Ashbel Green
BornMarch 15, 1928
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
DiedSeptember 18, 2012(2012-09-18) (aged 84)
Westerly, Rhode Island, U.S.
EducationColumbia University (BA, MA)
Alma materKent School
OccupationBook Editor
Years active1964 - 2017
EmployerAlfred A. Knopf

Ashbel Green (March 15, 1928 – September 18, 2012) was an American book editor.[1][2] He was a senior editor and vice president at Alfred A. Knopf.[3][2] He oversaw the publication of over 500 books including books by of Gabriel García Márquez and Walter Cronkite's autobiography.[2] He was "one of the finest history editors in all of American history…[and] helped make the Knopf imprint the most distinguished in the United States."[4]

Early life

Green was born in Manhattan, New York.[2] He was named after his ancestor, Ashbel Green (1762-1848), a Presbyterian minister.[2]

He graduated from Kent School in 1945.[4] He served in the Navy Reserve from 1946 to 1948.[4][2] He received a bachelor's in 1950 from Columbia College.[4] There, he was a member of St. Anthony Hall, the Humanist Club, the Activities Council, and the University Student Council.[3][4] He was also president of WKCR radio and was on the staff Spectator.[4] He was a member of the varsity tennis and swimming teams.[4]

He also earned a master's from Columbia University in East European history in 1952.[4][3]

Career

He began his career in the publishing business at Prentice Hall, working in publicity.[2] In 1964, he started with Alfred A. Knopf which was owned by Random House.[2][5] In 1994, he was a senior editor and vice president of Random House.[1]

Green specialized in editing autobiographies, biographies, current affairs, history, and public policy.[4] He shepherded President George H. W. Bush and U.S. national security advisor Brent Scowcroft for A World Transformed in 1998.[2] He also worked with historian Joseph J. Ellis on Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation which won a Pulitzer Prize for History in 2000.[2]

Green had a particular interest in international writers, overseeing books by Milovan Djilas, Vaclav Havel, Gabriel García Márquez, Andrei D. Sakharov, and Jacobo Timerman.[2] He actually stole Márquez from Harper & Row based on his experience with Latin American authors.[2] In the realm of mystery novels, Green helped Ross Macdonald develop from a modestly-selling mystery writer to a best-selling novelist.[2]

He retired in 2007 as senior editor and vice president.[2][5] However, he continued to work with a small number of select authors including Joseph Ellis.[2][5]

Personal life

Green married Anna Welsh McCagg.[2] Their children were a son, Ashbel, and a daughter, Alison.[2] Anna died in 1995.[2] Green then married Elizabeth Osha.[2] They lived in Stonington, Connecticut.[2]

Green was chair of the publications committee for Columbia University's year-long anniversary, Columbia 250.[4] As chair of the Publications Committee for the 250th, he edited My Columbia: Reminiscences of University Life about Columbia University.[6][4]

Green died in Westerly, Rhode Island of cardiac arrest in 2012.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Lackeos, Nick. "The Write Stuff: Experts share advice on how to get a book published", Montgomery Advertiser, Montgomery, Alabama, volume 167, number 303, October 30, 1994, page 7H and 11H. via Newspapers.com
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Martin, Douglas (2012-09-20). "Ashbel Green, Longtime Editor at Knopf, Dies at 84". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  3. ^ a b c "Necrology" (PDF). The Review (Winter). St. Anthony Hall: 14. 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kisslinger, Jerry (Winter 2012). "Ashbel Green '50, '52 GSAS, Legendary Editor and Columbia Anthologist". Columbia College Today. Archived from the original on 2016-09-16. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Knopf editor Ashbel Green to retire", The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, California, 81st year, number 40, September 13, 2007, page E2. via Newspapers.com
  6. ^ "My Columbia" Columbia University Press.
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