The Man Everybody Knew

Bruce Barton and the Making of Modern America

Richard M. Fried

Everyone knew him then: Bruce Barton was a cultural icon. Two-thirds of American history textbooks today cite him to illustrate the 1920s adoration of the business mentality that then dominated American culture. Historians quote from his enormous best-seller, The Man Nobody Knows, in which Barton called Jesus the "founder of modern business" who "picked up twelve men from the bottom ranks of business and forged them into an organization that conquered the world." But few know Bruce Barton now: he is the most famous twentieth-century American not to rate a biography. Richard M. Fried's compelling new study captures the full dimensions of Barton's varied and fascinating life. More than a popularizer of the entrepreneurial Jesus, he was a prolific writer—of novels, magazine articles, interviews with the mighty, pithy editorials of uplift. He edited a weekly magazine that anticipated the format of Life. Most famously, he co-founded the advertising agency that became Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborn and grew to symbolize "Madison Avenue." He made GM and GE household initials. Barton's religious writings, especially The Man Nobody Knows, epitomized modernist religious thought in the twenties—at one point he had two religious books on the best-seller list. As a political spin merchant, he advanced the careers of Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover; his agency scripted later campaigns for Republicans, notably Dwight Eisenhower. Barton himself was twice elected to Congress, ran for the U.S. Senate in 1940, and that year lent his name to FDR's famous mocking litany, "Martin, Barton, and Fish." In Richard M. Fried's illuminating biography, Barton comes to life as a man who often initiated, sometimes followed, and occasionally fought the social and political trends of his times—but always defined their essential qualities. He can truly be called a key figure in a large territory of the American mind. With 8 pages of black-and-white photographs.

Ivan R. Dee

Pages: 304 • Trim: 6 x 9¼

978-1-56663-663-6 • Hardback • September 2005 • $27.50 • (£19.99)

Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Business, Biography & Autobiography / General, History / Expeditions & Discoveries

The Man Everybody Knew

Bruce Barton and the Making of Modern America

Hardback

Summary

Everyone knew him then: Bruce Barton was a cultural icon. Two-thirds of American history textbooks today cite him to illustrate the 1920s adoration of the business mentality that then dominated American culture. Historians quote from his enormous best-seller, The Man Nobody Knows, in which Barton called Jesus the "founder of modern business" who "picked up twelve men from the bottom ranks of business and forged them into an organization that conquered the world." But few know Bruce Barton now: he is the most famous twentieth-century American not to rate a biography. Richard M. Fried's compelling new study captures the full dimensions of Barton's varied and fascinating life. More than a popularizer of the entrepreneurial Jesus, he was a prolific writer—of novels, magazine articles, interviews with the mighty, pithy editorials of uplift. He edited a weekly magazine that anticipated the format of Life. Most famously, he co-founded the advertising agency that became Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborn and grew to symbolize "Madison Avenue." He made GM and GE household initials. Barton's religious writings, especially The Man Nobody Knows, epitomized modernist religious thought in the twenties—at one point he had two religious books on the best-seller list. As a political spin merchant, he advanced the careers of Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover; his agency scripted later campaigns for Republicans, notably Dwight Eisenhower. Barton himself was twice elected to Congress, ran for the U.S. Senate in 1940, and that year lent his name to FDR's famous mocking litany, "Martin, Barton, and Fish." In Richard M. Fried's illuminating biography, Barton comes to life as a man who often initiated, sometimes followed, and occasionally fought the social and political trends of his times—but always defined their essential qualities. He can truly be called a key figure in a large territory of the American mind. With 8 pages of black-and-white photographs.

Details

Ivan R. Dee

Pages: 304 • Trim: 6 x 9¼

978-1-56663-663-6 • Hardback • September 2005 • $27.50 • (£19.99)

Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Business, Biography & Autobiography / General, History / Expeditions & Discoveries

Author

Richard M. Fried is professor of history at the University of Illinois at Chicago and author of Men Against McCarthy, Nightmare in Red, and The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! He studied at Amherst College and Columbia University, and has been a senior Fulbright lecturer. He is married with two children and lives in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

Reviews

A fine biography.
— John M. and Priscilla S. Taylor; The Washington Times

Fried shows the extent of Barton’s true influence . . . as a pioneer in modern political advertising.
— James Boylan; Columbia Journalism Review

Well-researched and well-written.
— Walter A. Friedman; Journal of American History

Brief, fair-minded, and well-researched.
— Robert K. Landers; Commonweal Magazine

Fried paints a broader portrait of Barton . . . a straightforward biography.
— Business History Review

This admirable, readable volume enriches our knowledge of Barton's career and his political involvements. . . . A well-researched and detailed, if relatively brief, account of a neglected pioneer of contemporary image-making.
— David Greenberg; Washington Monthly

Well-researched . . . insightful biography . . . rightly considers Barton's life . . . a parable about . . . relationship between corporate business ideology and popular mainline protestant thought.
— Quentin J. Schultze

Richard Fried has written an engaging, deeply researched, and admirably balanced brief biography of Bruce Barton—adman, best selling author, and politician who was indeed very well-known during his heyday between the 1920s and 1950s. An accomplished historian, Fried is especially good at capturing the context of Barton's times.
— James T. Patterson, Brown University

One of America's most prominent ad agents, Bruce Barton assiduously crafted kindly images for soulless corporations and dour presidential candidates. He was also a prolific essayist, lay theologian and, briefly, a member of Congress. In a wonderfully written and researched book, Richard M. Fried skillfully describes Barton's many legacies. The Man Everybody Knew will be necessary reading for historians of America's political and commercial cultures.
— James L. Baughman; University Of Wisconsin-Madison

Entertaining and succinct introduction. . . . Mr. Fried sees his biography as a corrective, and indeed it is.
— Christine Rosen; The Wall Street Journal

Despite his many achievements few know [Barton's] name today: history professor Fried remedies this omission.
— Diane C. Donovan, editor, Midwest Book Review; Midwest Book Review

It's been worth the wait.
— James B. Twitchell; The Wilson Quarterly

A suitably brisk, anecdote-filled account.
— Michael Kazin; The New York Times

Fried aptly characterizes Barton.
— Joseph Epstein; The Weekly Standard

The Man Everybody Knew

Bruce Barton and the Making of Modern America

Richard M. Fried

The Man Everybody Knew

Bruce Barton and the Making of Modern America

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