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John Gunther: A Brief Biography
Copyright 2016 Christina M. Guerrero
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STORY BEHIND THE STORY
This was one of my first stories for Suite101 and Suite.io.
I was looking for just the basics about Mr. Gunther
and felt frustrated about not finding what I needed, so wrote this article.
I was pleased when others indicated their own appreciation with their views and clicks.
ABOUT THE DRAFTS
First draft:
Note to self and others: Back up everything you have on disk.
I did not back up the intermediate and final drafts of this article,
among other things. Rewriting is good for writers, though ....
Fourth draft:
It's still a bit short, but I like it, and it's exactly what I was looking for
when I needed a biography of him years ago.
John Gunther: A Brief Biography: The author of the literary classic Death Be Not Proud was also an esteemed journalist.
A journalist who succeeded in every genre of his chosen profession, John Gunther began his career reporting for newspapers; wrote a series of guides to almost every continent of the world; wrote eight novels; hosted radio and television programs; and wrote books for children. His nonfiction book Death Be Not Proud, about his son’s illness and death, became a classic.
His early life in Chicago
Gunther was born in Chicago in 1901. He graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors from the University of Chicago in 1922 and then started his career at Chicago Daily News as a reporter. A few years later he moved to Europe, where he was based and corresponded from for twelve years. Then, according to The Encyclopedia Americana, Gunther was “encouraged by Harper & Brothers publishers to write his series of Inside books.”
The Inside books
Starting with Inside Europe in 1936, Gunther wrote thoroughly and at length -- Inside USA has 1000 pages -- about almost every continent, focusing on politics and sociology.
Gunther explained in Death Be Not Proud that his son Johnny at age six said, “I suppose you will be doing Inside Australia next, or Inside the North Pole,” which inspired the next eight books. Gunther eventually reached Australia, and did extensive research, including an outline and forty filled notebooks, but he died before completing the book, which was finished by editor William H. Forbis and Gunther’s second wife, Jane.
The series includes:
Inside Europe
Inside Asia
Inside Latin America
Inside USA
Inside Africa
Inside Russia
Inside Europe Today
Inside South America
John Gunther’s Inside Australia
The success of Death Be Not Proud
While working on the Inside series, Gunther lost his second child, Johnny, to brain cancer. A daughter, Judith, had died in infancy. Gunther wrote about Johnny’s illness and death in Death Be Not Proud, with contributions from his first wife (Johnny’s mother), Frances. The book is considered a literary classic and is often found on lists of recommended reading in high schools and colleges.
In the opening pages of Death Be Not Proud, Gunther mentions working on a radio show. He also hosted a television show from 1969 to 1970, and wrote eight novels, historical books for children and several biographies.
A Modest Journalist
Despite his success in every genre of journalism, John Gunther displayed modesty about his achievements. In A Fragment of Autobiography he wrote, “I have received far more praise than I deserved,” and hoped to write more. Had he lived, he would have most likely completed his book on Australia and then enlightened the world, as suggested by his son, not only about the North Pole, but the South Pole as well.
Sources:
The Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. 13 (Grolier Inc., 2001)
Gunther, John. Death Be Not Proud (Harper & Row, 1949)
Gunther, John. A Fragment of Autobiography (Harper & Row, 1961, 1962)
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