Turning Pages: The Adventures and Misadventures of a Publisher by John Sargent
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I enjoyed reading about John Sargent’s life and career. His anecdotes were engaging—and disarming when self-effacing—as he blundered through early situations, but then tempered with well-reasoned and careful planning through the arc of his trajectory. The colorful descriptions of Wyoming in strong contrast to those of the Flatiron offices offer space and context to help situate us in this memoir. Sargent’s narrative helped humanize my impression of big publishing house CEOs, particularly regarding decisions he made that were sometimes diplomatic and other times defiant. I found his collaboration and creativity dealing with other publishers, editors, and new players in the publishing world most interesting. The section about his negotiations with Amazon and Apple was fascinating—and ironic since I was reading Sargent’s book on a Kindle. One cautionary quote that I thought prescient and relevant right now, however, is “A sitting president was attempting to subvert the First Amendment, and freedom of the press was usually the first freedom suspended by authoritarian regimes.” Sargent’s resistance to pressure that went against his ethical and moral judgment and his willingness to take high-stakes risks won me over. I would have made some different editorial decisions, but overall, I highly recommend this book to those who want to read an entertaining publisher’s memoir and learn more about the traditional publishing industry in transition.
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