A Message to Garcia and Other Writings

Elbert Hubbard

Sep 2018 · Courier Dover Publications

About this ebook

A byword for initiative and determination, A Message to Garcia recounts a soldier's unquestioning acceptance and fulfillment of his orders. Set in the days of mounting tension between the United States and Spain that would soon culminate in the Spanish-American War, it recounts President William McKinley's wish to communicate with Calixto Garcia, a commander of the Cuban rebels. An able young lieutenant is chosen to deliver the vital dispatch, and his mission becomes an imperishable tale of courage, initiative, and resourcefulness.
Except — there was no message from McKinley, and the brave soldier was actually a bungling spy. But the press of 1899 didn't allow the truth to stand in the way of a compelling story, and author Elbert Hubbard's dramatic fiction satisfied the public appetite for a heroic narrative during the buildup to the war. The inspirational legend remains essential reading for motivational speakers, business executives, and military officers as well as trainers and participants in workshops on leadership. This edition also features other examples of Hubbard's charming brand of homespun American philosophy and can-do spirit, including fourteen additional essays, thirty-two contemplations, and Helpful Hints for Business Helpers, which Hubbard wrote under the name Fra Elbertus.

Ratings and reviews

I was told about this book while in a USMC training school. After hiking 20 miles in the rain for 7 hours, I was told to find a broom in the back of the supply truck parked outside. Took about 15 minutes before I gave up and went to tell my instructor, he was less than pleased to hear my results and asked me if I ever read 'A Message to Garcia'. I reply "No, Staff Sergeant." To which he responds by quickly summarizing the essay and the philosophical message behind the essay, and as he was reading said essay, I slowly started to back away as I began to understand what he was asking me to do.... I spent until 3AM to 7:30AM looking for a broom in soaking rain alone while the rest of my platoon was asleep, because finding that broom was my Message to Garcia. I found 3 brooms, and came back to find that they had already mopped the squad bay. Finally, after 6 years of thinking about that day constantly, Ive finished the darn book he told me to read. Better late than never.

About the author

Writer, publisher, businessman, and philosopher Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) founded the Roycroft artisanal community of East Aurora, New York, a group devoted to the aesthetics and principles of the Arts and Crafts Movement. The Roycrofters published well-designed little books on many subjects in the spirit of William Morris's Kelmscott Press. Hubbard initially advocated for a mild form of socialism but later embraced free enterprise. He and his wife perished in the sinking of the Lusitania.