Walter B. Pitkin Jr.

At about age 20, he rented a room in Manhattan, near Columbia University, where his father was a professor in the School of Journalism.

He read English literature, American and European history, learned geometry, algebra, German and French.

The renowned professor Mark Van Doren, was a great inspiration, as were the historian Harry J. Carman, and the poet and philosopher, Irwin Edman.

Pitkin graduated from Columbia College in 1938 Phi Beta Kappa and began a career in publishing.

Along with Ian Ballantine, he worked for Penguin America, until World War II made trans-Atlantic trade nearly impossible.

Considered a pioneer in American paperback publishing, Pitkin co-founded Bantam Books in 1945 with Betty and Ian Ballantine and Sidney B. Kramer.