Mr. Sam: The Life and Times of Samuel Bronfman

Robert W. Sexty is a commerce professor at the Memorial University of
Newfoundland and author of Canadian Business: Issues and Stakeholders.

At long last, the Bronfmans have a biography of their founder! Two
previously commissioned manuscripts failed to reach publication and two
unauthorized published biographies were not satisfactory to the family.
In the late 1980s, the family commissioned Marrus, a prominent
University of Toronto historian, to prepare the definitive, and
suitable, biography of Samuel. The resulting book has been well received
by most commentators and reviewers.

Sam Bronfman is an excellent subject for a biography. He is portrayed
as a complex and many-sided character and as someone who knows that
business success is based on having a quality product, an understanding
of consumer preferences, and a long-term perspective. The subject’s
life is outlined from his birth in Brandon, Manitoba, in 1891 to his
death in 1991, with attention paid not only to his flair for the whiskey
business, but also to his roles as family man and philanthropist. Samuel
made Seagram’s a very successful Canadian enterprise, but in the
economic environment of the early 1990s, his descendants may not be able
to equal his business achievements.

The subject’s life is discussed in chronological order through ten
chapters, with the final one being an epilogue that ties together
various facets of Bronfman’s character. Marrus had access to corporate
archives and family papers; in addition, he used other sources, all of
which are referenced in 46 pages of footnotes and 18 pages of selected
bibliography. This volume is the indisputable primary reference source
on Bronfman’s legacy.