Education: Getting Johnny to Read

During his 36 years as a book manufacturer, President Sidney Satenstein of the American Book-Stratford Press, Inc. has been doing his best to persuade more Americans to read. In 1930 he put Alexander Woollcott on the radio as "The Early Bookworm." The program flopped ("Didn't sell a book"), and so did Satenstein's radio efforts with Reviewers Harry Hansen and Clifton Fadiman. Gradually, Satenstein decided that chasing after adults was largely a waste of time. "You've got to get to the children," says he. "The thing to sell is the reading habit early."

Last year, with funds from the book industry, Satenstein and...

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