Encyclopedia Salesman's Success Story

A story about how Sheel Mohnot's father became the top encyclopedia salesman in America after immigrating from India.

"My dad sold encyclopedias door to door when he just moved here from India. He was very poor in India and studied at IIT, a great university. To come to America, he needed to raise money, so he raised money from the community to pay for his flight. You had to have $300 to stay in America - they stamped that on your passport - and he came with exactly $300 in his pocket.

He had a stipend as a master's student and then as a PhD student, but he decided to work as an encyclopedia salesman. He was an Indian guy with a thick Indian accent, working in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, going door to door selling encyclopedias. He became the best encyclopedia salesman in the country.

He made enough money to buy a one-bedroom condo in India, and that's still the condo that my uncle lived in and where we still go and stay - all from his earnings as an encyclopedia salesman."