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Edmund Morris, Reagan Biographer Who Upset Conventions, Dies at 79
NYT ^
| 5/27/2019
| David Stout
Posted on 05/27/2019 4:05:16 PM PDT by Borges
Edmund Morris, who wrote an acclaimed biography of Theodore Roosevelt but is best known for his life of Ronald Reagan, in which the author inserted himself as a fictional narrator, a device that baffled and angered some historians, died on Friday in Danbury, Conn. He was 78.
His death, at a hospital following a stroke on Thursday, was confirmed on Monday by his wife, the author Sylvia Jukes Morris. He lived in Kent, Conn.
Mr. Morriss The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt won a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award in 1980. He followed that with two other well-received books on the 26th president, Theodore Rex (2001) and Colonel Roosevelt (2010).
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
TOPICS: Culture/Society; US: Connecticut; US: New York
KEYWORDS: colonelroosevelt; connecticut; danbury; davidstout; edmundmorris; kent; nationalbookaward; newyork; newyorkcity; newyorktimes; obituary; pulitzer; pulitzerprize; ronaldreagan; sylviajukesmorris; theodorerex; theodoreroosevelt
1
posted on
05/27/2019 4:05:16 PM PDT
by
Borges
To: Borges
I don’t think I’d have liked his Reagan biography. I get the sense he didn’t understand the man. “Theodore Rex”, however, was quite good.
2
posted on
05/27/2019 4:09:11 PM PDT
by
Dr. Sivana
(There is no salvation in politics.)
To: Borges
I hate the New York Times. Just read the article about a third of the way through to feel the hatred yourselves.
3
posted on
05/27/2019 4:12:27 PM PDT
by
rockinqsranch
(Dems, Libs, Socialists call 'em what you will they all have fairies livin' in their trees.)
To: LS
fyi in case you get a call to comment == heads up
4
posted on
05/27/2019 4:24:19 PM PDT
by
KC Burke
(If all the world is a stage, I would like to request my lighting be adjusted.)
To: Borges
I read “The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt.”
5
posted on
05/27/2019 4:25:56 PM PDT
by
Tax-chick
(Be like Kendrick, Brendan, and Riley.)
To: Borges
Huh.
Sorry to learn that. I was in general agreement with what he was trying to do with his Reagan biography.
6
posted on
05/27/2019 4:30:06 PM PDT
by
billorites
(freepo ergo sum)
To: Dr. Sivana
\
Reagan chose Edmund Morris as his official biographer—not one of his better appointments. He should have chosen someone like Lee Edwards, who had written an earlier biography of him.
7
posted on
05/27/2019 4:36:03 PM PDT
by
Fiji Hill
To: KC Burke
If you can’t say something nice . . .
I’d talk about what a fantastic job he did on TR.
8
posted on
05/27/2019 4:40:36 PM PDT
by
LS
("Castles made of sand, fall in the sea . . . eventually" (Hendrix))
To: Dr. Sivana
You should probably look at “Reagan: The American President.”
I think you’ll find I understand RR perfectly.
9
posted on
05/27/2019 4:42:25 PM PDT
by
LS
("Castles made of sand, fall in the sea . . . eventually" (Hendrix))
To: Fiji Hill
Or probably better yet, yours truly.
I humbly submit my “Reagan: The American President,” written without “insider access,” beats them all-—cuz I had access of a different sort that even Edwards didn’t have: Reagan’s papers.
10
posted on
05/27/2019 4:43:31 PM PDT
by
LS
("Castles made of sand, fall in the sea . . . eventually" (Hendrix))
To: Dr. Sivana; All
Morris realized after he worked on the Reagan biography he was not dealing with a lightweight and sap the way all his literati friends had convinced him. So his choice was t produce a several volume work akin to his Theodore Roosevelt bio which would show just how important and successful RR was as a leader and political figure. If he did that he would become persona non-grata in the NE Establishment and be denigrated, demeaned and have his career destroyed. Or he could do something else. So he opted to do the something else which was to produce a ridiculous mock biography entitles ‘Dutch’ in which a faux Reagan he called only ‘Dutch’ wondered about for hundreds of pages. Absolutely the weirdest and most worthless supposed bio ever written of a president. But Morris escaped with his career intact. That alone tells a lot about the NE Establishment.
11
posted on
05/27/2019 4:49:43 PM PDT
by
robowombat
(Orthodox)
To: LS
I humbly submit my Reagan: The American President, written without insider access, beats them all-cuz I had access of a different sort that even Edwards didnt have: Reagans papers. I own some of your books and would wholeheartedly agree.
One recent biography I would treat with caution is Reagan: An American Journey by Bob Spitz (New York: Penguin, 2018). As I listened to the audiobook version, I found the research to be occasionally sloppy--for example, Reagan's receiving "CARE packages" in college in the 1920's although CARE (Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe) wasn't founded until 1945. The author's liberal bias also permeated the book. I decided to return it to the library before I was even half way through and in its place, I checked out Paul Johnson's classic Modern Times--which I just finished.
To: Borges
Read all three of the TR books. Great writing.
13
posted on
05/27/2019 5:51:12 PM PDT
by
Sans-Culotte
(If it weren't for fake hate crimes, there would be no hate crimes at all.)
To: Borges
Morris approached Reagan with a posture of condescending arrogance. He called Reagan an amiable dunce but later admitted he totally was unable to come to understand the Man. That is why he used a phoney and mendacious artifice in his so-called biography.
I read it, it sucks. RIP, Morris you loser.
14
posted on
05/27/2019 6:52:57 PM PDT
by
hinckley buzzard
(Power is more often surrendered than seized.)
To: Borges
15
posted on
05/28/2019 12:57:10 AM PDT
by
fieldmarshaldj
(Who will think of the gerbils ? Just say no to Buttgiggity !)
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