Isaiah

www.isaiahwilner.com // www.themantimeforgot.com //
Isaiah Wilner grew up in Seattle and graduated with honors from Yale, where he majored in History and was the Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Daily News. He is the author of The Man Time Forgot (HarperCollins 2006), a book about the friendship and rivalry of Briton Hadden and Henry Luce, the founders of Time Inc. While researching his first book, Isaiah worked as a writer for Good Morning America on ABC, and for Topic A with Tina Brown, a talk show on CNBC. After the book's publication, he worked for Time Editor-in-Chief Richard Stengel on a comprehensive redesign of Time magazine. Isaiah is now writing feature pieces for New York magazine.
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THE MAN TIME FORGOT
A Tale of Genius, Betrayal, and the Creation of Time Magazine
BY ISAIAH WILNER
THE MAN TIME FORGOT: A Tale of Genius, Betrayal, and the Creation of Time Magazine (HarperCollins; October 2, 2006; $26.95; Hardcover) reveals for the first time a media scandal buried nearly eighty years. In this groundbreaking biography, 28-year-old Isaiah Wilner shows that Briton Hadden, not Henry R. Luce, was the genius behind Time magazine.
It’s the true story behind the first newsmagazine, which laid the foundation for the world’s largest media empire. Hadden and Luce were just 24 years old when they began work on Time at the outset of the Roaring Twenties. Their partnership was explosive and their rivalry ferocious, inspired by envy as well as love. A millionaire at thirty, Hadden died tragically at 31. The same day Luce began to bury the legacy of the giant he had never been able to best.
Drawing upon never-before-published documents from the private archives of Time Inc., personal letters, and interviews, Wilner makes a convincing case that Hadden was the revolutionary mind behind the weekly newsmagazine. He also first dreamed of Life, Sports Illustrated, and the radio quiz show. Luce, long considered the most influential publisher in modern journalism, actively suppressed the evidence of his partner’s importance and claimed for himself the glories of Time’s success.
The story travels from Yale’s famous secret society, Skull and Bones, to high-society Europe and South America, following the friendship of two brilliant and opposite souls who inspired one another to the pinnacle of earthly achievement. The young men emerged from the crucible of the Great War with an idea—Hadden’s idea—that shortly transformed the field of journalism. By making the news accessible and entertaining, Hadden changed the way we think about the world.
It is not often that a writer of history succeeds in bringing the past to life. Isaiah Wilner does so in this stylish, passionate and provocative debut. The Man Time Forgot centers on the ancient themes of friendship and rivalry, triumph and tragedy. It is a story about the youth who shaped our modern era written by a member of a generation that will help shape the decades to come.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Isaiah Wilner grew up in Seattle and graduated from Yale in 2000, after following in Hadden’s footsteps as the editor of the Yale Daily News—where he worked beneath a dusty portrait of the man time forgot. The authority with which he tells this fascinating story marks this young author as one to watch.
FROM THE CRITICS:
The New York Times Book Review: "[Briton Hadden's] precocious rise and then gradual effacement is the fascinating story of Isaiah Wilner's "The Man Time Forgot: A Tale of Genius, Betrayal, and the Creation of Time Magazine."
The Wall Street Journal: "Mr. Wilner, 28, struck gold ... A riveting narrative ... richly detailed ... part 'This Side of Paradise,' part 'Citizen Kane.'"
The New York Sun: "Remarkable book.... Mr. Wilner makes his case convincingly.... A classic story. "
The New Yorker: "This illuminating biography reveals that Hadden was the 'presiding genius' at the fledgling publication [Time].... Wilner makes a convincing case."
Booklist: "With access to the Time archives and unpublished interviews and correspondence, Wilner offers all the excitement of a new media enterprise launched in the Roaring Twenties by two fascinating figures."
Yale Daily News: "[The Man Time Forgot] tells a story that has sent shock waves through the American journalism establishment...by proposing that Hadden was the true genius behind Time Magazine and therefore the true genius behind modern American journalism"
The New York Observer: "A fluid and talented young writer, Mr. Wilner document[s] ... that Time really was Hadden's brainchild from the start."
Portland Tribune: "This is biography at its best and most compelling."
Fortune: "Deeply-researched ... Media-watchers will revel in this."
Emonome: "First I stumbled upon the title of Isaiah Wilner's book, then I read the first paragraph from the first chapter of the book...And I was hooked. I hate it when authors do that"
History Wire: "A well-researched, accessibly-written contribution.... Wilner has created a fine read.... an insightful lesson."
The Jaldous Journal: "If you love publishing, history, business and product planning, then check out The Man Time Forgot"
Book Sense: November 2006 Book Sense Notable
Kirkus Reviews, starred review: “Wilner’s debut restores the legacy of Briton Hadden, co-creator of Time magazine, whose partner Henry R. Luce systematically downplayed his contributions after Hadden died…. The author does an excellent job of re-creating the tension, pain and jealousy attending Time’s birth and of showing how the weekly magazine has affected the profession of journalism and the packaging of news. An intriguing and depressing tale, related with great skill and compassion.”
Publishers Weekly: “Scintillating biography [of] a Promethean figure … In Wilner’s telling, Hadden himself is a Fitzgerald character: a hard-drinking, perpetually carousing Jazz Age icon, his outward ebullience masking an inward despondency. The result is a perceptive psychological study and cultural history, with a touch of ink-stained romanticism.”