Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., who emerged from the shadow of his illustrious father to become a towering journalistic figure in his own right, headed the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for forty-three years. Far more than a caretaker of a family tradition, he was a forceful presence in the field of crusading journalism. Pulitzer's style and temperament differed sharply from those of his flamboyant father, but the two men shared the same publishing philosophy: a newspaper should do more than merely print the news; it should aspire to be a force for the public good. "Sooner or later, public opinion will crystalize," the younger Pulitzer once said during a Post-Dispatch crusade. "When it speaks, there can be heard the roar of a great tidal wave. The tidal wave is the inexorable, majestic force that in this country we know as the power of public opinion. Another name for it is American...