Angus Cameron (publisher)
Angus Cameron | |
---|---|
Born | Donald Angus Cameron December 25, 1908 Catcher in the Rye, False Witness |
Spouse | Sheila K Cameron |
Children | 2 |
Donald Angus Cameron (December 25, 1908 – November 18, 2002), publicly known by his middle name, was an American book editor and publisher. Cameron scored his first success handling
While editor at Little, Brown, Cameron was responsible for the promotion of then-unknown writer
Following his departure from Little, Brown, Cameron found himself blacklisted from the mainstream publishing industry due to the pervasive climate of McCarthyism. In 1953 Cameron formed his own left wing publishing house, Cameron Associates, later joining forces with radical publisher Albert E. Kahn to launch the publishing house Cameron and Kahn. The blacklisting of Cameron ended only in 1959 when New York publisher Alfred A. Knopf hired him as a senior editor.
Background
Donald Angus Cameron, known as "Angus," was born to a
Following his graduation from high school, Cameron attended
Career
After graduation Cameron worked briefly as a salesman for a soft drink and candy company, discovering an affinity as a
Bobbs-Merrill
Cameron took a job with Indianapolis publisher
Little, Brown
In 1938 Cameron moved to
Cameron was a rising star as an editor at Little, Brown and in 1943 was named the company's editor-in-chief and vice president.[1]
McCarthyism
In 1947 historian
Schlesinger wrote in protest against Cameron to the head of Little, Brown and inspired the American Legion, conservative newspaper columnist George Sokolsky, and the anti-Communist weekly Counterattack to focus upon the editor.[3] Counterattack listed 31 authors from Little, Brown's stable as "fellow travelers" and intimated that the entire publishing house was little more than a "Communist front."[1] The publication's entire August 31, 1951, edition was dedicated to an effort to expose the purported radical sympathies of the firm.[3]
The attack by Counterattack was preceded by public testimony on August 22, 1951, by former
Cameron & Associates
In 1952, finding himself locked out of the mainstream publishing industry for his political sentiments, Cameron established a publishing house of his own, Cameron and Associates. In 1954, the filmmaker,
Cameron and Kahn also published such controversial works as Seeds of Destruction: The Truth About the US Occupation of Germany by
Knopf
As the 1950s came to a close and with the national hysteria about an underground communist conspiracy largely abated, the talented Cameron was no longer considered persona non-grata with the publishing industry. In 1959 he was hired as a senior editor by New York City publisher Alfred A. Knopf.[2]
Cameron tried his own hand at writing, producing the book The Nightwatchers (1972), a work which drew upon his interest in
Through much of his career, Cameron had sought a good biography of Wyatt Earp. During the 1990s, he worked with journalist Casey Tefertiller and wrote the foreword for Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind the Legend. Cameron's advice and insight greatly contributed to the quality of this book.
Personal life and death
Cameron married Sheila K. MacNiven.[5] Their marriage lasted 62 years (until her death in 1998); they had two children.[1]
Cameron died age 93 November 18, 2002, in Charlottesville, Virginia.[2]
Legacy
Cameron's biographer, Jonathan Coleman, is in the process of writing What He Stood For: The Courage and Many Worlds of Angus Cameron.[2]
Cameron left 10 reels of oral history audio tape with Columbia University in New York City, transcribed into 640 pages.[6] The material deals with aspects of Cameron's biography, including his childhood, editorial stints with Bobbs-Merrill and Little, Brown, his appearances before various congressional committees, and anecdotes about various literary figures with whom he dealt during his career, including C. S. Forester, Ogden Nash and Norman Mailer.[6]
Works
- Publisher on Trial, a Symposium: The Case of Alexander Trachtenberg (1952)[7]
- The Nightwatchers (1972)[8]
- The L.L. Bean Game And Fish Cookbook with Judith Jones (1983)[9]
See also
- Bobbs-Merrill Company
- Little, Brown and Company
- Alfred A. Knopf
- Counterattack (newsletter)
- The Joy of Cooking
- Catcher in the Rye
- Jonathan Coleman (author)
References
- ^ a b c d e f Simon, John J. (29 November 2002). "Angus Cameron: Leading US Publisher Who Survived Communist Witchhunt Smears". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Martin, Douglas (23 November 2002). "Angus Cameron, 93, Editor Forced Out in McCarthy Era". New York Times. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f
Deery, Phillip (2014). Red Apple: Communism and McCarthyism in Cold War New York. Empire State Editions/Fordham University Press. pp. 45 (Sokolsky, Counterattack, Spartacus, Budenz), 46 (political activities, resignation). ISBN 9780823253685. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- OCLC 854711000. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^
Cameron, Angus; ISBN 9780394511917. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Reminiscences of Donald Angus Cameron: Oral History". Columbia University Libraries. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- ^ Cameron, Angus (1952). Publisher on Trial, a Symposium: The Case of Alexander Trachtenberg. Committee to Defend Alexander Trachtenberg (University of Michigan). Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- ^ Cameron, Angus; Parnall, Peter (1972). The Nightwatchers. Four Winds Press. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- ^
Cameron, Angus; ISBN 9780394511917. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
Further reading
- Caballero, Raymond. McCarthyism vs. Clinton Jencks (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2019)
- Deery, Phillip (2014). Red Apple: Communism and McCarthyism in Cold War New York. Empire State Editions/Fordham University Press. ISBN 9780823253685. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- Griffin Fariello, Red Scare: Memories of the American Inquisition (New York: W.W. Norton, 1995)
- Ted Morgan, Reds: McCarthyism in Twentieth-Century America (New York: Random House, 2003)