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Bennett CerfBennett Cerf
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Session:         Page of 1029

So I wrote him a very respectful letter. First I had to find out how you address a Trappist monk. You know, theyre not allowed to talk. Again, I got back a very astonishing letter. Merton had been the art editor of the Columbia Jester when I was the editor in chief! Now he was a famous Trappist monk! When he was at Columbia he had been a pretty wild youth! He wrote, “I forgive you for not knowing that I was the same Tom Merton you used to kick out of the Jester office.”

Well, I think these two stories are worth recalling-- and that's enough for 1940!

1941 was the year that we did What Makes Sammy Run? I've told you about Bud Schulberg. Another thing that we did in 1941 was Sally Benson's Junior Miss, and I told you about her, too.

1942 was when we acquired Proust. I've told you about getting hold of the Proust property from Thomas Seltzer when he went out of business. Also in 1942 we published another book that was a Book of the Month Club selection and created quite a sensation. This was George Stewart's Storm, the story of a great storm and how it was incubated in the Sea of Japan and crossed the Pacific, gaining strength, and then hit the California coast and swept east, causing blizzards and floods.

Q:

Was it a true story?

Cerf:

Oh, it was a perfect description of a great storm and gave people an insight into weather. As a result of that book, all kinds of books about the weather were published. Of course,





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