Can Books Influence Your Life? You Bet!
In the absence of something more interesting to do on a rainy Friday afternoon when I was 11 years old, I meandered up the narrow stairs to the attic of our sprawling old farmhouse.
My mother Ruby had created a little library up there, with books from her brother Bill and others she had bought at property sales over the years.
As I scanned past Tarzan jungle books, Zane Grey westerns, Jack London dog books, and a couple of books by Mark Twain, my eyes fell upon some books I hadn’t looked at before.
They had titles like “The Erie Train Boy,” “Ragged Dick,” and “Tom The Bootblack,” and were written by an author I’d never heard of: Horatio Alger, Jr.
Yes, you guessed it! It was the start of a new reading adventure, and before it was over I probably read 20 of Alger’s books that year, with more to come.
Why Did I Start and Keep Reading the Alger Books?
Well, the Alger stories were almost always based on a “rags to riches” theme featuring young boys from poor backgrounds who, through hard work, strong character, honesty, acts of bravery, and determination, attained the benefits of the middle-class.
Alger wouldn’t have had to look twice to see that my family, like the ones he was writing about in his books, was poor. We were definitely in the “lower economic class,” striving mightily to sneak up into the middle.
I became engrossed the stories because I was, in a way, in the same boat as some of Alger’s characters, and could relate to what was going on.
It sure was satisfying when a poor country boy risked his life to rescue someone from an overturned carriage, and was rewarded handsomely by a rich benefactor for his courage and bravery.
And there sure were plenty of things like that in Alger’s books to keep me reading!
So What Did I Gain From the Alger Books?
As I look back on it, the boys who were heroes in Alger’s books not only moved from “rags” to “riches,” but in the process they demonstrated a host of personal characteristics that every parent and Sunday school teacher would die for.
For example, they did not cheat or tell a lie—they were, in a word, impeccably honest. They cared about people, respected them, and went out of their way to help them. They were confident in themselves and what they could do. They were open, and related well to other people. They thought carefully about things, and made wise decisions. They were brave and courageous.
In retrospect, I think these heroes subtly influenced me. And I often tried, pretty much without knowing it, to emulate them.
When I was in early high school, my basketball coach died. Grief stricken, I decided to use all my meager savings to buy Christmas presents for his family. I remember, when I shopped for and delivered those presents, that I felt good about having done the right thing.
Who knows why I was motivated to do this, and some other good things I tried to do along the way? One never knows, but I don’t think I could go too wrong in giving credit not only to my family, friends, and church, but also to those “near perfect” Alger heroes.
Just to Let You Know I Wasn’t the Only One
The following paragraph, which was adapted from an article, “Horatio Alger: The Moral of the Story” by Stephan Kanfer, attests to the value of Alger’s books for some successful people.
The influence Alger had on American Youth was incalculable. …To journalist Heywood Broun, Alger’s books were inspiring, simple tales of honesty triumphant…Groucho Marx said “Alger’s books conveyed the message to me and my friends that if you worked hard at your trade, the big chance would eventually come… as an old man, I think of his message as the story of my life.” Ernest Hemmingway’s sister said “there was one summer when Ernest couldn’t get enough of Horatio Alger… there must have been something in Alger’s stress on grit and self reliance that affected young Ernest.”
And my son, Eric, is a close-to-home testimony to Alger’s books. Eric recalls that when he was 12 yrs. old I offered him a bribe of $5 if he would read Alger’s book “Luke Walton – Chicago Newsboy” on our trip to the Black Hills. (I wonder how the book happened to be along with us on the trip?)
Nevertheless, Eric developed an interest, and went on to read and collect around 80 of the Alger books.
There are Two Sides to Every Story
I think it is accurate to say that Alger’s life was not always as pure as the lives of the heroes in his books, and this caused some people to question his books. Here is a brief thumbnail sketch of Alger’s life. (Adapted from Wikipedia and the Kanfer article.)
- Born in 1832, Unitarian Minister’s son, Plagued as a youth with myopia and asthma, never taller than 5’2.” Exempted from military service in 1863 for health reasons. Alger had what he called “a nervous breakdown” in 1896, and died in 1899.
- Went to Harvard in 1848, winning several scholarly awards – 8th in class of 88. Attended Harvard Divinity School in 1853 and again from 1857-1860.
- Became a Unitarian minister in 1864. In 1866, it was reported that Alger had sexually molested two boys. Alger did not deny the report, wrote a letter of remorse, and left the ministry. No charges were filed
- Alger devoted his life to atonement through good deeds. He did this through his books, and several philanthropic organizations. There was never any evidence of his abusing boys again, and nothing related to this is in his books.
- Alger actively supported causes to help disadvantaged boys, and was responsible for causing the NY Legislature to pass a law against cruelty to children.
- Published first book in 1856, not yet the “rags to riches” variety. Wrote his first boys book (Frank’s Campaign) in1864, and his second in 1865. Although the changing times caused interest in his books to fluctuate, Alger authored 120 books, and readers bought at least 200 million copies.
- Early biographies of Alger were grossly inaccurate, and the author of the first one (published in 1928), Herbert R. Mayes, later admitted that the work was a fraud.
It has been over 150 years since Alger wrote his first “rags to riches” books, and while during certain periods the books evidently had a positive impact on many, the changing morals and emphasis in our society over that period of time make it easy to criticize them.
For example, some think that the idea that anyone can succeed with character and effort has been psychologically detrimental to those who simply tried hard, but lived in a time and under circumstances where it simply just couldn’t be done.
Also, no females, African Americans, Hispanics, or other minorities ever appeared as heroes in Alger’s stories. Did the “success formula’’ only work for whites?
And the benefactors of Alger’s heroes were almost always rich white men who had succeeded in business. Weren’t there any other types of well-to-do generous people?
And then there was luck. Given the number of Alger heroes that just plain got lucky, I’m compelled to ask if LUCK is what those heroes counted on most.
And finally, the “goody two shoes” nature of some of Alger’s heroes became more than some people could bear.
So What’s the Bottom Line of This Story?
Well, as I intimated earlier, I may be like many of you—I sort of fit the Horatio Alger bill.
I started off a poor farm boy. I emulated, as much as I could, the characteristics of Alger’s heroes. I worked hard, and tried to make my own opportunities. And, along the way, I had several benefactors (No, they did not bequeath me a pile of money, but they gave me valuable life-changing help, just when I needed it.)
And my stepfather used to say that if I fell in the lake, I would come out with my boots full of fish. I guess I have to admit that I had some good luck along the way too.
Finally, I feel fortunate that the conditions of my lifetime made it possible for a lot of us to find our way out of the lower economic class.
Who knows whether it helped me to read the Horatio Alger’s books?
I believe so, but I don’t know for sure. But at least I’d like to think it didn’t hurt.
Sue Thornquist
Great post, Dad. I really like the information you provided about Alger himself–I know a lot about the books themselves, even read a couple way back when, but know very little about the author. Fun to hear what other famous readers/writers thought of him as well.
I remember all those Horatio Alger books, mostly from Eric’s collection. And then from trying to find rarer copies, or ones in good condition, to buy for him when I went to antique shops. I was amazed at how many of the books had different titles–and I was often thrown off when I’d find a “new” book only to discover it was a well known one with a revised title.
The power of those childhood books cannot be disputed. I really enjoyed reading your blog post!