Keel Hunt

The book offers readers a fascinating glimpse into the remarkable story of the Ingram family and their profound impact on the world of publishing. From humble beginnings to global prominence, the Ingrams' journey is one of innovation, resilience, and the enduring power of family legacy.

Hunt's storytelling is both engaging and informative, weaving together a narrative that is as captivating as it is enlightening. Through meticulous research and insightful interviews, he chronicles the evolution of the Ingram family business, tracing its roots from a small Tennessee print shop to the largest book distributor in the world.

One of the book's greatest strengths lies in its exploration of the Ingram family dynamics and the values that have guided them through generations. From the visionary leadership of Bronson Ingram to the entrepreneurial spirit of his descendants, Hunt paints a vivid portrait of a family united by a shared commitment to excellence and innovation.

Offers valuable insights into the inner workings of the publishing industry and the transformative role that Ingram has played in shaping it. From pioneering new technologies to navigating the challenges of an ever-changing marketplace, the Ingrams' story is a testament to the power of adaptability and forward thinking.

Some readers may find that certain sections of the book feel overly technical or focused on industry minutiae. Additionally, the narrative occasionally jumps between different time periods and perspectives, which may require readers to pay close attention to keep track of the timeline.

A must-read for anyone with an interest in publishing, entrepreneurship, or family business dynamics. With its rich storytelling, insightful analysis, and profound reverence for its subject matter, Keel Hunt has crafted a book that is both informative and inspiring.… (lisätietoja)

This is a book that I saw in BookPage which I pick up at the library. Having been in a writers's group several years ago where we often discussed how hard it was to get published traditionally, I thought this sounded like an interesting read.

I did find it interesting, though I'm not sure everyone will/would. There are parts that are a bit dry (which those not interested in the topic might think are very dry).

The Ingram family started out in other businesses. A friend of the family got them interested in the Tennessee Book Depository--a place that grouped together orders for Tennessee schools in order to get volume discounts from textbook publishers and then divided up the orders to send to the various school systems.

It was interesting to see how they looked for other ways they could expand this business: libraries, bookstores (starting with having inventory on hand so that they could get it to stores quickly--more quickly than the publishers did--creating a way for stores to know what was in stock and to order more accurately, later helping stores establish book departments or create an initial inventory list for a new store), creating a POD system, etc.

There are some side notes that discuss the big (traditional) publishers and how they consolidated over the years, discussing the differences between smaller publishing houses and the big publishers, and even moving into self publishing/small runs through IngramSpark.

I found it interesting that one of their later endeavors involved dental textbooks--apparently many dental students weren't buying all the recommended textbooks because of the expense of the textbooks, so a searchable database of the textbooks was made that the students could use at a price much less than purchasing all the textbooks.… (lisätietoja)