STARTING IN LIFE

STARTING IN LIFE, first published in 1910, offers today's graduates an inside look at the professions they have to choose from. Surprisingly relevant, these profiles cover the sorts of tasks a reader might expect from the career, the sort of salary he might make, and the level of respect he might receive from the community. From acting to practicing law, working in the armed services to trading stocks and bonds, many of the professions listed in this classic volume are no different from those of this century.
Included in each chapter is advice from history's finest and most celebrated working men, including Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Carnegie, Mark Twain, J. P. Morgan, Thomas Edison, George Dewey, and many others. Although there is a great deal of information to be found here, it's equally enjoyable to see how far we've come--women don't appear, and the writing is distinctly vintage: "In order to avoid failure, young people must have a strong start and the ability to recognize opportunity. In order to realize one's true ability, it is important to be in the right profession. The lazy boy, even though he may be a mechanical genius, would better keep away from railroading. The slow boy has no business in the railroad business; nor has the quick boy, if his rapidity is not under the control of dependable discretion."
Anyone who is "just starting in life" will want a copy of this clever tome.

How did college graduates decide what they wanted to do for a living at the turn of the last century? Most followed in their fathers' footsteps, but the more ambitious might have consulted a guidebook like Starting In Life. It profiles fifty career choices, listing details about the profession, the average salary, what characteristics would make a person more or less likely to succeed in it, and what level of respect he might garner in the community. With firsthand descriptions from people like President Theodore Roosevelt, writer Samuel Clemens, and inventor Thomas Edison, the book sets out to give critical and prudent advice to young men embarking on the path of adulthood.
The Lyons Press is proud to reissue this authentic piece of Americana. Readers today will find its earnest tone both amusing and enlightening. Here is a unique window onto a gentler time, when the steam railroad offered positions for well-educated boys and being a teacher was considered the most honorable of all human callings. This vintage edition is perfect for anyone just "starting out in life" no matter at what stage!