As co-founder of Random House, Bennett Cerf published works by many of the biggest names in 20th-century fiction and nonfiction. Consequently, “Nothing Random: Bennett Cerf and the Publishing House He Built” isn’t just a biography. Toward the end of his life, the versatile Cerf — believing that growth was essential — acquired rival publishing house Knopf. This move, Cerf soon recognized, was a mistake: Random House had lost its soul. Nonetheless, late in Cerf’s career, Random House took over a small publishing house called L.W.

Source: Washington Post January 10, 2026 11:37 UTC