By Peter M. Ascoli

Julius Rosenwald was known largely for fashioning Sears, Roebuck and Co. into the greatest mail-order firm in the world. But some in the American South remember him for helping to build more than 5,300 schools that once bore his name. The charitable fund he created during the First World War went out of existence in 1948 at his expressed wish, leaving no living memorial to his work.

This rich biography of a major, but little-known American businessman and philanthropist is written by his grandson Peter M. Ascoli, who brings to life a fascinating portrayal of a man with a desire to help his country and his community.

Hardcover.

Indiana University Press.

See A Force for Change: African American Art and the Julius Rosenwald Fund through August 16, 2009 at Spertus Museum.