Alfred A. Knopf (1892-1984), American publisher, used his commitment to fine books, his marketing skill, and his personality to create a firm of extraordinary distinction.

Alfred A. Knopf was born in New York City on September 12, 1892, to Samuel and Ida Jaffee Knopf. In 1908 he entered Columbia University, where he studied literature with John Erskine and Joel Spingarn and history with Carlton Hayes. During his senior year he began corresponding with the British novelist John Galsworthy, about whom he was writing an essay. He graduated in the spring of 1912, planning to attend Harvard Law School the following fall. That summer, however, he travelled to England, met Galsworthy, became entranced by the literary life, and decided to forego law in favor of a career in publishing.

Knopf's father, an advertising man and financial consultant, helped him to secure a position in the accounting department of Doubleday, Page at eight dollars...