This book takes aim at the newspaper industry, particularly at the reluctance of newspaper bosses to print stories about certain criminal elements. The problem being, these criminal elements provide the bulk of the paper's advertising revenue and would take a dim view of reading about their own activities in the paper. Protagonist Mike Dolan becomes increasingly frustrated with this attitude, so much so, he quits his job and seeks another avenue of bringing the cities corrupt to the public eye. Dolan wants to make a difference, he believes that he can write the kind of expose stories that will actually fight corruption and put some people behind bars.
His solution is to start his own magazine, which he names The Cosmopolite and plans to make it a magazine that won't be afraid to tell it like it is. In fact, he sub-titles the magazine with the words "The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth". So intent is he on revealing the truth and seeing that the guilty are exposed, he completely ignores the fact that the toes that he steps on belong to some pretty mean people who won't be willing to stand by and be exposed without fighting back. Undeterred, he determinedly continues to produce his magazine, living by the phrase, "publish and be damned".
Written so many years ago (in 1937), yet the issues raised here are just as relevant today as they were then. Freedom of speech, racism, abortion, corruption in big business, are all still big issues that only the reckless or very courageous are willing to speak out about.
