John GuntherBesprekingen

Deeply moving, true story relates a father's recollection of his son's courageous and spirited battle against the brain tumor that would take his life at the age of seventeen.½

Inspiring book of author's son who dies from cancer yet graduates from high school and completes other goals while suffering.

Gut-heartwrenchingly moving. I tried reading this years ago but couldn't get into the way Gunther told the story––too erudite for me at the time. I guess I've matured because I rolled through this in one day. I couldn't put it down. I was intrigued by the 1940s dialogue and history and medicine capability at that time, but I was thoroughly enchanted with Johnny and his heroic quest just to live. The reminder of how precious life is sometimes can sound so trite, but put forth in this memoir of a 17-year-old who had the zen of life to end each day with "What a great day, Mom"––even if his brain had just been opened up again for drainage––brought me to my knees. When I'm having a bad day, I will think of this young, brave man and try to follow his example every day of my life.

950 – Hist. Geral da Ásia, Oriente, Extremo Leste

Classic series of essays on John Gunter's reporting across the United States in 1946. A little bit of everything.

This is an older book targeted to an upper-elementary reading level. Although the topic was complex, the narrative was easy to follow. Both Alexander's strengths and weaknesses were acknowledged, as well as the stark contrasts between his behavior at different points throughout his life. However, what may have been an effort to make Alexander easier to understand ended up being somewhat stylistically jarring. The author often made sweeping generalizations ("like all" and "of course") and occasionally drew comparisons to other historical figures and events, which a young reader may not be familiar with yet. Despite its faults, it was still an interesting read.

Excerpts from the book:

"Alexander's end was that of a man who, for good reasons or bad, had conquered almost the entire world, but who had never been able to conquer himself. The conquest of self is the greatest victory of all, but Alexander, even when he was at the height of his power, had never been able to achieve it." (p 170)

"There are plenty of black marks to be placed against Alexander, and the list of his cruelties is long. But he was certainly, beyond doubt, one of the most extraordinary young men who ever lived. Whether or not he actually thought in terms of a world state, of the unity of all mankind as brothers under a single government, hardly matters. What does matter that, whether he planned it that way or not, he did more to unify the known world than any human being who had ever lived." (p 176-177)

This book is one of those conceits where someone died, so someone close to the deceased decided that having some heart-wrenching emotional experience based on that and the close connection to the person had two effects:

1. It made the subject of the tale (the deceased person) more special than millions of other people who've died of the same tragic thing.

2. It made the survivor into a first-rate author.

In this case, the experience had neither of these effects, so far as I could tell. The major effects it did have from what I've seen, however, are also two in number:

1. It led to this book being inflicted on a bunch of kids in middle school, much to the detriment of their potential love of learning.

2. It gave me the catalyst needed to learn to stop reading a book that sucks. Before that, I always read a book to the end, no matter how bad it was.

Having quit reading a book assigned in school about halfway through, just because it was so awful, you might think it negatively affected my grade. The thing was so ploddingly predictable, though, that I just BSed my way through the quizzes and essay question tests on the book and got an A on all relevant class materials. I don't recommend it.

A virtual "Who is Who" in Asia, from Tel Aviv to Tokyo, on the eve of WW2. Gunther introduces the history and national characteristics of each nation, together with the biographies of their statesmen, politicians and war lords. Full of details and anecdotes, this is a superb accomplishment.

A short chapter on the Dutch East Indies, pg. 322.

Death Be Not Proud chronicles Johnny Gunther's gallant struggle against the malignant brain tumor that killed him at the age of seventeen. The book opens with his father's fond, vivid portrait of his son - a young man of extraordinary intellectual promise, who excelled at physics, math, and chess, but was also an active, good-hearted, and fun-loving kid. But the heart of the book is a description of the agonized months during which Gunther and his former wife Frances try everything in their power to halt the spread of Johnny's cancer and to make him as happy and comfortable as possible. In the last months of his life, Johnny strove hard to complete his high school studies. The scene of his graduation ceremony from Deerfield Academy is one of the most powerful - and heartbreaking - in the entire book. Johnny maintained his courage, wit and quiet friendliness up to the end of his life. He died on June 30, 1947, less than a month after graduating from Deerfield.

