Creating The Life of Paul Dresser: When Max Ehrmann met Theodore Dreiser in Washington

In November 1923, Max Ehrmann, author of the classic Desiderata, interviewed Theodore Dreiser, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. For two days, they discussed the life of Paul Dresser (Dreiser's brother), the composer of On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away, one of the best-selling songs of the nineteenth century. When Dresser died, in 1906, he was a penniless alcoholic. Ehrmann was determined to rehabilitate his image. Dalgleish, explores the background to Ehrmann's quest, his relationship with Dreiser, all three men's youth in Terre Haute, Indiana and the consequences of their meeting in Washington D.C. INCLUDED IN FULL IN THIS VOLUME: THE LIFE OF PAUL DRESSER by Max Ehrmann and Theodore Dreiser's essay MY BROTHER PAUL.