Gideon Planish is Sinclair Lewis’s sharp, satirical portrait of ambition without substance—a brilliantly observed tale of a man who talks his way to the top without ever quite knowing why. Gideon Planish is eloquent, charming, and filled with dreams of importance. With a silver tongue and a gift for self-promotion, he rises through the ranks of academia and philanthropy—not by building, but by networking, speechmaking, and navigating the world of flashy but hollow institutions. His life becomes a parade of committees, conferences, and causes that serve more ego than purpose. Yet behind the polished public persona is a man quietly haunted by the fear that he’s never truly made a difference. As his career unfolds in a landscape of mid-century American boosterism, Planish must confront the possibility that all his cleverness has led him nowhere meaningful. In Gideon Planish, Lewis turns his wit and insight toward the world of public relations, fundraising, and self-invention, exposing with humor and poignancy the emptiness behind polished success. It is a cautionary tale about appearances, ambition, and the price of never asking what really matters.
