John Gunther facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Gunther
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| Born |
John Guenther
August 30, 1901 Lakeview, Chicago, Illinois, United States
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| Died | May 29, 1970 (aged 68) |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago (BPhil) |
| Occupation | Journalist, author |
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Notable work
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Inside U.S.A (1947) Death Be Not Proud (1949) |
| Spouse(s) |
Frances Fineman
(m. 1927; div. 1944)Jane Perry Vandercook
(m. 1948) |
| Children | 3 |
John Gunther (born August 30, 1901 – died May 29, 1970) was an American journalist and writer. He became very well-known for his series of books called the "Inside" books. These books explored different countries and continents.
One of his most famous books was Inside U.S.A., published in 1947. He also wrote a powerful memoir called Death Be Not Proud (1949). This book was about the sad death of his teenage son, Johnny, who passed away from a brain tumor.
Contents
John Gunther's Early Life and Career
John Gunther was born in 1901 in the Lakeview area of Chicago. He grew up on the North Side of the city. His family was German-American. His father, Eugene Guenther, was a traveling salesman.
During World War I, his family changed their last name from Guenther to Gunther. They did this to avoid problems because of their German name during the war.
In 1922, John Gunther earned a degree from the University of Chicago. While there, he was the literary editor for the student newspaper.
He worked briefly as a reporter for the Chicago Daily News. Soon after, he moved to Europe to work as a foreign correspondent for the Daily News in London. He reported from many places, including Europe, the Balkans, and the Middle East.
Reporting from Europe
In 1927, John Gunther married Frances Fineman in London. She was also a foreign correspondent. They worked together across Europe until 1936.
Gunther was in charge of Daily News offices in cities like London, Berlin, Vienna, Moscow, Rome, and Paris. He traveled to almost every country in Europe. He saw firsthand the big changes happening in Europe from 1924 to 1936.
He described those years as exciting times for American reporters in Europe. They traveled a lot, met often, and shared information. They were competitive but also good friends.
His experiences as a journalist in Vienna later inspired his novel The Lost City.
The Famous "Inside" Books
John Gunther's reporting and the people he met helped him write his first "Inside" book, Inside Europe. This book came out in 1936. It was written to help regular readers understand the political situation in Europe.
The book was very successful around the world. Gunther felt lucky because it came out when three powerful dictators were rising, and people wanted to know more about them.
In 1947, Gunther wrote Inside U.S.A.. For this book, he visited all 48 states that existed at the time. A famous historian, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., said it was an amazing book. He called it "the richest treasure-house of facts about America that has ever been published."
The "Inside" series grew to cover all populated continents. These included Inside Europe, Inside U.S.A., Inside Asia, Inside Latin America, Inside Africa, and Inside Russia Today. The last book in the series was Inside Australia and New Zealand. Many of these books were updated over the years as world events changed.
Inside Africa was especially important. From 1952 to 1953, Gunther and his wife visited almost all 44 African countries. This was during the final stage of colonial rule in Africa.
Family Life and Later Years
John and Frances Gunther had two children. Their first child, Judy, died before she was one year old in 1929. Their son, John Jr., also known as Johnny, was born in 1929. Sadly, Johnny died in 1947 from a brain tumor.
John and Frances divorced in 1944.
In 1948, John Gunther married Jane Perry Vandercook. They adopted a son together. Jane P. Gunther loved the arts and often traveled with her husband. She helped him with his books. She passed away in 2020 at the age of 103.
John Gunther died in 1970 from liver cancer.
Other Writings and Media
Books Beyond the "Inside" Series
Besides the "Inside" series, Gunther wrote eight novels and three biographies. Some of his notable works include Bright Nemesis and The Troubled Midnight. He also wrote biographies of famous people like Roosevelt in Retrospect (1950) and Eisenhower (1952). The Eisenhower biography came out the same year Dwight Eisenhower was elected President.
Gunther also wrote several books for young readers. These included a biography of Alexander the Great in 1953. He also adapted Inside Russia Today into a two-volume set for kids called Meet Soviet Russia in 1962.
Death Be Not Proud
The book John Gunther is most remembered for today is Death Be Not Proud. This book is a very touching story about his son, Johnny. Johnny died from a brain tumor when he was 17 years old.
In the book, Gunther shares the challenges he and his ex-wife, Frances, faced trying to save their son's life. He describes the many treatments they tried, from surgery to special diets. He also writes about the ups and downs of Johnny's illness and how it affected all of them. Gunther shows Johnny as a remarkable young man. Johnny even wrote letters to Albert Einstein about physics.
This book became a bestseller. In 1975, it was made into a television movie. It is still read in many high schools today.
Broadway Show: Inside U.S.A.
His book Inside U.S.A. was turned into a Broadway musical show in 1948. It was also called Inside U.S.A. The show had songs by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz. It ran for 399 performances.
Television Show: High Road
From 1959 to 1960, John Gunther hosted and narrated a TV show called John Gunther's High Road on the ABC network. The show featured travel films from different countries around the world. Gunther's narration tied all the episodes together.
List of Works
Nonfiction
- (1934) Habsburgs Again?
- (1936) Inside Europe
- (1938 ed) Inside Europe (includes minor updates)
- (1939 ed) Inside Europe (includes minor updates)
- (1939) The High Cost of Hitler
- (1939) Inside Asia
- (1940 ed) Inside Europe (includes major additions and changes due to the geopolitical impacts of Hitler and Nazi Germany)
- (1941) Inside Latin America
- (1944) D-Day
- (1947) Inside U.S.A.
- (1949) Death Be Not Proud, memoir
- (1949) Behind the Curtain (published in the UK as Behind Europe's Curtain)
- (1950) Roosevelt in Retrospect: A Profile in History, biography
- (1951) The Riddle of MacArthur: Japan, Korea, and the Far East
- (1952) Eisenhower, the Man and the Symbol, biography
- (1953) Alexander the Great, biography
- (1955) Inside Africa
- (1956) Days to Remember: America 1945-1955 (with Bernard Quint)
- (1958) Inside Russia Today
- (1959) Julius Caesar
- (1960) Taken at the Flood: The Story of Albert D. Lasker, biography
- (1961) Inside Europe Today
- (1961) A Fragment of Autobiography: The Fun of Writing the Inside Books
- (1962) Meet Soviet Russia (2 volumes)
- (1965) Procession
- (1967) Inside South America
- (1969) Twelve Cities
- (1972) John Gunther's Inside Australia and New Zealand (with W. H. Forbis) ISBN: 0-241-02180-4
Novels
- (1926) The Red Pavilion
- (1927) Peter Lancelot: An Amusement (published in the U.S. as Eden for One: An Amusement)
- (1929) The Golden Fleece
- (1932) Bright Nemesis
- (1945) The Troubled Midnight
- (1964) The Lost City
- (1970) The Indian Sign (published in the UK as Quatrain)
