Overbearing and occasionally insufferable, Cy eventually wore out his welcome, and perhaps it was just as well. Another family contender, in the eyes of many, was John Oakes, Adolph Ochs's equally brilliant nephew. Oakes fought in World War II, rising from private to major in army intelligence, earning in the process the Bronze Star and the Croix de Guerre. But those who understood the family and its role at the paper did not want the job. And those who wanted it never understood that they had to work with the family, both above them and below them in hierarchy.
Nepotism is an inevitable theme that runs throughout the book.
The tension over the subject of nepotism between the outsiders and the family was often palpable. The often unrealistic expectations and dashed hopes of Sulzberger family members played havoc on their marriages. The Trust is literally strewn with broken marriages and both public and secret affairs. In theory, family members were wealthy, but their money was tied up in the Ochs Trust, which held the majority of voting stock as well as much of the family's real estate. No one seemed to know quite where they stood either in terms of their careers or their finances.