OT- Interesting speaker - author, David McCullough -
If you ever have the chance to hear David McCullough speak, don't pass up the opportunity! A description of the author:
"David McCullough has been called “a master of the art of narrative history” and “one of our most gifted living writers.” His work has been praised for its exceptional narrative sweep, its scholarship, its insight into American life and literary distinction. His latest book, the monumental John Adams, is one of the popular and critical triumphs of our time. A number one New York Times bestseller, now in its 34th printing, John Adams has to date sold more than 1,500,000 copies in hard cover and is the winner of this year’s Pulitzer Prize for biography.
For his previous biography, Truman, published in 1992, Mr. McCullough also received the Pulitzer Prize.
In the words of the citation accompanying his honorary degree from Yale, “As an historian, he paints with words, giving us pictures of the American people that live, breathe, and above all, confront the fundamental issues of courage, achievement, and moral character.”
In addition to two Pulitzer Prizes, Mr. McCullough has won the National Book Award twice and the prestigious Francis Parkman Prize twice. He has been honored with the National Humanities Medal, the St. Louis Literary Award, and the New York Public Library’s Literary Lion Award.
His other books include The Johnstown Flood, The Great Bridge, The Path between the Seas, Mornings on Horseback, and Brave Companions. As may be said of few writers, none of his books has ever been out of print.
In a crowded, productive career, David McCullough has been an editor, teacher, lecturer, and familiar presence on public television, as host of Smithsonian World, The American Experience, and narrator of numerous documentaries, including The Civil War. He is a past president of the Society of American Historians. He has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has received 31 honorary degrees."
*****
IMO his descriptions of various events in history made history "come to life"....and some of his thoughts I found very encouraging, especially after the events of 9/11. He reinforced the thought that Americans have been through much more difficult times in the past, and managed to find the resources and the conviction to overcome these seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
(I'm sure that almost everyone who listened to him speak, purchased *at least* one of his books! I just ordered, "The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge".) |
