john adams the pulitzer prize winning biography david mccullough

He graduated with honors in English literature in 1955. He said: 'Once I discovered the endless fascination of doing the research and of doing the writing, I knew I had found what I wanted to do in my life.' While attending Yale, McCullough studied Arts and earned his bachelor's degree in English, with the intention of becoming a fiction writer or playwright. He served apprenticeships at Time, Life, the United States Information Agency, and American Heritage, where he enjoyed research. While at Yale, he became a member of Skull and Bones. Wilder, said McCullough, taught him that a competent writer maintains 'an air of freedom' in the storyline, so that a reader will not anticipate the outcome, even if the book is non-fiction. McCullough occasionally ate lunch with the Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist and playwright Thornton Wilder. He said that it was a 'privilege' to study English at Yale because of faculty members such as John O'Hara, John Hersey, Robert Penn Warren, and Brendan Gill. In 1951, McCullough began attending Yale University. McCullough 'loved school, every day' he contemplated many career choices, ranging from architect, actor, painter, writer, to lawyer, and considered attending medical school for a time.

His parents often talked about history, a topic he said should be discussed more often. McCullough's parents and his grandmother, who read to him often, introduced him to books at an early age.

One of four sons, McCullough had a 'marvelous' childhood with a wide range of interests, including sports and drawing cartoons. He was educated at Linden Avenue Grade School and Shady Side Academy, in his hometown of Pittsburgh. He was of Scots-Irish, German, and English descent. McCullough was born in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Ruth (née Rankin 1899 – 1985) and Christian Hax McCullough (1899 – 1989). McCullough's two Pulitzer Prize-winning books- Truman and John Adams-were adapted by HBO into a TV film and a miniseries, respectively. McCullough also narrated numerous documentaries, such as The Civil War by Ken Burns, as well as the 2003 film Seabiscuit, and he hosted the PBS television documentary series American Experience for twelve years. Truman, John Adams, Theodore Roosevelt, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Panama Canal, and the Wright brothers. His first book was The Johnstown Flood (1968), and he wrote nine more on such topics as Harry S. īorn and raised in Pittsburgh, McCullough earned a degree in English literature from Yale University. In 2006, he was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian award. He was a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. David Gaub McCullough ( / m ə ˈ k ʌ l ə/ J– August 7, 2022) was an American popular historian.

John adams the pulitzer prize winning biography david mccullough