ANNUAL-REVIEWS-INC - A SAGA OF SUCCESS

James Murray Luck founded Annual Reviews Inc. under conditions that wo uld have suggested quick failure. Investment of capital was not encour aged during the Depression era. Luck's obligations as a young teacher weighed against the investment of sufficient time. Moreover, his only experience in the publishing business was in trying to sell books to f armers in Western Canada during the summer following his freshman year in college at the University of Toronto. Recounted here are some of t he factors that led this young scientist, teaching at Stanford Univers ity in his early thirties, to create a nonprofit scholarly publishing enterprise that is regarded by the contemporary worldwide scientific r esearch community as indispensable. The basic ingredients that were cr itically important in the development and continuing attainments of th is enterprise, including Luck's own unique personal attributes, are su mmarized and evaluated against the challenges for change now appearing in the dawning age of electronic publishing.