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Free Press was an American independent book publisher that later became an imprint ofSimon & Schuster. It was one of the best-known publishers specializing in serious nonfiction, including path-breaking sociology books of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. After a period under new ownership in the 1980s of publishingneoconservative books, it was purchased by Simon & Schuster in 1994. By 2012, the imprint ceased to exist as a distinct entity; however, some books were still being published using the Free Press imprint.^[1][2]

Free Press was founded byJeremiah Kaplan (1926–1993) and Charles Liebman in 1947 and concentrated on religion and social science.^[3] They chose the name Free Press because they wanted to print books devoted to civil liberties. It was launched with three classic titles:Division of Labor byEmile Durkheim,The Theory of Economic and Social Organization byMax Weber andThe Scientific Outlook byBertrand Russell.^[4] It was headquartered inGlencoe, Illinois, where it was known asThe Free Press of Glencoe.

In 1960, Kaplan was recruited by Macmillan to provide new editorial leadership and he agreed to move to New York ifMacmillan Publishing Company would buy Free Press, and thus Free Press was sold in 1960 for $1.3 million ($500,000 going to Kaplan and $800,000 going to Liebman).^[4]

In 1994, Simon & Schuster acquired Macmillan and Free Press.^[4] In 2012, it was announced that Free Press would cease to exist as a distinct entity and would be merged intoSimon & Schuster, the company's flagship imprint.^[4][1] "We plan to continue publishing thought leaders and other important cultural voices under the Free Press imprimatur, while also introducing many other Free Press authors, such as novelists and historians and business writers, to the flagship Simon & Schuster imprint."^[4]

During the 1960s and 1970s Free Press was under the direction of a variety of publishers including George McCune (who later co-foundedSAGE Publishing with his wife Sara),Valery Webb, Ed Barry andRobert Wallace.^[4] Under Barry's leadership in 1974,Ernest Becker'sThe Denial of Death won the Pulitzer Prize.^[4] In 1983,Erwin Glikes, a well-known politicalneoconservative, took over leadership.^[4] This began an era of controversial^[4] conservative books includingThe Tempting of America byRobert Bork, andThe Closing of the American Mind byAllan Bloom.^[4] Glikes was succeeded byAdam Bellow, who also published neoconservative books includingIlliberal Education byDinesh D'Souza,The Real Anita Hill byDavid Brock, andThe Bell Curve byCharles Murray andRichard Herrnstein.^[5][4] In 1994, Simon & Schuster acquired Macmillan and Free Press was led by publishers Michael Jacobs, Paula Barker Duffy, and William Shinker for short stints.^[4]

Free Press was led by publisher Martha Levin from 2001 until 2012, when it ceased to exist as a distinct entity and merged into Simon & Schuster's flagship imprint.^[4][6] In 2003, two of the five finalists for the 2003National Book Award in the non-fiction category were Free Press titles, including the winner,Waiting for Snow in Havana byCarlos Eire.^[7] In 2008, Free Press publishedThe White Tiger, Indian authorAravind Adiga'sdebut novel, which won theMan Booker Prize.^[8]

• Robert K. Merton (1957).Social Theory and Social Structure. Glencoe, IL: Free Press
• Everett Rogers (1962).Diffusion of Innovations. Glencoe, IL: Free Press
• Dworkin, Andrea (1987).Intercourse. New York: Free Pr.ISBN 0029079705.
• Covey, Stephen R. (1989).The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Free Press.ISBN 0-7432-6951-9.OCLC 56413718.
• Everdell, William R. (1983).The End of Kings: A History of Republics and Republicans. New York: Free Press.ISBN 0-226-22482-1.
• Fukuyama, Francis (1992).The End of History and the Last Man. New York: Free Press.ISBN 0-02-910975-2.OCLC 231335005.
• Herrnstein, Richard J.;Murray, Charles A. (1994).The Bell Curve: intelligence and class structure in American life. New York: Free Press.ISBN 0-02-914673-9.OCLC 30913157.
• Behe, Michael J. (1996).Darwin's Black Box: the biochemical challenge to evolution. New York: The Free Press.ISBN 0-684-82754-9.OCLC 34150540.
• Harris, Judith Rich (1998).The Nurture Assumption: Why Children Turn Out the Way They Do. New York: Free Press.ISBN 0-684-84409-5.OCLC 39368588.
• Mezrich, Ben (2003).Bringing Down the House. New York: Free Press.ISBN 0-7432-4999-2.OCLC 53220540.
• Ali, Ayaan Hirsi (2007).Infidel. New York: Free Press.ISBN 978-0-7432-8968-9.OCLC 72701599.
• Draper, Robert (2007).Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush. New York: Free Press.ISBN 978-0-7432-7728-0.OCLC 145379548.
• Adiga, Aravind (2008).The White Tiger. New York: Free Press.
• Eire, Carlos (2008).Waiting for Snow in Havana. New York: Free Press.
• Harris, Sam (2010).The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values. Free Press.ISBN 978-1-4391-7121-9.OCLC 535493357.

• Free Press homepage at Simon & Schuster (archived 15 May 2010)
• Divisions and Imprints at Simon & Schuster (archived 23 April 2010)

• Free Press (publisher) books
• Defunct book publishing companies of the United States
• Simon & Schuster
• Book publishing company imprints
• Book publishing companies based in New York (state)
• Publishing companies based in New York City
• American companies established in 1947
• Publishing companies established in 1947
• Mass media companies disestablished in 2012
• 1947 establishments in New York (state)
• 2012 disestablishments in New York (state)
• Defunct companies based in New York City

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