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John Gunther (1901–1970)

Author of Death Be Not Proud

44+ Works 4,793 Members 62 Reviews 2 Favorited

About the Author

Born in Chicago, John Gunther began a career in journalism in 1922 as a reporter for the Chicago Daily News. A war correspondent during World War II, Gunther later devoted all his time to writing and is famous for his Inside books. Following his fourth visit to Russia in 1956, he presented show more important as well as trivial facts in Inside Russia Today (1958). "The greatest service Mr. Gunther has done is to bring Russia down to a level we can all understand and talk and argue about" (N.Y. Times). In 1958 he received the Geographic Society of Chicago Publication Award for his Inside books. Unfortunately, Inside U.S.A. (1951) is out of print. Gunther wrote several biographies and a deeply moving account of the death of his young son of a brain tumor, Death Be Not Proud (1949). His Procession (1965) is a group of sketches of international political figures drawn from his Inside books and from articles. Inside Australia (1972), completed and edited by William Forbis, was published posthumously. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the names: J. Gunther, John Gunther, John Gunthers

Series

Works by John Gunther

Death Be Not Proud (1949) 2,433 copies
Alexander the Great (1953) 397 copies
Inside U.S.A (1947) 256 copies
Julius Caesar (1959) 254 copies
Inside Africa (1955) — Author — 163 copies
Inside Russia Today (1958) 161 copies
Inside Europe (1936) 159 copies
Inside South America (1967) 123 copies
Inside Asia (1939) 112 copies
Inside Latin America (1941) 99 copies
The Lost City (1964) 84 copies
Inside Europe Today (1961) 70 copies
Jason and the Golden Fleece (1959) 56 copies
Behind the Curtain (1943) 54 copies

Associated Works

The Fall of the Dynasties: The Collapse of the Old Order, 1905-1922 (1963) — Editor, some editions — 361 copies
This Is My Best (1942) — Contributor — 186 copies
Secrets & Spies: Behind the Scenes Stories of World War II (1964) — Contributor — 180 copies
Yankee Nomad: A Photographic Odyssey (1966) — Introduction — 154 copies
Roundup: A Nebraska Reader (1957) — Contributor — 21 copies
The Reader's Digest Teen-Age Treasury: Four Volumes (1957) — Contributor — 18 copies
Wide World (1957) — Contributor — 11 copies

Tagged

20th century (60) Africa (44) Alexander the Great (27) American history (25) American literature (33) Ancient Greece (25) ancient history (32) anthology (32) Asia (25) autobiography (29) biography (258) cancer (51) classic (37) classics (30) death (99) Europe (63) European History (45) fiction (84) geography (38) grief (27) history (354) Landmark (64) Latin America (27) literature (47) memoir (240) non-fiction (343) own (25) photography (44) politics (44) read (46) Rome (30) Russia (49) to-read (94) travel (112) unread (31) USA (29) war (29) world history (26) WWI (59) WWII (68)

Common Knowledge

Canonical name
Gunther, John
Legal name
Gunther, John
Birthdate
1901-08-30
Date of death
1970-05-29
Gender
male
Nationality
USA
Birthplace
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Place of death
New York, New York, USA
Places of residence
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Education
University of Chicago
Occupations
journalist
foreign correspondent
Relationships
Gunther, Frances (ex-wife)
Organizations
Chicago Daily News
Short biography
John Gunther (August 30, 1901 – May 29, 1970) was an American journalist and author whose success came primarily in the 1940s and 1950s with a series of popular sociopolitical works known as the "Inside" books. He is best known today for the memoir Death Be Not Proud about the death of his teenage son, Johnny Gunther, from a brain tumor.

Members

Reviews

Deeply moving, true story relates a father's recollection of his son's courageous and spirited battle against the brain tumor that would take his life at the age of seventeen.
½
 
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Huba.Library | 36 other reviews | Jan 3, 2023 |
Inspiring book of author's son who dies from cancer yet graduates from high school and completes other goals while suffering.
 
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kslade | 36 other reviews | Dec 8, 2022 |
Gut-heartwrenchingly moving. I tried reading this years ago but couldn't get into the way Gunther told the story––too erudite for me at the time. I guess I've matured because I rolled through this in one day. I couldn't put it down. I was intrigued by the 1940s dialogue and history and medicine capability at that time, but I was thoroughly enchanted with Johnny and his heroic quest just to live. The reminder of how precious life is sometimes can sound so trite, but put forth in this memoir of a 17-year-old who had the zen of life to end each day with "What a great day, Mom"––even if his brain had just been opened up again for drainage––brought me to my knees. When I'm having a bad day, I will think of this young, brave man and try to follow his example every day of my life.… (more)
 
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crabbyabbe | 36 other reviews | Nov 6, 2022 |
Classic series of essays on John Gunter's reporting across the United States in 1946. A little bit of everything.
 
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gregdehler | 3 other reviews | Jul 17, 2021 |

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Statistics

Works
44
Also by
10
Members
4,793
Popularity
#5,239
Rating
3.8
Reviews
62
ISBNs
71
Languages
2
Favorited
2

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