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Free Press was an American independent book publisher that later became an imprint of
Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...
. It was one of the best-known publishers specializing in serious nonfiction, including path-breaking sociology books of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. After a period under new ownership in the 1980s of publishing neoconservative books, it was purchased by Simon & Schuster in 1994. By 2012, the imprint ceased to exist as a distinct entity; however, some books were still being published using the Free Press imprint.


History

Free Press was founded by Jeremiah Kaplan (1926–1993) and Charles Liebman in 1947 and concentrated on religion and social science. They chose the name Free Press because they wanted to print books devoted to civil liberties. It was launched with three classic titles: ''Division of Labor'' by Emile Durkheim, ''The Theory of Economic and Social Organization'' by Max Weber and ''The Scientific Outlook'' by
Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, a ...
. It was headquartered in Glencoe, Illinois, where it was known as ''The Free Press of Glencoe''. In 1960, Kaplan was recruited by Macmillan to provide new editorial leadership and he agreed to move to New York if Macmillan Publishing Company would buy Free Press, and thus Free Press was sold in 1960 for $1.3 million ($500,000 going to Kaplan and $800,000 going to Liebman). In 1994, Simon & Schuster acquired Macmillan and Free Press. In 2012, it was announced that Free Press would cease to exist as a distinct entity and would be merged into
Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...
, the company's flagship imprint. "We plan to continue publishing thought leaders and other important cultural voices under the Free Press imprimatur, while also introducing many other Free Press authors, such as novelists and historians and business writers, to the flagship Simon & Schuster imprint." During the 1960s and 1970s Free Press was under the direction of a variety of publishers including George McCune (who later co-founded
Sage Publishing SAGE Publishing, formerly SAGE Publications, is an American independent publishing company founded in 1965 in New York by Sara Miller McCune and now based in Newbury Park, California. It publishes more than 1,000 journals, more than 800 books ...
with his wife Sara), Valery Webb, Ed Barry and Robert Wallace. Under Barry's leadership in 1974,
Ernest Becker Ernest Becker (September 27, 1924 – March 6, 1974) was an American cultural anthropology, cultural anthropologist and author of the 1974 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, ''The Denial of Death''. Biography Early life Ernest Becker was born in Spri ...
's '' The Denial of Death'' won the Pulitzer Prize. In 1983, Erwin Glikes, a well-known political neoconservative, took over leadership. This began an era of controversial conservative books including '' The Tempting of America'' by Robert Bork, and ''
The Closing of the American Mind ''The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students'' is a 1987 book by the philosopher Allan Bloom, in which the author criticizes the openness of relativism, in academia a ...
'' by Allan Bloom. Glikes was succeeded by
Adam Bellow Adam Bellow is executive editor at Bombardier Books, a politically conservative imprint at Post Hill Press. He previously founded and led the conservative imprints All Points Books at St Martin's Press and Broadside Books at HarperCollins, served ...
, who also published neoconservative books including ''
Illiberal Education Dinesh Joseph D'Souza (; born April 25, 1961) is an Indian-American right-wing political commentator, author, filmmaker, and conspiracy theorist. He has written over a dozen books, several of them ''New York Times'' best-sellers. In 2012, D ...
'' by Dinesh D'Souza, ''
The Real Anita Hill ''The Real Anita Hill'' is a controversial 1993 book written and now disavowed by David Brock in which the author claimed to reveal the "true motives" that he has revealed he fabricated of Anita Hill, who had accused Supreme Court Justice Clare ...
'' by David Brock, and '' The Bell Curve'' by Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein. In 1994, Simon & Schuster acquired Macmillan and Free Press was led by publishers Michael Jacobs, Paula Barker Duffy, and William Shinker for short stints. Free Press was led by publisher Martha Levin from 2001 until 2012, when it ceased to exist as a distinct entity and merged into Simon & Schuster's flagship imprint. In 2003, two of the five finalists for the 2003
National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...
in the non-fiction category were Free Press titles, including the winner, '' Waiting for Snow in Havana'' by
Carlos Eire Carlos M. N. Eire is the T. Lawrason Riggs Professor of History and Religious Studies at Yale University. He is a historian of late medieval and early modern Europe. Education Eire received his Bachelor of Arts in History and Theology in 19 ...
. In 2008, Free Press published '' The White Tiger'', Indian author
Aravind Adiga Aravind Adiga (born 23 October 1974) is an Indian writer and journalist. His debut novel, '' The White Tiger'', won the 2008 Man Booker Prize. Biography Early life and education Aravind Adiga was born in Madras (now Chennai) on 23 October 1974 ...
's debut novel, which won the Man Booker Prize.


