An edition of The Man Nobody Knows (1925)

The Man Nobody Knows

1st Collier Books ed.
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Last edited by ImportBot
March 17, 2024 | History
An edition of The Man Nobody Knows (1925)

The Man Nobody Knows

1st Collier Books ed.
  • 0 Ratings
  • 9 Want to read
  • 1 Currently reading
  • 0 Have read

The Man Nobody Knows (1925) is the second book by the American author and advertising executive Bruce Fairchild Barton. In it, Barton presents Jesus as "[t]he Founder of Modern Business," in an effort to make the Christian story accessible to businessmen of the time. When published in 1925, The Man Nobody Knows topped the nonfiction bestseller list, and was one of the best-selling non-fiction books of the 20th century.

In this book, Barton paints a picture of a strong Jesus, who worked with his hands, slept outdoors, and travelled on foot. This is very different from what he saw as the "Sunday School Jesus" — a physically weak, moralistic man, and the "lamb of God". Barton describes Jesus as "the world's greatest business executive", and according to one of the chapter headings, "The Founder of Modern Business", who created a world-conquering organization with a group of twelve men hand-picked from the bottom ranks of business. Having completed the book in 1924, Barton initially experienced difficulty getting his work published, as the material was considered to be controversial. It was simply seen by some as wrong to compare Jesus to ordinary men.

Since its publication, The Man Nobody Knows has divided readers. Some welcome the portrayal of Jesus as a strong character, whom no one dared oppose, and praise the use of familiar stereotypes to stimulate interest in religion, whilst others ridicule the suggestion that Jesus was a salesman. Critics have suggested that The Man Nobody Knows is a prime example of the materialism and "glorified Rotarianism" of the Protestant churches in the 1920s. It was suggested that the book was written as "an apology for big business"; however, in his 2005 biography of Barton, The Man Everybody Knew: Bruce Barton and the Making of Modern America, Richard M. Fried maintains that Barton was no apologist — his primary motive for writing was religion. Regardless of his motives for publication, Barton found himself the object of humour by some, and his book was lampooned by radio, magazines and in movies.

Publish Date
Publisher
Collier Books
Language
English
Pages
128

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: The man nobody knows
The man nobody knows: a discovery of the real Jesus
2000, I.R. Dee
in English
Cover of: The Man Nobody Knows
The Man Nobody Knows
1987, Collier Books
Paperback in English - 1st Collier Books ed.
Cover of: The Man nobody knows.
The Man nobody knows.
1962, Bobbs-Merrill Co.]
in English - [Charter ed.]
Cover of: The man nobody knows
The man nobody knows
1962, Charter Books
in English
Cover of: The man nobody knows
The man nobody knows
1925, Constable
in English
Cover of: The Man nobody knows
Cover of: The Man nobody knows
The Man nobody knows: a discovery of the real Jesus.
1925, The Review of reviews corporation
in English
Cover of: The Man nobody knows

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Book Details


Published in

New York

Edition Notes

Reprint. Originally published: Indianapolis : Bobbs-Merrill, 1925.

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
232.9/01, B
Library of Congress
BT301 .B139 1987, BT301.B139 1987

The Physical Object

Format
Paperback
Pagination
vii, 119 p. ;
Number of pages
128
Dimensions
21 x 14 x 1.3 centimeters

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL2737225M
Internet Archive
mannobodyknows00bart
ISBN 10
0020836201
ISBN 13
9780020836209
LCCN
86031722
Library Thing
750793
Goodreads
2478880

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History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation
March 17, 2024 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
November 4, 2020 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
January 28, 2020 Edited by mountainaxe Edited without comment.
January 28, 2020 Edited by mountainaxe Edited without comment.
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from Scriblio MARC record.