This book was written in 1915 by prolific American novelist Edna Ferber (1885-1968) who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1925. She first met William Allen White when they covered the 1912 Republican National Convention for the same newspaper syndicate. They became close lifelong friends. Ferber handwrote on book's front flyleaf "Dear Whites, of Empory [sic], I'm sending this just because you have the rest of 'em. Lovingly (and you know it) Edna. New York, Oct. 12, 1915."