Penguin Special: The Life and Times of Allen Lane

He was the type of boy no one took particular notice of. Academically he was a dud. Athletics was definitely not his calling. He was nondescript in every way and if he were to graduate high school in this day and age he would most likely be the young man voted least likely to succeed. Allen Lane Williams was a boy of little promise, but upon leaving school at the age of sixteen his life would change forever. In deference to his Uncle John, owner of the Bodley Head, a renown publishing company in London, the family surname was changed to Lane. Allen Lane Williams Lane was going to start at the bottom, a fact in which he later would be ultimately proud of, and join the firm. In a PENGUIN SPECIAL: The Story of Allen Lane, the Founder of Penguin Books and the Man Who Changed Publishing Forever, Jeremy Lewis relates the story of a humble boy who would eventually change and challenge the face of the book world. He would be the dud turned dynamo. Allen's Uncle John had great appreciation for those who learned the ropes from the ground up and his nephew fit the bill. Starting at the very bottom rung in the firm, he came to know the business well and when his uncle passed away he quickly stepped forward to claim his inheritance, an inheritance of not only the company, Bodley Head, but a wealth of publishing and business acumen. With the eventual demise of the family business, Lane quickly founded Penguin Books, a company that was said to be the "publishing phenomenon of the decade, if not the century." Lane was ruthless, shrewd and came to know his business, seemingly better than any predecessor or peer. No one stood in his way when it came to a good business deal, not even his own brother. His axe made little distinction, but then again he was known for impetuous acts of generosity. Penguin, the name soon synonymous with the work `paperback,' was as cheap as a pack of cigarettes and catapulted the young Allen Lane to the top of the publishing world. He instinctively knew a good book when he saw one. It was an amazing feat for one, whom many claimed, never even turned the page of a book, let alone finished one. Toward the end of his life Lane himself claimed, "I'm not a very intelligent man, and I've really got away with murder." I would not go so far to claim this book is riveting, invaluable or fascinating as the advance praise blurbs claimed for this book, but I did find it fairly interesting as I'm a huge Penguin fan. It amazed me that a man such as Allen Lane has been swept into obscurity, as his "book," the Penguin, appears destined for immortality. Jeremy Lewis did a marvelous job of researching and writing this book, but I believe that the reader would need to be firmly interested in publishing history and/or Penguin Books to enjoy it.