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Foreword
- University of North Texas Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Foreword Neiman Marcus 90th Anniversary Edition THIS BOOK, FIRST published in 1974, was my initial attempt at writing anything of greater length than an occasional magazine piece for the Atlantic Monthly, the Saturday Evening Post, or Fortune. I had considered writing a full-length book but I was uncertain of my ability to sustain a nonfictional story for several hundred pages. Above all, I didn't want to bore readers with tales of my retail experiences or, in writing a personal memoir, to appear pompous and selfopinionated . Besides which, I was already working a ten-hour day and taking a sack of mail and reports home almost every evening. Actually the book came about as a result of a bit of serendipity involving a stranger sitting next to me on a flight to EI Paso on the occasion of the launching of a book by my friend, Tom Lea. In the course of the flight, my seat companion introduced himself as Ned Bradford, senior editor of Little Brown, the prestigious Boston publisher . We had a pleasant conversation en route to EI Paso where he, too, was going for the publication party ofThe King Ranch book which Tom Lea had written and illustrated. He queried me about how the store functioned and my role in it. I related some anecdotes, many of which appear in this book, and as we landed he said, "I think you've got a good book in you. Have you ever thought of writing it?" I replied that I was so busy minding the store that I didn't see how I could find time to do justice to both. He handed me his card saying, "If you ever find the time and decide to write that book, I'd like to publish it." I was flattered and promised to send him some magazine pieces I had written, but concluded by telling him that it was highly unlikely that I could take on anything else at that time. Just then, the plane landed and we both made our way to a bus that was standing by to take us to Juarez for the luncheon. On my return to Dallas, I sent him the Saturday Evening Post article together with the Atlantic Monthly piece and several others. Shortly thereafter, I received a letter from him: Dear Stanley: Thanks for your letter and for the Saturday Evening Post article. It's fine-and should reassure you if you've had any doubts about your ability to venture beyond speech writing. To determine this, why don't you put down a very informal outline of the general subjects you want to cover in more or less depth, roughly in chronological order? Or is there actually all that much more material still lying around in your memory and files to make a full length book? Best regards as ever. Yours, Ned Bradford When I had digested the letter I filed it and went on about my business of running a growing, fine quality specialty store that was expanding rapidly. With plans to build one store a year for the next dozen years, I was having a ball, so I gave no more than fleeting attention to his invitation. The serendipity continued even on a business trip to New York. I arrived in the city on an evening in November of 1972 about 8:30 P.M. Whenever I got in at that hour, I usually checked into the hotel and then took a walk down Fifth Avenue to see what the New York competition was displaying in its show windows. As I was examining [44.206.227.65] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 20:24 GMT) a presentation ofScottish cashmere sweaters, I felt a tap on my shoulder while a voice said, "It's later than you think! When are you going to write that book?" I spun around expecting to be mugged. Instead I found it was Ned Bradford. The first thing I could think to reply was, ''As soon as some enterprising publisher gives me a sufficiently attractive advance and a contract, I'll write the book." "In that case," he replied, "you'll have it on your office desk in the morning." He did as he promised, and I signed the contract after putting the check in an escrow account, just in case I was unable to deliver the manuscript on time. It took a couple of weeks for the magnitude of what I, as an occasional...