Albert Lasker was much more than an advertising man. Let alone that he aided in revolutionizing the business and mechanics of advertising, he was also an investor (often to help companies in which he was heading their advertising campaigns), a political campaigner for Presidential candidate Warren G. Harding and other politicians, a Cubs baseball team owner, chairman of the Shipping Board, an art collector, and a philanthropist in organizations that still thrive to this day. His friends came from a variety of industries and were invariably influential. It seems as though there was nary a pie that Lasker had not dipped his fingers into by the time he died in 1952.

Reading about Lasker was incredibly fascinating. His life and his personality were a whirlwind. The only breaks he appears to have taken were his mental breakdowns, where he would spend his time in spas and resorts during long bouts of depression. When he was up, though, he was hypomanic. Despite his preoccupation with himself, however, he preferred to remain behind the scenes in his endeavors, and he was generous to a fault.

He had the kind of genius that found the kernel of the nut, and he also brought out the best in others. He cultivated some of the most talented ad men of his time, and those who worked under him often became quite successful in their own rights. He had many protégés go on to found profitable advertising agencies of their own, partly due to the fact that he was not a very good manager and had difficulty retaining talent.

Although deeply biographical, this book also tells the story of the transformation of advertising. He moved advertising from a brokerage between media outlets and products to a creative profession. Branding, packaging, and copyediting became well-thought-out mechanisms to give consumers a “reason why” to purchase products. His mark on the field of advertising is inextirpable and apparent to this day.

Fascinating biography of a marketing guru who defined much of the window through which we looked at 20th century America. One wonders whether, given the rapidity of communications and information,, whether it will be possible in the future for one person to have such an influence. Well worth reading. ( )