It was Cerf's intention to write AT RANDOM using as a basis the transcriptions of 21 question and answer interviews conducted by Mary R. Hawkins of Columbia University's Oral History program. Unfortunately, he died before he could edit these thousand or so pages into a cohesive manuscript. The good news was that he had discussed his intentions with the editors of this book, and they feel that they have brought his intentions to fruition.

They not only used the aforementioned transcripts, but they also made use of the copious diaries that he had kept since his student days at Columbia University. In addition to that, they had his scrapbooks and many articles he had written which came in handy where clarification was needed.

The resulting book is not just a biography of Bennett Cerf's life. It is also a history of the publishing business, centering, of course around the company he had co-founded, Random House, and containing a number of anecdotes about writers, entertainers, politicians, editors, power-brokers, and just plain everyday people, and, in addition, it is a condensed history of the U.S. for the first three quarters of the twentieth century.

Through the course of the book we are given insights into the characters and personalities of such diverse persona as Eugene O'Neill, Robert Sherwood, Ayn Rand, George Gershwin, Moss Hart, Irwin Shaw, Harry Truman, Douglas MacArthur and many, many more with whom Cerf had business and/or personal relations. No matter how difficult the person was to deal with (and many of them were) he could usually find some redeeming features. There were one or two exceptions to this, but I'll let you read the book to find out who and why.

Along the way, Cerf was instrumental in building the company, Random House, that he had co-founded and nursed through its infancy, from a single office with four or five people to a publicly owned organization, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and one with a book list that included a number of authors and titles that anyone would be proud to represent. Many of the books Random House brought out were Pulitzer Prize winners, Book-of-the-Month Club selections, etc. He was also responsible for bringing the Modern Library to its prominent current position in the book industry. On the reverse side of the coin, he was also responsible for bringing out a few real stinkers.

Along with his business acumen, Cerf built up a reputation of honesty and integrity. He was well liked by almost everyone who knew him and was respected for his compassion and sense of humor.

When he died, THE SATURDAY REVIEW OF LITERATURE carried an obituary that included the words I used for the title of this review. AT RANDOM concludes with an excerpt from this obituary.

Taken from twenty-one interviews with Bennett Cerf between September 1967 and February 1968, this would have been the greatest work for this American publishing giant.
Unfortunately, his life was ended suddenly in August of 1971. This book covers birth right up to death, between those two points is a life I find myself envious of.
Schooled at Columbia, purchased The Modern Library with Donald Klopfer in 1925 and set out to create a publishing empire. Bennett kept in true "high-society" - actors, musicians, politicians, executives, and authors. Bennett has a great style, not often seen today. In all his books and appearances he leaves the reader/viewer feeling good.
This is an excellent companion book to "Dear Donald, Dear Bennett". Plenty of photos too: book catalogs, Truman Capote, Ayn Rand, J. Edgar Hoover, Cerf family, etc. This makes a great read for anyone who: has seen Bennett on "What's My Line?" is interested in any of Random House's authors or the publishing industry in general.

This book is a must read for bibliophiles. Mr.Cerf may be more well known by the public for his radio and television appearances, but the bulk of this book is dedicated to his adventures in publishing. This book made me want to go into the publishing business! He talks about many well known authors: Ayn Rand, Eugene O'Neill, William Saroyan, and William Faulkner just to name a few. He also devotes time to writing about the ins and outs of the publishing business. On every page, Cerf's love of books and publishing is obvious. The book is interesting, funny, and informative. I highly recommend it.