Nellie Bly:: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Brooke Kroeger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 14, 1995

Now in paperback--the acclaimed biography of Nellie Bly, the "thrilling account of a trailblazer" (Pat Morrison, Los Angeles Times Book Review). "Kroeger's biography of Nellie Bly moves at almost as fast a pace as did Bly's remarkable life."--Mindy Spatt, San Francisco Chronicle. Photos & illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

She had herself committed to an insane asylum, circled the globe in 72 days, and worked as an elephant trainer, all for a good story. Nellie Bly (1864-1922) was the most famous female reporter of her day, and a pioneering businesswoman (she started the first steel-barrel manufacturing plant in the U.S.). Journalist Kroeger's formidably well-researched book, based on legal and archival material as well as Bly's more than 600 newspaper and magazine articles, paints a compelling portrait of a woman who learned early not to rely on men, yet coupled her can-do spirit with a vivacious femininity that endeared her to readers during a 37-year career.

From Publishers Weekly

This is the definitive work on the reporter who traveled around the world in 72 days in 1889-1890 and was one of the pioneer women journalists. Nellie Bly started her career in Pittsburgh, at age 21, in 1885. She then moved to New York City in 1887 and wrote for the World until 1895, with one three-year hiatus. In 1895 she married a wealthy 70-year-old entrepreneur, Robert Seaman, and proved herself an astute business executive--except that she trusted her financial associates, who embezzled more than a million dollars and bankrupted her firm, which manufactured steel barrels. She returned to journalism in 1912 and covered WW I on the Eastern front from 1914 until 1919 as the only American woman reporter. Back in Manhattan she worked at the Evening Journal as a sort of Miss Lonelyhearts and amateur social worker until her death in 1922. Kroeger, a former reporter and editor for UPI, has done a prodigious amount of research for this compelling, if somewhat overlong biography. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (March 14, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812925254
• ISBN-13: 978-0812925258
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.3 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #479,014 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nellie Bly was astonishing, January 6, 2010

By 

John McDonald (California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nellie Bly:: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist (Paperback)

This is a fine biography of an amazing woman. I'm astonished by the negative reviews. It's a big book, but I couldn't put it down and finished it in a few days. It's well-documented and exciting. Whether it's delineating the well-known exploits of Bly such as her feigning insanity to get into the mental institution or her speedy trip around the world, or whether it's showing the less known aspects of her life such as her business career and legal problems, the force of the woman's character and personality (and her joy in living) comes through in documented and cumulative detail. There is no need for Nellie Bly the "legend". The facts of the matter are clear enough. Nellie was one hell of a woman.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a biography for scholars, May 27, 2007

By 

vernoula "Mom and PhD" (Midlothian VA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nellie Bly:: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist (Paperback)

This is the only scholarly biography of Nellie Bly available. It is carefully researched and documented, and presents a nuanced and composite picture of Nellie Bly. It is not a splashy story, which is probably why the other reviewers found it dull and dry. For research purposes, however, that's a very good thing. An excellent bibliography points interested researchers to secondary and primary sources.

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Bummer!, June 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Nellie Bly:: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist (Hardcover)

While Nellie Bly was certainly a compelling character, and the biography clearly well-researched, the author presents her subject in a dull, lifeless manner. After waiting for years to read a comprehensive work about someone I have always found so fascinating, I was terribly disappointed.