Notable books

* Carl Menger (1950). ''Principles of Economics.'' Glencoe, IL: Free Press * Talcott Parsons (1951). ''The Social System.'' Glencoe, IL: Free Press * Elihu Katz and Paul Lazarsfeld (1955). ''Personal Influence.'' Glencoe, IL: Free Press *
Robert K. Merton Robert King Merton (born Meyer Robert Schkolnick; July 4, 1910 – February 23, 2003) was an American sociologist who is considered a founding father of modern sociology, and a major contributor to the subfield of criminology. He served as th ...
(1957). '' Social Theory and Social Structure.'' Glencoe, IL: Free Press * Robert E. Lane (1959). ''Political Life: Why People Get Involved in Politics.'' Glencoe, IL: Free Press * James S. Coleman (1961). ''The Adolescent Society.'' Glencoe, IL: Free Press * Herbert Gans (1962). ''The Urban Villagers.'' Glencoe, IL: Free Press * Everett Rogers (1962). '' Diffusion of Innovations.'' Glencoe, IL: Free Press *
Erving Goffman Erving Goffman (11 June 1922 – 19 November 1982) was a Canadian-born sociologist, social psychologist, and writer, considered by some "the most influential American sociologist of the twentieth century". In 2007 '' The Times Higher Ed ...
(1963). ''Behavior in Public Places.'' Glencoe, IL: Free Press * Stanley Lieberson (1963). ''Ethnic Patterns in American Cities.'' Glencoe, IL: Free Press *
Howard S. Becker Howard Saul Becker (born 1928) is an American sociologist who teaches at Northwestern University. Becker has made contributions to the sociology of deviance, sociology of art, and sociology of music. Becker also wrote extensively on sociologic ...
(1963). ''Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance''. New York: Free Press. *
Ernest Becker Ernest Becker (September 27, 1924 – March 6, 1974) was an American cultural anthropology, cultural anthropologist and author of the 1974 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, ''The Denial of Death''. Biography Early life Ernest Becker was born in Spri ...
(1973). ''The Denial of Death''. New York: Free Press. *
Claude Fischer Claude Serge Fischer (born January 9, 1948) is an American sociologist and Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in urban sociology, research methods, and American soci ...
, et al., (1977). ''Networks and Places.'' New York: Free Press. *
Peter Blau Peter Michael Blau (February 7, 1918 – March 12, 2002) was an American sociologist and theorist. Born in Vienna, Austria, he immigrated to the United States in 1939. He completed his PhD doctoral thesis with Robert K. Merton at Columbia Univ ...
and Otis Dudley Duncan. (1978). ''The American Occupational Structure.'' New York: Free Press. * Everett Rogers and D. Lawrence Kincaid. (1981). ''Communication Networks.'' New York: Free Press. * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


References


External links


Free Press homepage
at Simon & Schuster
Divisions and Imprints
at Simon & Schuster {{Authority control Defunct book publishing companies of the United States Simon & Schuster Book publishing company imprints Book publishing companies based in New York (state) Publishing companies based in New York City American companies established in 1947 Publishing companies established in 1947 Mass media companies disestablished in 2012 1947 establishments in New York (state) 2012 disestablishments in New York (state) Defunct companies based in New York City