The Man Who Sold America
The Amazing but True Story of Albert D. Lasker and the Creation of the Advertising Century
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Narrated by:
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Walter Dixon
About this listen
We live in an age of mass persuasion. Leaders and institutions of every kind - public and private, large and small - must compete in a rowdy marketplace of images and messages seeming to come at us from all directions - in print, on radio and television, and on the Web.
It wasn’t always so. In the early and middle 20th century, a handful of creative geniuses in advertising and public relations - J. Walter Thompson, Edward Bernays, David Ogilvy, Ray Rubicam, and others - launched their once-sleepy industries into the very center of American life. And most of them point to one individual as the man who started it all: Albert D. Lasker.
But Lasker - who resolutely hid from the spotlight - has remained an enigma. Now, Jeffrey Cruikshank and Arthur Schultz, drawing on a treasure trove of previously unknown papers, have written a fascinating biography of one of the 20th century’s most intriguing figures.
Lasker helped invent “reason why” advertising, market research based on direct-mail advertising, premium coupons, and a host of other industry innovations. He invented and promoted powerful brands that are still with us today: Sunkist and Sun-Maid, Kotex and Kleenex, Puffed Wheat and Puffed Rice, and many others.
But his impact went far beyond traditional advertising. Lasker was a crusader against anti-Semitism. A public-relations master, he engineered Warren G. Harding’s presidential campaign, and designed the strategy that ended Upton Sinclair’s bid for governor of California. And the Lasker Awards, for contributions to medical science, are sometimes referred to as “America’s Nobels.”
His personal life was no less dramatic. The Man Who Sold America recounts the powerful influence of his background, his deep friendships - and the debilitating depression he struggled with even as he forged his remarkable achievements. This is the story of a man who shaped an industry - and changed the way we look at our world.
©2010 Jeffrey L. Cruikshank, Arthur W. Schultz (P)2010 Gildan Media CorpListeners also enjoyed...
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Horizons I never knew were there!
- By DTU_Garza on 08-13-17
By: Conor O'Clery
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Neither Snow nor Rain
- A History of the United States Postal Service
- By: Devin Leonard
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Few institutions are as loved, as loathed, and as historically important as the United States Postal Service, the subject of this landmark century-spanning social, political, and economic history. The United States Postal Service is a wondrous American creation. Seven days a week, its army of 300,000 letter carriers delivers 513 million pieces of mail, 40 percent of the world's volume. It is far more efficient than any other mail service - more than twice as efficient as the Japanese and easily outpacing the Germans and British. And the USPS has a storied history.
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Woa!, the post office's history is America
- By anon on 12-06-16
By: Devin Leonard
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The Forgotten Man
- By: Amity Shlaes
- Narrated by: Terence Aselford
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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It's difficult today to imagine how America survived the Great Depression. Only through the stories of the common people who struggled during that era can we really understand how the nation endured. In The Forgotten Man, Amity Shlaes offers a striking reinterpretation of the Great Depression. Rejecting the old emphasis on the New Deal, she turns to the neglected and moving stories of individual Americans, and shows how they helped establish the steadfast character we developed as a nation.
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a story of forgotten times
- By Debb Robinson on 10-11-07
By: Amity Shlaes
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Coolidge
- By: Amity Shlaes
- Narrated by: Terence Aselford
- Length: 21 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Calvin Coolidge, president from 1923 to 1929, never rated highly in polls, and history has remembered the decade in which he served as an extravagant period predating the Great Depression. Now Amity Shlaes provides a fresh look at the 1920s and its elusive president, showing that the mid-1920s was in fact a triumphant period that established our modern way of life: The nation electrified, Americans drove their first cars, and the federal deficit was replaced with a surplus.
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Silent Cal
- By Jean on 02-19-13
By: Amity Shlaes
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The House of Mondavi
- The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty
- By: Julia Flynn Siler
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Set in California's lush Napa Valley and spanning four generations of a talented and visionary family, The House of Mondavi is a tale of genius, sibling rivalry, and betrayal. From 1906, when Italian immigrant Cesare Mondavi passed through Ellis Island, to the Robert Mondavi Corporation's 21st-century battle over a billion-dollar fortune, award-winning journalist Julia Flynn Siler brings to life both the place and the people in this riveting family drama.
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LESS EXCITING THAN WATCHING GRAPES GROW
- By The Louligan on 11-27-09
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The Big Rich
- The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes
- By: Bryan Burrough
- Narrated by: James Jenner
- Length: 22 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author Bryan Burrough reveals how four Texas oil tycoons transformed America. Rising from humble beginnings through hard work and shrewd dealings, they shifted the balance of power in American politics. While hobnobbing with movie stars and presidents, the Big Rich also created the legend of the swaggering Texas oilman with island hideaways and sprawling ranches.
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Big, Sordid, Fascinating, PoliticallyCorrect
- By Darkcoffee on 11-09-09
By: Bryan Burrough
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The Fifties
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 34 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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The Fifties is a sweeping social, political, economic, and cultural history of the 10 years that Halberstam regards as seminal in determining what our nation is today. Halberstam offers portraits of not only the titans of the age: Eisenhower, Dulles, Oppenheimer, MacArthur, Hoover, and Nixon; but also of Harley Earl, who put fins on cars; Dick and Mac McDonald and Ray Kroc, who mass-produced the American hamburger; Kemmons Wilson, who placed his Holiday Inns along the nation's roadsides; and more.
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one of the very best
- By Chester Chellman on 09-25-18
By: David Halberstam
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The Teapot Dome Scandal
- How Big Oil Bought the Harding White House
- By: Laton McCartney
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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The Teapot Dome scandal of the early 1920s was all about oil - hundreds of millions of dollars� worth of petroleum. When the scandal finally broke, the consequences were tremendous. President Harding's legacy was forever tarnished, while �Oil Cabinet� member Albert Fall was forced to resign and was imprisoned for a year. Others implicated in the affair suffered prison terms, commitment to mental hospitals, suicide, and even murder.
