The Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst

About this book

A lively unexpected and impeccably researched piece of popular history The Uncrowned King reveals how an unheralded young newspaperman from San Francisco arrived in New York and created the most successful daily of his time pushing the medium to an unprecedented level of influence and excitement and leading observers to wonder if newspapers might be "the greatest force in civilization " more powerful even than kings and popes and presidents. Featuring an eightpage insert of black and white photographs The Uncrowned King offers a window onto the media world at the turn of the 19th century as seen by its most successful and controversial figure William Randolph Hearst. Kenneth Whytes anecdotal narrative style chronicles Hearsts rivalry with Joseph Pulitzer the undisputed king of New York journalism in the most spectacular newspaper war of all time. They battled headtohead for three years through the thrilling presidential election campaign of 1896 and the SpanishAmerican Wara conflict that Hearst was accused of fomenting and that he covered in person. By 1898 Hearst had supplanted Pulitzer as the dominant force in New York publishing and was well on his way to becoming one of the most powerful and fascinating private citizens in 20thcentury America.