FRANK GANNETT: A Biography

Gannett's possible candidacy in the November elections is the reason for this book, and it is fairly obviously a bit of propaganda. The result is not a balanced picture of a man, but a kind of automaton of energy and vitality and principles, we are asked to believe without having them interpreted in human terms. Adequate biography as a marshalling of facts; it falls short as an interpretation of the man, so that it lacks possibility of having anything but immediate value. The book is good journalese, but its interest is curtailed further by the plethora of economic and political details and terms. Definitely a man's book on a political figure, who has used his newspaper connections as an opening wedge. Northern New York interest specifically, and will probably get good press wherever Gannett's newspapers are in the saddle.