Old Gorgon Graham

Lorimer, George Horace, 1869-1937Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.9

Word count: 250K words
Chapters: 26

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Old Gorgon Graham by George Horace LorimerAuthor: Lorimer, George Horace, 1869-1937,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Apr 1, 2004

Editor's review

Old Gorgon Graham is a collection of essays on business and life written in epistolary form by George Horace Lorimer, using letters from an old-fashioned businessman to his son to discuss diligence, integrity, judgment, and the proper measure of conduct. The writing is direct and the tone humorous, bearing the clear imprint of early twentieth-century American business culture. Its value lies not in systematic theory but in the experience and reminders of someone who has been there: how to treat work, money, partnership, and reputation. Readers can treat it as light bedside reading, or leaf through it when facing career choices or management confusion, using the old businessman's voice to examine their own way of doing things. Note that some ideas in the book carry the limitations of their era and should be weighed in light of the present context rather than accepted wholesale.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in business ethics and workplace experience
Readers who enjoy epistolary, aphoristic essays
Young people just entering the workplace who want advice from someone experienced
Readers studying the history of American business culture

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting systematic management theory or operational tools
Researchers who prefer rigorous academic argument and data support
Readers remote from early twentieth-century values and unwilling to distinguish among them

Reading tips

Read one or two letters a day in order, and after reading note down one sentence that moves you most.
When encountering a point that conflicts with present-day views, first write down your own judgment, then compare it with the book's advice.
Excerpt passages on integrity and judgment as prompts for workplace self-reflection.
If reading the English is difficult, first learn about the author and historical background, then read slowly letter by letter.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a business essay collection?

It uses the epistolary form, consisting of letters from an old businessman to his son, mainly on conduct, business, and life experience; it is essayistic in nature, not a novel with a continuous plot.

Can someone without a business background understand it?

Yes. The book mostly discusses everyday principles such as diligence, integrity, and judgment in direct language and does not rely on technical terms, so ordinary readers can also draw inspiration from it.

Are the book's views still applicable today?

Some reminders about work ethic and how to treat others still have reference value, but the book bears the imprint of the early twentieth century, and readers should distinguish and choose in light of the present environment.

Comments

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About the author

Lorimer, George Horace, 1869-1937 Author

George Horace Lorimer (1869–1937) was an American editor and writer. Public information about his life is limited, so this note focuses on the works held in the collection. His best-known book, Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son, takes the form of letters from an old merchant instructing his son as the young man enters business. Its tone is humorous and practical, blending worldly maxims with commercial experience, and it was well received in early twentieth-century America. The False Gods and Old Gorgon Graham treat similar themes, centering on business ethics, youthful growth, and lessons of life. His prose is concise and lively, making frequent use of aphorism and irony; speaking through the voice of an elder, he conveys values such as diligence, honesty, and self-reliance, and his work had some influence on the business inspirational literature of his time.