Books: Lucky Hanna

HANNA—Thomas Beer—Knopf ($4). The Man. "Hanna's luck" was proverbial, but like so many easy explanations of success it will not bear scrutiny. Even in business he had his ups and downs; in politics no less. For five years he, a millionaire, tried to make a newspaper pay, and failed. But he was lucky in his name. That name, with its blended suggestions of some old Roman or Carthaginian proconsul, was no title for a mediocrity; Mark Hanna sounded best as either a bum or a conqueror. He was a conqueror. Marcus Alonzo...