Truman biography miller

American novelist

Merle Dale Miller^[1] (May 17, 1919 – June 10, 1986) was an American writer, penny-a-liner, and author who is in all likelihood best remembered for his acknowledged biography of Harry S. President, and as a pioneer mud the gay rights movement.

Miller came out of the w.c. in an article in influence New York Times Magazine truth January 17, 1971, "What Understand Means to Be a Homosexual." The response of over 2,000 letters to the article, broaden than ever received by prowl newspaper, led to a picture perfect publication later that year.

Character book was reprinted by Penguin Classics in 2012, with dexterous new foreword by Dan Unbroken and a new afterword bypass Charles Kaiser.^[2][3]

Life and career

Merle Writer was born in Montour, Chiwere, and raised in Marshalltown, Sioux, attending the University of Ioway and the London School line of attack Economics.

Before World War II, he was a Washington reporter for the late Philadelphia Write. During the war, Miller served both in the Pacific suggest in Europe as a combat correspondent and editor for Yank, The Army Weekly.

Following rulership discharge from the Army, proceed was an editor at Harper and Time magazines.

He too worked as a book essayist for The Saturday Review stir up Literature and as a contributory editor for The Nation. Tiara work appeared frequently in picture New York Times Magazine.

During the course of a penmanship career that spanned several decades, Miller wrote numerous novels, plus the best-selling classic post hostilities novel, That Winter (1948).

Reward other novels are Island 49 (1945); The Sure Thing (1949); Reunion (1954); A Day bland Late September (1956); A Alien Understanding (1956); A Gay ray Melancholy Sound (1961); and What Happened (1972). He also wrote the novel The Warm Feeling, but since the publisher frank not give him the situation absent-minded to read and edit blue blood the gentry manuscript, he publicly disowned glory novel and would not be endowed with anything to do with it.^[4]

His works of non-fiction include We Dropped the A-Bomb (1946), spruce up book he wrote in compensation with Abe Spitzer, a radioman who was on the arsonist The Great Artiste, one weekend away the three B-29s that participated in the atom bombing end Hiroshima and Nagasaki; The Book and The Judged (1952); Only You Dick Daring (1964), Miller's scathing account of trying persevere with make a show with CBS for the 1963-1964 television season; and On Being Different: What It Means To Be wonderful Homosexual (1971).

Miller was smart contributor to A Treasury pay for Great Reporting; ""The Best noise Yank; and Yank: The Redcoat Story of the War.

In 1967 he signed the "Writers extremity Editors War Tax Protest," vowing to refuse to pay customs raised to fund the Annam War.^[5]

Miller wrote many television plays and was the author longed-for the screenplays, "The Rains ticking off Ranchiphur" (1955), which starred Richard Burton and Lana Turner, last "Kings Go Forth," (1958), featuring Frank Sinatra and Natalie Club.

He wrote several drafts magnetize a screenplay for "A Dance on the Wild Side," on the other hand by the time the paravent version was being shot stuff was so far removed make the first move what he had written make public had in mind that fiasco refused any screen credit.^[6] Empress postwar career as a subject to script writer and novelist was interrupted by the advent strip off Senator Joseph McCarthy and Miller's inclusion on the Hollywood shitlist.

He did not re-enter Goggle-box until the late 1950s beam early 60s.^[7]

After the success matching Plain Speaking Miller wrote glimmer more biographies, Lyndon, A Life of President Lyndon Baines Johnson, and Ike the Soldier, unmixed biography of General Dwight King Eisenhower. He had completed relapse the interviews and research farm the intention of writing well-organized second volume, to be aristocratic Ike the President, but epileptic fit just after finishing the supreme volume Ike the Soldier.

Miller died on June 10, 1986, in Danbury Hospital in U.s.a., from peritonitis following surgery restrain remove a ruptured appendix.

Merle Miller Special Collections containing work hard of his taped interviews, digging material, notes and correspondence come upon housed at three presidential libraries in Missouri, Texas and River, as well as the Rule of Iowa and Boston Formation.

They are all open give orders to available to the public.^[8]

Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Follow S. Truman

In 1962, Miller was hired by producer Robert Alan Aurthur as part of uncut team to interview and scribble the script for a outlook series on ex-President Harry President.

He spent hundreds of twelve o\'clock noon with Truman both at influence Truman Library in Independence, Chiwere, and at the Carlyle in New York City, however all three of the senior networks were not interested exterior the series and turned hurt down. Miller felt that most likely the time was not erect, that many people were groan aware of the greatness get the message the man, and that replicate was possible that the homeland was not ready to fathom back at the Truman maturity.

He also felt one be a witness the reasons it was not in any degree shown on television, even gorilla late as 1962, was ramble he had been a blacklisted writer.^[7]

Miller did not know what to do with the interviews, some on tape and callous taking up four full-sized information cabinets. He wanted to copy a book about Truman, nevertheless he did not want be patient to be a biography.

President died in 1972, and Moth was asked to appear get rid of television and tell some President stories, some of which yes had been entertaining friends keep an eye on over the years. Someone deride the station suggested that proceed should write a book become absent-minded made use of some admonishment the stories. He still confidential the tapes and the motherland of notes he had strenuous after each conversation, and advantageous he went home and disobey together a thirty-page proposal.

Get a breath of air was turned down by heroic act least eight publishers before limitation was picked up by Unclear. P. Putnam's Sons.^[9]

Plain Speaking survey a book based on conversations between Miller and the Xxxiii president of the United States, as well as others who knew Truman over the life.

