George Braziller (February 12, 1916 – March 16, 2017) was an American book publisher and the founder of George Braziller, Inc., a firm known for its literary and artistic books and its publication of foreign authors.

Life and career

Braziller was first employed as a shipping clerk, during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. In 1941, George and Marsha Braziller founded the "Book Find Club", which was smaller than the

Book of the Month Club Book of the Month (founded 1926) is a United States subscription-based e-commerce service that offers a selection of five to seven new hardcover books each month to its members. Books are selected and endorsed by a panel of judges, and members ch ...

but exceedingly successful, "with a reputation for seriousness of purpose." They then began the "Seven Arts Book Society" in 1951 and in 1955 they began to publish their own books. The Braziller publishing firm is located at 277 Broadway, Suite 708, in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. When Braziller travelled to Europe in the late 1950s, he was in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

during the

May 1958 crisis in France The May 1958 crisis (), also known as the Algiers putsch or the coup of 13 May, was a political crisis in France during the turmoil of the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962) which led to the collapse of the French Fourth Republic, Fourth ...

brought about by the

Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

Henri Alleg Henri Alleg (20 July 1921 – 17 July 2013), born as Harry John Salem, was a French-Algerian journalist, director of the '' Alger républicain'' newspaper, and a member of the French Communist Party. After Editions de Minuit, a French publishin ...

's book ''

La Question ''La Question'' ( French for "The question") is a book by Henri Alleg, published in 1958. It is famous for precisely describing the methods of torture used by French paratroopers during the Algerian War from the point of view of a victim. ''La ...

'', an autobiographical account of imprisonment and torture in Algiers, which Braziller brought back from that trip and published in

English-language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

translation, was his firm's first big success in the United States, with an introduction written by

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

. In 2011, George Braziller retired at the age of 95. His son Michael Braziller of Persea Books, became publisher and editorial director while George's elder son Joel Braziller became secretary-treasurer and director of permissions. With a small team they maintain the Braziller tradition with new series and a rich backlist.

Book series

Book series published by George Braziller have included: * The American Culture Series * The American Image Series * The Arts of Mankind * The Braziller Series of Poetry * The Great American Artists Series * The Great Draughtsmen Series * The Great Fresco Cycles of the Renaissance * Great Religions of Modern Man * The Masters of World Architecture Series * New Directions in Architecture * Planning and Cities * Vision + Value Series * World Landscape Art & Architecture Series Beginning in 1968, Braziller also published an implicit series of "excellent editions of partial facsimiles" of medieval manuscripts. Book series published by Michael Braziller have included: * The Braziller Series of Australian PoetsThe Braziller Series of Australian Poets
georgebraziller.com. Retrieved 17 January 2023.

Notes

References

External links

George Braziller Inc. website

at Syracuse University

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braziller, George 1916 births 2017 deaths American book publishers (people) American book publishing company founders American men centenarians People from Brooklyn Businesspeople from New York City 20th-century American businesspeople

Life and career

Book series

Notes

References

Further reading

External links