Talk:David McCullough

Narration
I'm not a writer -- would love mention of his narration skills (most notably The Civil War on PBS). Anybody up to it? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Samwisebruce (talk • contribs).

Quite facile, from what I've heard. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Annusmirabilis (talk • contribs) 17:21, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

HBO Miniseries
I just found out, per a poster in the U.S. Post Office, that HBO will air a 7-part miniseries based on David McCullough's book, "John Adams," beginning Sunday, March 16, 2008 at 2000 (8 P.M.) HBO: John Adams Pooua (talk) 02:34, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

Time Inc. career
David McCullough began his career at TIME Inc. in a way well-trod by others before him: working at FYI, the in-house organ announcing promotions and career moves. These two clips show the function of the old FYI within the company:. FYI used to be the training ground for new recruits to the company. Regards,MarmadukePercy (talk) 16:51, 20 April 2008 (UTC)

Re-write
I am currently doing a re-write in my sandbox anyone and everyone is welcome to help. If there is something that you would like to see included, but don't want to write out please leave a note on my talk page. Thank You!  Black  ngold29   01:03, 21 April 2008 (UTC)
 * My overhaul of his life is complete. Next I am moving onto the awards section and a writing style section. Both can be found in my sandbox, all help is welcome. Thank you.  Black  ngold29   05:49, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Introduction Revision
It appears that the current introduction to DMcC's article lavishes more praise on its subject than would be warranted by any reputable encyclopedia. In the interest of saving wikipedia from this pernicious trend of substituting hagiography for biography, I propose tempering some of these overly congratulatory remarks with other more sobering facts about the man. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bosfeld (talk • contribs) 21:16, 3 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I felt that an important part of his life was that he has recieved high praise for basically everything he has written. There has been some critisism, but it was very few and far between. The intro should serve as partially say to why he's notable; which is because he is such a high praised author. I won't take offense to any praise that is removed, but I would not like anyone to remove it, simply for the sake of removing it.  Black  ngold29   21:48, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Certainly McCullough's success as an author is one of the primary sources of his notability with respect to the general public. However, he is also remarkable for the fact that he stands as a controversial figure to many historians for reasons largely stemming from this public notoriety. The manner in which he presents historical fact to lay readers evidently has touched off a great debate amongst historians and educators over issues concerning writing for the public. Also his publicly recognized position as a 'celebrity historian' along with Doris Kearns Goodwin and the late Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. has continued to be a cause for concern for historians for professional reasons and for the fact that he disavowals ever having been an actual historian. Although I believe mentioning at length his career as a writer, including the accolades he's received because of it, is important for introductory purposes, I also believe that we would be remiss in ignoring this ambivalent position he holds as a 'historian'. Bosfeld —Preceding comment was added at 00:50, 4 May 2008 (UTC)


 * McCullough does not consider himself as a historian, merely an author who writes about history; I forget the interview he said that in but it's out there somewhere. I have no problem with adding these controveries (it would actually be good as far as being fair complete coverage goes) as long as they come from good sources.  Black  ngold29   05:45, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

Fair points have been made here, but keep one thing in mind: it is not about what we think of McCullough, or even what he thinks of himself. Rather, it is about what reliable, third-party sources say about him. faithless  (speak)  06:28, 4 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I have re-written the inro, toning down the awards mentioned. Thanks.  Black  ngold29   21:54, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Does the name David Manning ring a bell? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Quillikins34 (talk • contribs) 23:31, 15 June 2008 (UTC)
 * So you're suggesting David McCullough doesn't exist? Thank you for proving how laughable all of this jealous hatred towards McCullough really is. faithless   (speak)  21:25, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

Respectively Respectfully, I believe that the gentleman surely was not suggesting that David McCullough is a figment of PBS's imagination. Rather, he was referring to an earlier controversy explored on this page that has been since deleted to the detriment of all. The issue at the time involved the trustworthiness of so-called "reliable" third-party sources. The gentleman apparently was calling attention to the fact that the process of naming such acceptable reference sources can be quite arbitrary at times. Rhetorically, David Manning was invoked as an extreme example of this phenomenon. In this case, we have a fictional person whose statements went unquestioned for quite some time simply because he had borne the exalted title of 'movie critic'. We should seriously consider the question of who gets to decide who is "reliable" and who isn't. Follow the leader and we might all be citing David Manning. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cryptdin (talk • contribs) 02:38, 28 June & 04:32, 2 July 2008 (UTC) Unsigned revision noted --Jerzy•t 23:32, 8 July 2008 (UTC)

Well, now that you think of it, why is he never seen outside of PBS? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Annusmirabilis (talk • contribs) 04:15, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

Did you ever consider the possibility that he might be needed on hand in case of an emergency pledge drive? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cryptdin (talk • contribs) 04:32, 2 July 2008 }

Now, that's freaky! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Incitatus46 (talk • contribs) 17:09, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

Suggestion for improving sentences regarding Mornings on Horseback
I don't feel competent enough to edit this piece but perhaps some McCullough expert will agree with my suggestion.

The piece states ". . .seventeen years in the life of the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt.[25] The work, ranging from 1869 to 1886, beginning when Roosevelt was ten years of age. . "

I believe it's too confining to state that the book covers TR's life starting at age ten since McCullough spends several initial chapters devoted solely to TR's parents, grandparents and, indeed, a great deal of the history of his ancestors. TR is constantly mentioned in these early chapters as a baby and very young boy.

69.120.24.164 (talk) 00:52, 3 January 2009 (UTC)Joseph Holliday, 1/2/09

I agree. I haven't finished Mornings on Horseback, so I don't feel adequate in editing it. Felicity ~ Remember the Ladies! (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 01:32, 3 January 2009 (UTC).

Minor error
The piece now contains this statement: "In 1951, McCullough began attending classes at Yale University. He believed that it was a 'privilege' to study English at Yale due to the staff, which included John O'Hara, John Hersey, Robert Penn Warren, and Brendan Gill." All those named were on the Yale faculty (or were teaching at Yale as guest lecturers) at that point except for Hersey, a Yale graduate, who didn't begin teaching at the university until 1965. MarmadukePercy (talk) 18:16, 18 January 2010 (UTC)

Copyright problem
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Lincoln assassination
Didn't he narrate a TV documentary on the Lincoln assassination? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.255.160.162 (talk) 01:53, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

b-day
Today's McCullough's 80. His info box still says 79. 67.247.136.248 (talk) 22:24, 7 July 2013 (UTC)

republican? What's McCullough's party affiliation? 74.69.9.224 (talk) 18:01, 4 July 2014 (UTC)
 * The article addressed his political affiliation by noting McCullough as a registered independent, which includes a citation to a New York Times article that has a direct quote from McCullough asserting the same.Writethisway (talk) 19:33, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

You Are Not Special
The man in the speech doesn't look like the David Mc Cullough this article talks about. 86.45.226.161 (talk) 00:09, 29 June 2015 (UTC)
 * If you are referring to the image captioned: McCullough speaking at Vassar College in 2008, it is him.Writethisway (talk) 14:52, 2 September 2020 (UTC)

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Author website in infobox
Although David McCullough doesn't seem to have his own website, there is a Simon and Schuster page devoted to him./ https://www.simonandschusterpublishing.com/davidmccullough/ Do editors on this page feel this would be appropriate to include as an author's website in an infobox?Writethisway (talk) 17:07, 3 September 2020 (UTC)