Printable Biography of David McCullough

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He has been called a "master of the art of narrative history." His books have been praised for their exceptional narrative sweep, their scholarship and insight into American life, and for their literary distinction. John Adams, his most recent work, hit the New York Times bestseller list at number one and has remained on the list for more than a year.

Gordon Wood, writing in the New York Review of Books, said of John Adams, "By far the best biography of Adams ever written...McCullough's special gift as an artist is his ability to recreate past human beings in all their fullness and all their humanity."

Edwin Yoder, in The Washington Post, wrote, "If nations appointed historians laureate, David McCullough would surely be ours."

In the words of the citation accompanying his honorary degree from Yale, "As an historian, he paints with words, giving us pictures of the American people that live, breathe, and above all, confront the fundamental issues of courage, achievement, and moral character."

His books include The Johnstown Flood, The Great Bridge, The Path between the Seas, Mornings on Horseback, Brave Companions, and Truman. As may be said of few writers, none of his books has ever been out of print.

Mr. McCullough is as well twice winner of the prestigious Francis Parkman Prize. For his work overall he has been honored by the National Book Foundation Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award, the National Humanities Medal, the St. Louis Literary Award, the Carl Sandburg Award, and the New York Public Library's Literary Lion Award.

In a crowded, productive career, Mr. McCullough has been an editor, essayist, teacher, lecturer, and familiar presence on public television -- as host of "Smithsonian World," "The American Experience," and narrator of numerous documentaries including "The Civil War" and "Napoleon." He is a past president of the Society of American Historians. He has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has received 31 honorary degrees.

An ardent supporter of libraries, he has served as a trustee for the West Tisbury Public Library and the Boston Public Library. He is also a past trustee of Monticello and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

A gifted speaker, Mr. McCullough has lectured in all parts of the country and abroad, as well as at the White House. He is also one of the few private citizens to speak before a joint session of Congress.

Born in Pittsburgh in 1933, Mr. McCullough was educated there and at Yale, where he was graduated with honors in English literature. He is an avid reader, traveler, and has enjoyed a lifelong interest in art and architecture. He is as well a landscape painter. Mr. McCullough lives in West Tisbury, Massachusetts with his wife Rosalee Barnes McCullough. They have five children and seventeen grandchildren.