Customer Reviews

Julius Rosenwald: The Man Who Built Sears, Roebuck and Advanced the Cause of Black Education in the American South (Philanthropic and Nonprofit Studies)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a fascinating and extremely well-written book about a man who was not only a giant in the business world but also a pioneering philanthropist who genuinely cared about helping people.

Under Julius Rosenwald, Sears Roebuck became the number one retailer in the world. As his fortune grew, Rosenwald turned to philanthropy where his charitable acumen matched his business ability.

Anyone interested in the story of the rise of a great business, the terrible conditions that many African-Americans had to live under--for that's where much of Rosenwald's philanthropy was aimed--and the general business and social climate of the early twentieth century, will find this a stimulating and provocative book. I warmly recommend it.

An absorbing account of Julius Rosenwald's rise in the mail-order world of merchandise and the changing world of class, politics and culture. Here was a man who made millions at the turn of the 20th Century and proceeded to give it to society in areas where he felt it lacked. A must read for all of those involved with and interested in the world of philanthropy, the African-American experience and history.

Julius Rosenwald: The Man Who Built Sears, Roebuck And Advanced The Cause Of Black Education In The American South by Peter M. Ascoli (an academician and the grandson of Julius Rosenwald) is the definitive biography of Rosenwald, a pioneer not only in transforming Sears, Roebuck into the greatest mail-order firm in the world, but also in philanthropy. He helped build more than 5,300 schools in the American South, among other efforts to improve the lives of his fellow citizens such as the Rosenwald Fund. Exhaustively researched and packed cover to cover with minute detail, Julius Rosenwald is highly recommended reading given its author's considerable accomplishments in business and humanitarian spheres alike.

This is a fascinating book about a man who was a well-known business man and philanthropist in his day and is all but unheard of today. In his well-researched and interestingly written account of Julius Rosenwald, Peter Ascoli vividly portrays a man who was ambitious, idealistic, groundbreaking in many ways, and humble. While JR, as the author calls him, is known mainly for his excellent management and leadership at Sears, it was his philanthropy that made JR stand out. In these days of the super rich, business scandals such as Enron, and Warren Buffet's recent gift to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, this story of an upstanding business man with morals, and a humble philanthropist this is biography is extremely relevent, and it is a story that needed to be told.

Julius Rosenwald was an American-born German Jew who lived from 1862-1932. JR, as he was known, succeeded Richard Sears as president of Sears, Roebuck in 1906 and used his vast entrepreneurial gifts to greatly expand the company's Chicago-based mail-order operation and testing laboratories, in addition to planning for the opening of the first Sears department store in 1925. But Rosenwald, strongly influenced by Reform Judaism's abiding concern for social justice, became equally well-known for his Jewish philanthropy, for building the pioneering Museum of Science and Industry on Chicago's South Side (which many still refer to as the "Rosenwald Museum"), for coming to the aid of the University of Chicago as it faced financial disaster during the Great Depression, and, most significantly, for his close friendship with Booker T. Washington that led to the establishment of hundreds of "Rosenwald schools" in black communities throughout the South.

Although it was written by JR's grandson, who is a historian by profession, the book presents a highly readable, well-balanced portrait of a shrewd, generous man who gave far more to his community and country than he received.

How provocative Rosenwald's ideas still are. He seems to have invented modern philanthropy. His emphasis on challenge grants and his focus on social impact remind me very much of today's Young Turks among philanthropic families who oftern turn to causes that will have social impact and turn away from traditional charities and familiar approaches to endowment. Meticulously researched and well written, the book's judgments about personalities are well-grounded and its handling of complex topics masterful. His vision for educating African Americans is his greatest legacy.

This book is an in depth and intriguing study of the businessman and philanthropist, Julius Rosenwald (JR), and the early twentieth century. I congratulate Dr. Ascoli for thoroughly researching and telling JR's story. Unfortunately, until this book was published few living Americans knew of JR and his impact on American society. The reader will be amazed to learn that so many business practices that we take for granted today e.g.profit sharing were ideas of JR's and begun at Sears. In philanthropy, too, he was innovative and cleverly spread his wealth to broad elements of society while he was alive---not perpetuating it through a foundation after his death.
The book should be required reading for MBA students, students of American history and law and those in the philanthropic and non profit studies field and everyone else will find it fascinating too.

On page 74, this book states, ...[Sears] now sold prefabricated houses...Each piece of the house was clearly marked...The Sears houses...remained in the catalog until the late 1930s..."

I can't speak to the rest of this book's accuracy as it relates to the rest of Rosenwald's fascinating life, but I am able to authoritatively say that this wee snippet about Sears Homes is NOT accurate.

Sears did NOT sell prefabricated homes in the early 1900s. These houses were pre-cut, not prefabricated and lest one think I'm splitting hairs, these two terms have radically different meanings. Words *are* important.

Next, each piece of the home was *not* clearly marked. More than 1/3 of Sears Homes had NO markings on the lumber. THis idea (that each piece had a mark) is another common misconception that is oft-repeated but has no basis in fact. And, the only pieces of Sears Homes that were "marked" were the framing members - and only after 1920 (or later).

Last, these homes did not "remain in the catalog" until the 1930s. Sears had a page or two in their catalogs promoting their specialty catalogs, "Sears Modern Homes catalogs". Those "Sears Modern Homes catalogs" were issued semiannually until their last catalog was issued in 1940.

The story of Sears is an important one and it's even more important that the facts in that story be historically accuate.

Rose Thornton
author, The Houses That Sears Built