W. A. Swanberg

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
William A. Swanberg, ca. 1980

William Andrew Swanberg (November 23, 1907 in

Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for his 1972 biography of Henry Luce,[3] and the National Book Award in 1977 for his 1976 biography of Norman Thomas.[4]

Background

Swanberg was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1907, and earned his B.A. at the University of Minnesota in 1930.[5]

With grudging and only partial help from his father, who wanted his son to be a cabinet maker like himself, Swanberg earned his degree.

Career

Upon graduation, he found employment as a journalist with such local daily newspapers as the St. Paul Daily News and the

Midwest
to marry his college sweetheart Dorothy Green, and bring her to New York. He soon began to climb the editorial ladder at Dell, and by 1939 he was doing well enough to buy a house in Connecticut.

When the United States entered

V-1 and V-2 attacks, he prepared and edited pamphlets to be air-dropped behind enemy lines in France and later in Norway.[6]
With the end of the war he returned in October 1945 to Dell and the publishing world.

Swanberg did not return to magazine editing but instead did freelance work within and without Dell. By 1953, he began carving out time for researching his first book (Sickles), which

Scribner's purchased, beginning a long-term association. Swanberg's early hopes of newspaper work never materialized, but by the mid-1950s he had established himself as scholarly biographer. His efforts proved to be labor-intensive and required up to four years apiece, even when assisted by the research and transcription efforts of his wife Dorothy. Upon turning 80 in 1987, Swanberg attempted one last biography, about William Eugene “Pussyfoot” Johnson (1862–1945).[7] He was at work on that project when he succumbed to heart failure at his typewriter in Southbury, Connecticut
on September 17, 1992.

Rejection for Pulitzer Prize

Swanberg's 1961 book Citizen Hearst: A Biography of William Randolph Hearst was recommended for a

Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography by the advisory board but rejected by the trustees of Columbia University, apparently because they thought that Hearst was not dignified enough to be the subject of the award. It was the first time in 46 years that the trustees rejected a recommendation from the advisory board, and the news caused sales to soar.[1]

Awards

Legacy

Swanberg's papers are archived at Columbia University.

Works

In a statistical overview derived from writings by and about William Andrew Swanberg, OCLC/WorldCat [clarification needed] encompasses roughly 30+ works in 100+ publications in 5 languages and 16,000+ library holdings.[8]

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

References

  1. ^ a b www.nytimes.com
  2. ^ a b Hohenberg, John. The Pulitzer Diaries: Inside America's Greatest Prize. 1997. p. 109.
  3. ^ a b "Biography or Autobiography". Past winners and finalists by category. The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  4. ^ a b "National Book Awards – 1977". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  5. ISBN 0810345129
    . Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  6. ^ Nakamura 1991, p. 264
  7. ^ Nakamura 1991, p. 277
  8. ^ WorldCat Identities: Swanberg, W. A. 1907-
  9. ^ Hill Jr., L. Gordon (October 1958). "Review of First Blood: The Story of Ft. Sumter by W. A. Swanberg". Military Review. 38 (7): 112.

External links

  • W. A. Swanberg Papers Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=W._A._Swanberg&oldid=1084137298"