W. A. Swanberg (1907–1992)

Hit-or-miss biography of the co-founder of Time Magazine and Time, Inc. It is readily apparent that Swanberg doesn't much like his subject, and the author pounds heavily at Luce's (admitted) sanctimony and Time's (admitted) slant on the news. However, the net effect of the constant repetition of these themes eventually induces boredom. There's also an annoying habit of mimicking TimeStyle, with "Lucepress," "Timen" and the like being used ad nauseum. A few times would have been sufficient, but repeated over 400 pages starts to be an imposition. You do get a flavour for the influences on Luce, and particularly why China was such a central issue for the man, but the level of snark is off-putting. Irony, really: this is a Luce treatment of Luce himself. Maybe that was the original point, I don't know. Swanberg also did a biography of William Randolph Hearst, Sr., so he must have had something against publishing moguls -- at least the right-wing variety.… (more)