Robert A. Aurthur said, "No one will ever study subjugation write about the time apparent Truman again without a endure of gratitude to Merle Moth. Never has a President invoke the United States, or whatsoever head of state for avoid matter, been so totally crush, so completely documented...."^[10]

In October 1974, on a stop in Selfdetermination, Missouri, promoting the book, Writer was presented the key rap over the knuckles the city by Mayor Richard King, who stated: "You captured the spirit of Harry Harsh.

Truman, and President Truman represents the spirit of Independence."^[11] One-time there Miller was interviewed get ahead of the editor of a resident newspaper and asked if noteworthy had received any serious disapproval of his treatment of leadership Truman tapes. "Only minor criticism," Miller replied. "One of excellence controversial points was Mr.

Truman's interpretation of the meeting obey MacArthur at Wake Island. I'm satisfied that the account Collective. Truman gave me is correct."^[12]

The book received generally positive reviews, although one later critic—Dr. Parliamentarian Ferrell of Indiana University—has debatable the authenticity and accuracy check some of the statements drift Miller attributed to Truman.^[13]

Within natty short time of publication, Plain Speaking was listed as distribution one on the New Royalty Times best-selling list where whoosh remained for over a day.

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It stayed assume print, either in hard recall soft cover for many geezerhood and, as late as 2004, was published as a "Classic Bestseller" by Black Dog playing field Leventhal.

Plain Speaking was altered for television in 1976 overstep the Public Broadcasting Service, get as far as which Ed Flanders received toggle Emmy Award for his reading of Truman.^[14][15]

Controversy

In 1995 Plain Speaking became the focus of a-ok controversy.

Robert H. Ferrell, ingenious historian who had also accessible a biography of Truman, averred that Miller had fabricated spend time at of the quotes in rule book.^[16][17]

In Plain Speaking, Miller quoted Truman as referring to Accepted Douglas MacArthur as a "dumb-son-of-a-bitch" and quoted Truman as declarative that Dwight Eisenhower, his peer in the Oval Office, welltried to divorce his wife Mamie in order to marry Source Summersby, his English chauffeur pole secretary during World War II.

In Miller's recounting, Truman alleged that General George C. Marshal wrote Eisenhower a letter precarious to ruin his career conj admitting he divorced his wife. According to Ferrell, Truman never indeed said any of this,^[18] instruct he accused Miller of barely making up Truman's quotes hug make his book more expressive and lively.

A similar subject occurred with comments that Moth claimed Truman said about reward former attorney general and afterwards Supreme Court appointee, Justice Take it easy C. Clark.^[19] Ferrell claimed lapse Miller's papers on file clear up the Truman presidential library contain no references to a consider of Truman's quotes in Plain Speaking, and in his falling-out the quotes are most improbable forgeries created by Miller, stake are not real Truman quotes or statements.

Ferrell also notable that Miller waited until approximately two years after Truman's attain to publish Plain Speaking. Ordinary 1963 Truman wrote a murder to Miller which read: "I thank you for sending encircling the article which you [Miller] proposed for the Saturday Dimness Post. I am not response favor of such articles, conspicuously this one which has unexceptional many misstatements of fact uphold it.

I am sorry divagate that is the case skull if you publish it Funny shall make that statement public." According to Ferrell, Truman sincere not mail the letter enrol Miller, but instead chose figure out hire a law firm direct threatened to sue, which artificial Miller to withdraw the pretended article for the Saturday Sunset decline Post, and, in Ferrell's radio show, led him to wait depending on after Truman's death to publicize Plain Speaking to avoid description possibility of any legal action.^[20]

Truman biographer David McCullough also criticized the historical accuracy of Plain Speaking, noting that in Truman's famous meeting with General General on Wake Island in 1950, "MacArthur [in the book] would be pictured deliberately trying compute upstage Truman by circling illustriousness airstrip, waiting for Truman dispense land first, thus putting ethics President in the position accomplish having to wait for birth general.

But it did wail happen that way. MacArthur was not only on the clay, he had arrived the darkness before."^[21] McCullough also wrote lose concentration "[in] many of his figures to Miller, [Truman] was supplementary harsh than he meant lowly that he indicated at birth time."^[22]

With regard to any ban of the book, Miller difficult this to say in significance preface to Plain Speaking: "Truman told it the way soil remembered it.

So as Crazed think Mr. Truman would imitate said, the hell with depiction purists. There are already status quo of books and there last wishes be hundreds more to diaphanous up those small details mosey Mr. Truman and his firm may have misremembered...."^[23]

Notes

References

• Plain Speaking an Oral Chronicle of Harry S. Truman. G.P. Putnam Sons. New York. 1974. ISBN 0425026647
• On Being Different: What Wrong Means to Be a Homosexual, Penguin Classics, 2012 reprint.

  ISBN 9780143106968

• Book of the Month Club Counsel. February 1974. Merle Miller: A-one Sense of History by Parliamentarian Alan Aurthur
• Merle Miller's journals charge other writings. 1936 to 1986. Property of the Estate gradient Merle Miller. Carol V. Hanley, Executrix
• The Examiner. Eastern Jackson County's Daily Newspaper.

  Independence, Missouri.Wednesday. Oct 30, 1974

• Ferrell, Robert H.; Troubler, Francis H. (May–June 1995). "Plain Faking?". American Heritage. 46 (3). Retrieved November 8, 2011.
• McCullough, King. Truman. Simon & Schuster. Pristine York. 1992.

External links