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The Americanization of Edward Bok
The Americanization of Edward Bok
The Autobiography of a Dutch Boy Fifty Years After
The autobiography of a Dutch boy fifty years after his emigration. Pulitzer Prize winner - 1921
Book Excerpt
n an interesting study to myself.
There are no longer two personalities. The Edward Bok of whom I have
written has passed out of my being as completely as if he had never been
there, save for the records and files on my library shelves. It is easy,
therefore, for me to write of him as a personality apart: in fact, I
could not depict him from any other point of view. To write of him in
the first person, as if he were myself, is impossible, for he is not.
The title suggests my principal reason for writing the book. Every life has some interest and significance; mine, perhaps, a special one. Here was a little Dutch boy unceremoniously set down in America unable to make himself understood or even to know what persons were saying; his education was extremely limited, practically negligible; and yet, by some curious decree of fate, he was destined to write, for a period of years, to the largest body of readers ever addressed by an American editor--the circulation of the magazine he edited running into figures pr
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I loved Brett's comment, primarily because it was so over the top, and I had just recommended the book to someone else when I went looking for a reference on the web. We clearly don't agree.
I've been doing English as Second (actually Fourth) Language with an Afghani friend, and we're reading this aloud. I found it an interesting biography, if clearly an idealized view, but that's not uncommon for an autobiography. It's a nice demonstration of the benefit of hard work and willingness to see and seize opportunities as they arise. Mr. Bok was a clever young man who made his fortune.
The vocabulary and sentence structure is much richer than is common today, so it suits our purposes well -- building vocabulary, skill in reading, and exposure to well written presentation of ideas.
In addition to being well written, the book provides exposure to the basic values that lead to success in business in this country.
It may not be for everyone, but I'm enjoying it as much the second time (being read by the student) as I did when I read it myself.
I've been doing English as Second (actually Fourth) Language with an Afghani friend, and we're reading this aloud. I found it an interesting biography, if clearly an idealized view, but that's not uncommon for an autobiography. It's a nice demonstration of the benefit of hard work and willingness to see and seize opportunities as they arise. Mr. Bok was a clever young man who made his fortune.
The vocabulary and sentence structure is much richer than is common today, so it suits our purposes well -- building vocabulary, skill in reading, and exposure to well written presentation of ideas.
In addition to being well written, the book provides exposure to the basic values that lead to success in business in this country.
It may not be for everyone, but I'm enjoying it as much the second time (being read by the student) as I did when I read it myself.
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god this book sucks i wish i read this while i was depressed because then i might have killed myself because it just went on and on so please for the love of God don't read this book.
Sincerly,
Bob
Sincerly,
Bob
04/04/2005
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