Despite its less-than-creative title, I jumped at the opportunity to read Terrence Crimmins’ historical novel, Who Was Joseph Pulitzer? I even saved it to read on a trip I was taking because I was prepared to be immersed in Pulitzer’s story.

Joseph Pulitzer has strong ties to St. Louis, where I reside. He came to St. Louis and became a cub reporter for the St. Louis Dispatch, later bought the defunct paper and merged it with the St. Louis Evening Post. He reamed the paper to the St. Louis Post and Dispatch. I’m not sure when it became the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but after the Pulitzer merger, it became the most influential papers in St. Louis.

I am extremely disappointed in Crimmins’ tale. It’s as if he has never read historical fiction. It’s really just a bunch of facts strung together that makes for boring reading. The dialogue doesn’t fit the time period in which Crimmins’ is writing. Then there is the author intrusion. Crimmins’s pulls readers out of the story by making comments that have no room in the story. For these reasons Who Was Joseph Pulitzer? gets 1 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. ( )

A prize honoring excellence in journalism and the arts is named after Joseph Pulitzer. This novel is a fictionalized tale of his life. While it read like a genuine biography, there are no citations provide to prove provenance for the events and conversation included. However, Kalanithi does provide an interesting overview of Pulitzer’s life that makes it a good introduction to the man. ( )

Who Was Joseph Pulitzer? A Novel by Terrence Crimmins (read 4 Oct 2016) This is a book published by Knollwood Press of Boston. It is historical fiction and tells the story of Joseph Pulitzer, who was born in Hungary in 1847 and came to the U.S. when he was 17--he jumped off the ship rather than have his bounty for enlisting in the Army be shared with others. He became owner of the St. Louis Post Dispatch and later the New York World. The novel tells of the life of Pulitzer but adds rather jejune dialog at times and changes some facts. I was struck that the book says President Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty in April 1884. Well, I knew that was not right since Cleveland was not president in 1884. But Cleveland did dedicate the Statue, but on Oct 28, 1886--and he was president then! And Pulitzer died in 1911 and the book has him being told that Ambrose Bierce had gone to Mexico and disappeared there. Bierce did go to Mexico and disappear, but not till 1913, long after Pulitzer was dead and could not be told. So, the book has fiction in it but some of what it says is so. The author says he is indebted to W.A. Swanberg for Swanberg's biography of Pulitzer (which I read 6 April 1982--and it is very readable biography) and while this book is easy reading the biography of Swanberg should be the source relied on, rather than this novel, for facts as to Pulitzer's exciting life. ( )