By 1943, practically everybody had heard about the Great Books, but hardly anybody seemed to be reading them. Only 167 adults had signed up for the study groups started by the University of Chicago. Then in 1947 Chancellor Robert M. Hutchins invited Businessman Lynn A. Williams Jr. to try selling culture to the public as he had sold radios and auto parts (TIME, June 16, 1947). Last week President Williams reported that his non-profit Great Books Foundation had signed up 50,000 customers in 300 cities.
Chicago alone could boast 7,000 Great
Books lovers. It had obviously becomeĀin the words of the University...
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