Isaac Harry Scherman (February 1, 1887 – November 12, 1969) was an American publisher and economist, most notable as the co-founder of 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 ...

. He also wrote four books on economics.

Biography

Early life and education

Isaac Harry Scherman was born February 1, 1887, in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada. He was the youngest of five children born to Katherine Harris and Jacob Scherman. After his parents separated, Harry and his brothers Louis and William were placed in an orphanage in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, where they lived from 1893 to 1899. He attended Central High School in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where his classmates included

Alexander Woollcott Alexander Humphreys Woollcott (January 19, 1887 – January 23, 1943) was an American drama critic for The New York Times and the New York Herald, critic and commentator for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, an ...

, the future

Algonquin Round Table The Algonquin Round Table was a group of New York City writers, critics, actors, and wits. Gathering initially as part of a practical joke, members of "The Vicious Circle", as they dubbed themselves, met for lunch each day at the Algonquin Hotel ...

member and radio personality, and

Ed Wynn Isaiah Edwin Leopold (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966), better known as Ed Wynn, was an American actor and comedian. He began his career in vaudeville in 1903 and was known for his ''Perfect Fool'' comedy character, his pioneering radio show ...

, the famous actor. Scherman graduated high school in 1905, and later completed university studies at the

Wharton School The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

and the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Carey Law, or Penn Law; previously University of Pennsylvania Law School) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Phi ...

Career

His first jobs included working for Louis Lipsky at " The American Hebrew" newspaper, with the Ruthrauff and Ryan advertising firm, and the J. Walter Thompson Company. In 1916, he established the Little Leather Library and, in 1926, he co-founded the

. Following the establishment of the Book of The Month Club, Scherman published several works in his own right. In one such work, ''The Promises Men Live By'', published in 1938 he developed an analysis of economic problems in terms of people's beliefs. He was critical of accepted policies relating to the then fashionable

Keynesianism Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomics, macroeconomic theories and Economic model, models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongl ...

Marriage and children

Scherman married Bernardine Kielty on June 3, 1914. Kielty was of Irish and Welsh descent and had moved to

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 ...

from a small town in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

where she met Scherman. Kielty was also a writer of non-fiction,

juvenile fiction Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

and a book columnist for '' The Ladies Home Journal''. The couple had two children, Katharine Scherman Rosin (1915-2009), a writer of non-fiction, and Thomas Scherman (1917-1979), a recorded conductor of classical music, who also founded the Little Orchestra Society of New York City.

Death and afterward

Scherman died November 12, 1969, in Manhattan, New York. His collected papers were purchased by the University of Georgia's Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library in 1993.Particulars of Harry Scherman family papers
Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries. Retrieved 2012-01-06.

Published works

* ''The Promises Men Live By'' (Random House, 1938) * ''The Real Danger in Our Gold'' 1940 * ''Will We Have Inflation?'' 1941 * ''The Last Best Hope of Earth'' Random House, New York 1941.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scherman, Harry 1887 births 1969 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American economics writers American male non-fiction writers University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni Wharton School alumni 20th-century American male writers