)
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I remember my father introducing me to Bennett Cerf while on What's My Line. I was pretty small and it was just a name and game I couldn't follow. Then a few years ago What's My Line started being shown on late night television. After taping it for several years I think I've seen all the existing episodes and absolutely love the shows with Dorothy Killgallen, Arlene Francis and Bennet Cerf. Guests panelists are fun but it was the interaction of the three main panel members and John Daly as the h...more
I picked up this book because I had the good fortune to meet Bennett Cerf's son Chris through the Columbia Publishing Course. Anyone going into book publishing should definitely give this book a read, as it provides an entertaining look at the early 20th century publishing world, among other things.
The book is made up of chapters of Bennett Cerf's (the co-founder of Random House) life, stories, and thought processes. A lot of it is gleaned from oral interviews with Cerf, so some of the stories t...more
The book is made up of chapters of Bennett Cerf's (the co-founder of Random House) life, stories, and thought processes. A lot of it is gleaned from oral interviews with Cerf, so some of the stories t...more
[Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography (cclapcenter.com). I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.]
Recently at a party, someone favorably compared me to Random House co-founder Bennett Cerf; and that inspired me to read his autobiography, because not only did I know barely anything about him, but indeed about the entire formation of the modern American publishing industry, other than the vague realizati...more
Recently at a party, someone favorably compared me to Random House co-founder Bennett Cerf; and that inspired me to read his autobiography, because not only did I know barely anything about him, but indeed about the entire formation of the modern American publishing industry, other than the vague realizati...more
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Bennett Cerf truly led a charmed life. After a brief stint on Wall Street, he fell into publishing and founded Random House, to this day (although it is now owned by Bertlesmann) the world's largest English language book publisher.
This book, more a collection of anecdotes than a memoir (it was compiled posthumously from interviews and notes), tells many amusing stories of life in the book business. Cerf is a great storyteller, and makes his life sound like a grand lark. Anyone who loves books ca...more
This book, more a collection of anecdotes than a memoir (it was compiled posthumously from interviews and notes), tells many amusing stories of life in the book business. Cerf is a great storyteller, and makes his life sound like a grand lark. Anyone who loves books ca...more
Sometimes the past grabs you when you browse the biography shelf. I knew about Cerf from early TV, What's My Line, which I certainly would never have watched had I had several hundred other channels. But it passed the time between a childhood mainlining books. And what a verbal motormouth this man is. That just means his revelations of his life in the publishing world can have a riveting quality, but certainly only in spurts.
A very well put together biography of Bennett Cerf from notes and writings of Bennett Cerf himself. It describes himself, his author friends and clients, the publishing business and the formation of Random House from the 1920s to 1970. Would consider it a must read for those in the publishing business.
Growing up with books from an early age I still remember the love I had for the books themselves. Thus the encounter with "The Modern Library" editions from Random House was love at first sight. I read my first Faulkner and Dostoevsky in these editions. And I still have a small collection among my personal library today. All this as introduction to why I picked up and devoured this wonderful memoir of the life of a literary publisher. It is a fascinating collection of reminiscences of a life liv...more
This book should be required reading for those who work in book publishing, but any bibliophile will definitely appreciate it. Bennett Cerf was an outrageous character with a passion for creating good books, finesse for dealing with authors (Ayn Rand, Gertrude Stein, Eugene O'Neill, among many others), and an unbeatable sense of humor that will make you laugh out loud. His reminiscences delighted me so that I missed my stop on the subway while reading them and laughing out loud.
Since I am a publisher, I am obsessed with reading books about publishers and their presses. And Random House is the biggie of them all. One thing for sure, publishing is a very romantic business. Whatever you are a small press or a huge one like Random. The old School (and Cerf is a member of that school) were visionaries and had great passion in their work. I hope to be among that little club!
An amazing read for anyone in/fascinated by publishing. Pompous and self-satisfied hardly begins to describe Bennett Cerf, but if you founded one of the most prestigious and reputable publishing houses in America, wouldn't you be?
Published after his death, this memoir collects various interviews Cerf did with the Columbia school of journalism about publishing and his role in founding Random House.
A delightful look at the book business in the 20th century by a master of quality and friendly publishing.
I loved reading about the beginnings of the publishing industry. I was totally born in the wrong decade...
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