J. P. (James Perry) Johnston

Born near Ottawa, Illinois, on January 6, 1852, James Perry Johnston wrote under the name J. P. Johnston. His best-known book, Twenty Years of Hus'ling, draws heavily on his own experience and presents the story of a man trying one line of work after another before finally finding success.

Records for his books show that he wrote several works connected to that same entrepreneurial, autobiographical style, including What Happened to Johnston, Grafters I Have Met, and Told in the Smoker. The surviving descriptions of these books suggest a writer interested in the comic side of failure as well as the practical lessons of ambition and business.

Johnston comes across as a direct, energetic narrator rather than a literary stylist. That straightforward voice is a big part of his appeal today: he offers a lively look at self-invention, risk-taking, and everyday American hustle in the years around the turn of the twentieth century.