{"product_id":"nothing-random-gayle-feldman-9781400060276","title":"Nothing Random: Bennett Cerf and the Publishing House He Built","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe story of the legendary Random House founder, whose seemingly charmed life at the apogee of the American Century featured an epic cast and left an enduring cultural legacy\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAt midcentury, everyone knew Bennett Cerf: witty, beloved, middle-aged panelist on \u003ci\u003eWhat's My Line?\u003c\/i\u003e, whom TV brought into America's homes each week. They didn't know the handsome, driven young man of the 1920s who'd vowed to become a great publisher, and a decade later, was. By then, he'd signed Eugene O'Neill, Gertrude Stein, William Faulkner, and had fought the landmark censorship case that gave Americans the freedom to read James Joyce's\u003ci\u003e Ulysses\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith his best friend and lifelong business partner Donald Klopfer, and other young Jewish entrepreneurs like the Knopfs and Simon \u0026amp; Schuster, Cerf remade the book business: what was published, and how. In 1925, he and Klopfer had bought the Modern Library and turned it into an institution, then founded Random House, which eventually became a home to Truman Capote, Ralph Ellison, Ayn Rand, Dr. Seuss, Toni Morrison, and many more. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eEven before TV, Cerf was a bestselling author and columnist as well as publisher; the show super-charged his celebrity. A brilliant social networker and major influencer before such terms existed, he connected books-Broadway-TV-Hollywood-politics. A fervent democratizer, he published \"high,\" \"low,\" and wide, and from the roaring twenties to the swinging sixties collected an incredible array of friends, having a fabulous time along the way. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor four decades, Gayle Feldman has reported on publishing for \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Bookseller\u003c\/i\u003e, and others. Using new and deeply researched material from 200 interviews and many archives, she recalls Bennett Cerf to vibrant life, bringing booklovers into his world and time, and finally giving a true American original his due.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Gayle Feldman\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1400060273\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781400060276\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Random House\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/13\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 928\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.25lbs","brand":"Gayle Feldman","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46825715958015,"sku":"9781400060276","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_53a338dc-d813-4336-9d12-06ea552ec9cf.jpg?v=1746073431","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/nothing-random-gayle-feldman-9781400060276","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}