The Pulitzer Diaries

Download or read book The Pulitzer Diaries written by John Hohenberg and published by Syracuse University Press. This book was released on 1997-03-01 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Those curious about the inner workings of the Pulitzer Prize committee will find many, if not all, of their questions answered in John Hohenberg's memoir, The Pulitzer Diaries. Hohenberg, a journalism professor at Columbia University at the time of his appointment to the Pulitzer board in 1954, kept careful records of his 22 years as administrator of the prizes. These detail not only matters pertaining to the Pulitzers, but also the author's private life and his attitudes toward various world events. The clashes and compromises of the Pulitzer committee, however, are the heart of the book, which goes a long way toward explaining the story behind many controversial choices. Hohenberg reveals why Duke Ellington never won a Pulitzer and why David Halberstam did. He offers his opinion on the controversy surrounding the authorship of Profiles in Courage and admits to the board's somewhat spotty record where music and literature are concerned. The Pulitzer Diaries is about more than just prizes, of course; it opens a window on the changing American society of the 1950s, '60s, and '70s.