Session 1, September 20, 1967

Family and Childhood in New York City 1–16

High School 17–31

Columbia University 32–47

   WWI 42–43
   The Jester 44–47


Session 2, Undated

Columbia University (cont) 48–62

   The Jester 48–50

Jobs After Graduation 63–69

   New York Tribune 63–67
   Wall Street 67–69

Boni and Liveright Publishing 70–107

   Horace Liveright 70–74, 82, 90, 103–7
   The Modern Library 99–100


Session 3, Undated

Boni and Liveright (cont) 108–23

   Liveright's feud with Alfred Knopf 117–19
   Liveright as play producer 120–23

Modern Library, Inc. 124–50

   Purchase of Modern Library from Liveright 124–41
   Structure of new company 146–47

1925 Trip to Europe; London 151–56


Session 4, October 4, 1967

1925 Trip to Europe; Paris 157–58

Horace Liveright (cont) 159–71, 180–82

Nonesuch Press 172–79

Modern Library, Inc. (cont) 183–93

Birth of Random House 194–205


Session 5, October 19, 1967

Signing Authors to Random House 206–9

Friendship with Eugene O'Neill 210–24

Trip to Europe 1928 225–29

First Marriage to Sylvia Sidney 230–41


Session 6, October 23, 1967

Publishing Plays at Random House 243–55

Film-Related Stories 256–60

   MGM board 256

Publishing Ulysses (legal battle in U.S.) 261–76

Publishing and Advertising Gertrude Stein's Books 277–87


Session 7, October 31, 1967

Traveling to Israel, Istanbul, Russia (1934) 288–311

Father's Work with Random House 312–14

Relationship with Martha Dodd and 1935 Berlin trip 315–18

Random House Merger with Smith and Haas 1936 319–36

   Signing William Faulkner 325–36


Session 8, November 7, 1967

William Faulkner: Hollywood Days, Funeral 337–54

Random House Authors and Books (1930s, 1940s) 355–79

Publishing the Roosevelt Papers 380–92

Memories of John F. Kennedy 393–94


Session 9, November 10, 1967

Personal and Professional Memories of Elliot Paul 395–401

Relationship with Helen Thompson of the Book and Magazine Guild 402–14

   Cerf goes to Spain to help rescue Helen Thompson's brother 407–12
   Pressure to become communist 413–14

Right Columnist George Sokolsky; Communism and FBI; Cerf's Politics 415–23


Session 10, January 5, 1968

The Book-a-Month Club 424

Random House's Juvenile Publishing Department 425–26

Marriage to Phyllis Fraser 427–52

Random House's Juvenile Publishing (cont) 453–64

   Landmark Books 453–58
   Beginners' Books 458–62
   Step–Up Books 463–64


Session 11, January 8, 1968

Random House Authors 465–73

Random House Staff 474–78

World War II 479–90

   Books on the War 479–83
   Cerf's humorous pocketbooks (Try and Stop Me) 484–86

The Catholic Church and Random House 491–503

Writing Endeavors 504–10

   "Tradewinds" 504–5
   "The Cerfboard" 506–7
   "News from Random House" 508–10


Session 12, January 10, 1968

Practical Jokes at Random House 513–17

Hazards of Publishing 518–29

   Bidding wars 518–19
   Advances paid with no book 520–25
   Unexciting biographies 526–27
   Timing 528–29


Author Stories 530–38

The Art of Editing: Harry Maule 539–42, 545

Critics 543–44

The Art of Editing (cont) 546–59


Session 13, January 12, 1968

The Snake Pit 560–69

Feud with Columnist Leonard Lyons 573–76

War Bonds Tour 577–84

Books Are Bullets Radio Show on WQXR 585, 589–90

Lecture Circuit 586–88, 591–94

Friendship with George Gershwin 596–603

Grosset and Dunlap 604–13e

   Bantam Books 611–13e


Session 14, January 16, 1968

Paperback Publishing 614–26

   Grosset and Dunlap 614–15
   Unfair royalties 616–17
   Vintage Books 621–22
   Modern Library and the paperback trade 623–26

RCA and Random House 627–33

   Grosset and Dunlap 629–33

Changes in American's Reading Tastes and Habits 634–39

Discovering Author Bud Schulberg 640–44

Poetry 645–50

Random House Editors 651–56

Alfred Knopf 657–60


Session 15, January 18, 1968

Remembrances of Author Irwin Shaw 661–71

Friendship with Moss Hart 672–86

Truman Capote and In Cold Blood 687–706

Painting 707–9


Session 16, January 23, 1968

Tacitus and the Encyclopedia 710–11

American College Dictionary 712–27

What's My Line? 728–53

"Cerfboard" and Other Writings 754–62

China and Author Lin Yu Tang 763–65


Session 17, January 30, 1968

Authors Published in the 1940s 766–806

Juvenile Publishing 806–8


Session 18, February 1, 1968

Sports 809–12

Politicians 813–41

   CIA and The Invisible Government 840–41

Textbooks 842–49

   L. V. Singer Co. 842–43, 846–49
   Blaisdell 844–45

Witness by Whittaker Chambers and the Alger Hiss Case 850–61

Politics and Friendship with George Sokolsky 862–65a


Session 19, February 5, 1968

Random House Goes Public (1959) 865b–80

RCA Buys Random House (1965) 881–901

Atheneum Publishers 902–8

Random House Acquisitions 909–21

   Knopf publishing 909–12, 919–20
   Pantheon 913–15, 918
   Friendship with Knopfs 916–17
   Future of Random House 921


Session 20, February 7, 1968

Mt. Kisco 922–27

Interviewing Marilyn Monroe for Esquire 928–32

Book Advertising 933–34

Peabody Committee and Television 935–39

Advertising Spokesperson Work 940–43

Publishing Ayn Rand 944–52

Cerf's Writing Endeavors 953–56

Book Advertising and Discount stores 958–61

Books About the Armed Services 932–63

Nonpublishing Endeavors 964–73

   MGM board of directors 964
   Miss America judge 965–73


Session 21, February 8, 1968

Random House Books Published in 1950s and 1960s 974–98

Publishing World of the 1960s 999–1009

   The Making of a President 999
   Valley of the Dolls 1000–1006
   Paperback rights, agent fees, royalties 1007–9

Famous Writers School 1010–14

Thoughts on Writing and Editing 1015–18

Personal Philosophy 1020–22


Postscript: March 1971

Personal Life and Random House Life 1968–March 1971 1023–29