Ashbel Green (March 15, 1928 – September 18, 2012) was an American book editor.Lackeos, Nick.
The Write Stuff: Experts share advice on how to get a book published
, ''Montgomery Advertiser'', Montgomery, Alabama, volume 167, number 303, October 30, 1994, page 7H and 11H. via

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He was a senior editor and vice president at

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...

. He oversaw the publication of over 500 books including books by of

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian writer and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th centur ...

and

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trust ...

's autobiography. He was "one of the finest history editors in all of American history… ndhelped make the Knopf imprint the most distinguished in the United States."

Early life

Green was born in

Manhattan, New York 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 ...

. He was named after his ancestor, Ashbel Green (1762-1848), a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister. He graduated from

Kent School Kent School is a private college-preparatory day and boarding school in Kent, Connecticut. Founded in 1906, it is affiliated with the Episcopal Church. It educates around 520 boys and girls in grades 9–12. Kent was one of the first schools ...

in 1945. He served in the Navy Reserve from 1946 to 1948. He received a bachelor's in 1950 from Columbia College. There, he was a member of

St. Anthony Hall St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the feast day of Saint Anthony the Great. The fraternity is a non–religious, nonsectar ...

, the Humanist Club, the Activities Council, and the University Student Council. He was also president of WKCR radio and was on the staff ''Spectator''. He was a member of the varsity tennis and swimming teams. He also earned a master's from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in East European history in 1952.

Career

He began his career in the publishing business at

Prentice Hall Prentice Hall was a major American publishing#Textbook_publishing, educational publisher. It published print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market. It was an independent company throughout the bulk of the twentieth cen ...

, working in publicity. In 1964, he started with

which was owned by

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

. In 1994, he was a senior editor and vice president of Random House. Green specialized in editing autobiographies, biographies, current affairs, history, and public policy. He shepherded President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

and U.S. national security advisor

Brent Scowcroft Brent Scowcroft (; March 19, 1925August 6, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, and a two-time National Security Advisor (United States), United States National Security Advisor, first under U.S. President Gerald Ford and then under Georg ...

for ''

A World Transformed ''A World Transformed'' is a 1998 book () by former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Brent Scowcroft, Bush's national security advisor, documenting foreign relations during the Bush administration. They explained in 1998 why they failed to ...

'' in 1998. He also worked with historian Joseph J. Ellis on ''Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation'' which won a

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

for History in 2000. Green had a particular interest in international writers, overseeing books by

Milovan Djilas Milovan Djilas (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Милован Ђилас, Milovan Đilas, ; 12 June 1911 – 20 April 1995) was a Yugoslav communist politician, theorist and author. He was a key figure in the Partisan movement during World War II, as well ...

, Vaclav Havel,

, Andrei D. Sakharov, and

Jacobo Timerman Jacobo Timerman (6 January 1923 – 11 November 1999) was a Soviet-born Argentine publisher, journalist, and author, who is most noted for his confronting and reporting the atrocities of the Argentine military regime's Dirty War during a period ...

. He actually stole

Márquez Márquez or Marquez is a surname of Spanish origin, meaning "son of Marcos or Marcus". Its Portuguese equivalent is Marques. It should not be confused with the surname Marqués, also of Spanish origin. People * Adrian Garcia Marquez, American ...

from

Harper & Row Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins, based in New York City. Founded in New York in 1817 by James Harper and his brother John, the company operated as J. & J. Harper until 1833, when ...

based on his experience with

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

authors. In the realm of mystery novels, Green helped

Ross Macdonald Ross Macdonald was the main pseudonym used by the American-Canadian writer of crime fiction Kenneth Millar (; December 13, 1915 – July 11, 1983). He is best known for his series of hardboiled novels set in Southern California and featur ...

develop from a modestly-selling mystery writer to a best-selling novelist. He retired in 2007 as senior editor and vice president.Knopf editor Ashbel Green to retire
, ''The Desert Sun'', Palm Springs, California, 81st year, number 40, September 13, 2007, page E2. via

However, he continued to work with a small number of select authors including

Joseph Ellis Joseph John-Michael Ellis III (born July 18, 1943) is an American historian whose work focuses on the lives and times of the Founding Fathers of the United States. His book '' American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson'' won a Nation ...

Personal life

Green married Anna Welsh McCagg. Their children were a son, Ashbel, and a daughter, Alison. Anna died in 1995. Green then married Elizabeth Osha. They lived in

Stonington, Connecticut Stonington is a town located on Long Island Sound in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The municipal limits of the town include the borough of Stonington (borough), Connecticut, Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Connecticut, Pa ...

. Green was chair of the publications committee for Columbia University's year-long anniversary, Columbia 250. As chair of the Publications Committee for the 250th, he edited ''My Columbia: Reminiscences of University Life'' about Columbia University."My Columbia"
Columbia University Press. Green died in

Westerly, Rhode Island Westerly is a New England town, town on the Coast, southwestern coastline of Washington County, Rhode Island, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, first settled by English colonists in 1661, and incorporated as a List of municipalitie ...

of cardiac arrest in 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Ashbel 1929 births 2012 deaths American book editors Columbia College (New York) alumni St. Anthony Hall Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Kent School alumni United States Navy reservists United States Navy sailors Writers from Manhattan People from Stonington, Connecticut