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Harding's return to normalcy: corruption
- By Paul on 03-05-08
By: Laton McCartney
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The Defining Moment
- FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope
- By: Jonathan Alter
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In this dramatic and fascinating account, Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter shows how Franklin Delano Roosevelt used his first 100 days in office to lift the country from the despair and paralysis of the Great Depression and transform the American presidency.
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Very infomative, and also refreshingly honest
- By Andy on 02-19-09
By: Jonathan Alter
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New World Coming
- The 1920s and the Making of Modern America
- By: Nathan Miller
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 18 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Jazz. Bootleggers. Flappers. Talkies. Model T Fords. Lindbergh's history-making flight over the Atlantic. The 1920s was also the decade of the hard-won vote for women, racial injustice, censorship, social conflict, and the birth of organized crime.
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My High School History Class Never Told
- By Charles Stembridge on 06-29-04
By: Nathan Miller
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Hoover
- An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times
- By: Kenneth Whyte
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 27 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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The definitive biography of Herbert Hoover, one of the most remarkable Americans of the 20th century - a revisionist account that will forever change the way Americans understand the man, his presidency, and his battle against the Great Depression. A poor orphan who built a fortune, a great humanitarian, a president elected in a landslide and then routed in the next election, arguably the father of both New Deal liberalism and modern conservatism - Herbert Hoover is also one of our least understood presidents.
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What a fascinating story!
- By Dan Ryan on 11-18-17
By: Kenneth Whyte
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The Crusades of Cesar Chavez
- A Biography
- By: Miriam Pawel
- Narrated by: Jackson Gutierrez
- Length: 21 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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In the first comprehensive biography of Chavez, Miriam Pawel offers a searching yet empathetic portrayal. Chavez emerges here as a visionary figure with tragic flaws; a brilliant strategist who sometimes stumbled; and a canny, streetwise organizer whose pragmatism was often at odds with his elusive, soaring dreams.
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Cesar Chávez
- By Ed on 09-10-18
By: Miriam Pawel
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The Real Romney
- By: Michael Kranish, Scott Helman
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Mitt Romney has masterfully positioned himself as the front-runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Even though he's become a household name, the former Massachusetts governor remains an enigma to many in America, his character and core convictions elusive, his record little known. Who is the man behind that high-wattage smile? In this definitive, unflinching biography by Boston Globe investigative reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, listeners will finally discover the real Romney.
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Hard to conceal resentment and feign objectvity...
- By I F Leger on 02-10-12
By: Michael Kranish, and others
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Hershey
- Milton S. Hershey's Extraordinary Life of Wealth, Empire, and Utopian Dreams
- By: Michael D'Antonio
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In this compelling biography, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael D'Antonio gives us the real-life rags-to-riches story of Milton S. Hershey, a largely uneducated businessman whose idealistic sense of purpose created an immense financial empire, a town, and a legacy that lasts to this day.
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The Benchmark for Chartiable, Rich Men
- By Boyd Tschaggeny on 01-30-19
What listeners say about The Man Who Sold America
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-07-18
This book has stuck with me
Would recommend for anyone interested in American history. Fascinating birth of modern advertising told through this man’s biography.
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- Mike A.
- 06-09-12
The birth of modern advertising
What did you love best about The Man Who Sold America?
I actually really enjoyed this book. Working in the field, learning more about it modern beginnings was interesting. Many of the principles Albert used are still used today. I recommend it.
FYI, it is much more of a true biography than most books of this type
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1 person found this helpful
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- josecotto1
- 05-03-15
Interesting and detailed
It is just like Steve Jobs autobiography. Starts at very beginning and it is very detailed. Very easy to understand and put yourself in Lasker's shoes. Learned a lot and have new admiration for what he has done for marketing, advertising and even foundations.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Danny
- 11-13-16
Not what I thought
Would you try another book from Jeffrey L. Cruikshank and Arthur W. Schultz and/or Walter Dixon?
Not what I thought, but worth a listen if youd in Jail with nothing better to do.
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- D. Cass
- 03-10-24
Fascinating guy
Fascinating story about a guy I never heard of, but had a pretty crazy impact on American politics, culture and business. It’s long but a very interesting listen.
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- JS
- 10-10-20
In depth and takes you back in time
Any one who is interested in advertising or the history of marketing shaping our society the way is is currently should give this book a try.
It is very in depth, from the life of Mr. Lasker and how advertising’s impact on the economy, history, consumer behavior and politics. There should be parts in there that a broad range of audience finds intriguing.
From the beginning of industrial revolution to the guilted age and eventually to the post war era, the accounts are vivid. Obviously a lot of time and effort spent by the author.
The production and narration was good, until towards the end the audio was a bit scratchy, hence the 4 star in performance.
Come on Audible!! I expect everything to be perfect, just kidding, it was no big deal, no actual content was distorted, just some light hissing that sounds the aliens are eavesdropping.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Darren
- 03-17-13
I Thought This Was About Advertising?
So, the title sells, as advertising should. But after that, the book is so-so. Too much about politics an religious affiliations and not enough on actually how Lasker build the advertising trade...other than hiring a good copywriter.
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1 person found this helpful
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- john
- 08-12-16
Meh. Didn't get much.
What disappointed you about The Man Who Sold America?
I listened to the whole book and I can't think of a single take away.
Has The Man Who Sold America turned you off from other books in this genre?
No
Would you be willing to try another one of Walter Dixon’s performances?
No
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Disappointment
Any additional comments?
There are better advertising books out there.
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