Inside U.S.A. (book)
Inside U.S.A. is a
Development of the book
Inside U.S.A. was the fourth in a series of highly successful "Inside" books written by Gunther. The series began in 1936 with Inside Europe, based on Gunther's experience as a journalist in Europe and described as "a cross between reportage and armchair travel literature."[1] The book sold over 500,000 copies. It was followed by Inside Asia in 1939 and Inside Latin America in 1941.[1][2]
Gunther started to plan Inside U.S.A. as early as 1936, when his idea was to create a two-part book, with the first part focused on the power structure of
Gunther's journey took him to more than 300 communities in all 48 states, including 38 of the 43 U.S. cities that had populations greater than 200,000.
An external event that did slow the process of writing the book was the fatal illness of Gunther's teenage son Johnny. In April 1946, Johnny was found to have a
Inside U.S.A. grew much longer than originally planned, which presented a problem because paper was in short supply in the postwar period. When published in May 1946, it totaled 979 pages. The first U.S. printing run was more than 500,000 copies, including 35,000 copies for the book's British publishing house, Hamish Hamilton, which was unable to obtain enough paper to print the book in England.[12]
Content
The book is divided into 52 chapters, organized by geography. Its geographical structure begins in
Regarding government and politics, Gunther described
Reception
Inside U.S.A. was the
Follow-on works
The book inspired and gave its name to a 1948 Broadway musical revue, Inside U.S.A., that was very loosely based on the book.[19]
Gunther intended to write a companion book, to be titled Inside Washington, focused on the nation-scale problems, personalities, and institutions of the U.S. He never completed the second book, because of the amount that would be required and because he could not decide how best to coordinate the publication timing with the quadrennial cycle of presidential elections. A revised edition of Inside U.S.A. was released in 1951.
In the 1960s, writer
References
- ^ a b Quarles, Philip (October 10, 2012). "Annotations: The NEH Preservation Project: John Gunther, Author of 'Inside' Travel Guides, Offers Glimpse of African Continent, 1955". WNYC.
- ^ a b "Guide to the John Gunther Papers 1935–1967". University of Chicago Library. 2006. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
- ISBN 978-0929387703.
- ^ ISBN 9780759232884.
- ^ The Atlantic Monthly. 279 (4): 113–118.
- ISBN 9780759232884.
- ISBN 9780759232884.
- ^ a b Gunther, John (1947). Inside U.S.A. p. xiii.
- ISBN 9780759232884.
- ISBN 9780759232884.
- ISBN 9780759232884.
- ISBN 9780759232884.
- ^ Gunther, John (1947). Inside U.S.A. p. 4.
- ^ a b c Gunther, John (1947). Inside U.S.A.. p. 910.
- ^ a b Lakin, Matt (May 27, 2012). "'Ugliest city' insult prompts beautification efforts in Knoxville". Knoxville News Sentinel.
- ^ Gunther, John (1947). Inside U.S.A. pp. 18–21.
- ISBN 9780759232884.
- ^ Immerwahr, Daniel. "The Books of the Century: 1940–1949". Retrieved April 18, 2013.
- ISBN 9780759232884.
- ^ "Inside U.S.A." The New Press. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
- ISBN 9780393053494.
External links
- Inside USA at Open Library
- Inside USA at the Internet Archive