I originally read this book as a high school junior and it made a significant impact on my life. I experienced a family member's death dearly in my childhood, and while it was not a pediatric death, I felt everything that Johnny Gunther felt. As a future nurse, I also paid attention to how he described the care he received. I have never forgotten this book.

Alexander the Great was one of the greatest conquers in the world. When he was a little boy conquering was all that he thought of. Even as a boy he proved to be very special, he tamed a wild horse when he realized that the horse was scared of its own shadow. He rode it every, even when the horse was weak and old. Alexander's father was tired of Alexander's mother, so he married someone else. The mother was extremely mad. Alexander loved both his mom and his dad, but his mother turned Alexander against his father. Later on he was eventually murdered by one of his own men and Alexander became king.
When he was an adult he left home and conquered almost all of Europe, India, and some of Asia. He never returned home. At Asia he was injured badly, only two of his men were with him and they were on their way home. His army lost its motivation, they've been away for so long that they wanted to go home and not fight any more. He lost a lot of his friends and he just turned cruel and mad. One night he ended up drinking too much and got sick. He got better, ate meat, and got worse. He kept going back and forth until he eventually died. At his last few breaths he claimed he wanted to be born at the strongest of his cities.

Cancer and the death of a child are never easy topics. However, I found John Gunther and his son to be too much. Yes it was unfair that he had a brain tumor and died, but so much of life is unfair. The father just couldn't seem to believe that tragedy should happen to them.½

brain tumor. died at 17, father's memoir of the son, extraordinary orientation towards 'the other' in this boy

Zambia

My favorite topic, death. John writes about the death of his 17 year old son from a brain tumor in 1947. (They still have no treatment for this and it is usually deadly within a year). The interesting part of this book for me is the formal language spoken and how different we treat cancer patients today. To not tell their son he had a fatal brain tumor seems unethical. But they "kept it from him" even though he apparently was somewhat aware and chose to put on a happy face for his parents. (IE: they are both lying to each other). They try everything to save him, including the Gerson diet. But when death was imminent they brought him to the hospital, even though it really wasn't a choice at the time.

John Gunther, a journalist, wrote this book about his teenaged son Johnny's battle with a brain tumor and his ultimate death. Gunther writes without sentimentality about his son's intelligence and kindness, and how throughout his 15-month battle with cancer he maintained a determination to continue his studies, pursued the path toward healing set down by his doctors, and impressed all those in whom in came in contact with his determination and remarkable attitude. The genuine goodness of this very young man makes his ultimate death the more heartbreaking. Gunther also presents a wonderful picture of the relationship Johnny has with his mother, Gunther's ex-wife. The conversations between mother and son are remarkable and it seems clear he learned much of his equanimity from her. I recommend this book to anyone.

Cancer sucks. And, arguably, cancer in 1946 & 47 sucked even more.
I'm curious to know now what the survival rate for the cancer that killed Johnny in 1947 is today.

A touching book to remind us to love always 💞½

Something of an historical "drive-by-shooting" but nevertheless a valuable artefact. Gunther does not hesitate to discuss the "Negro problem" as it relates to each geographic area. He is balanced in his praise and criticism of the country and has an overall optimistic point of view, which he should have as we then possessed the only undamaged industrial base in the world. Better dive into your geography of interest than to try to swallow this one whole.

z5a1

A well-written tear- jerker. I read this as a teen and at that time really liked it. I wonder if I would now.

A well-written tear- jerker. I read this as a teen and at that time really liked it. I wonder if I would now.

A well-written tear- jerker. I read this as a teen and at that time really liked it. I wonder if I would now.

This memoir about death is full of life.½

Seguendo un suggerimento trovato su BrainPickings l'ho trovato, usato, in GB. Letto in inglese solo per esercizio, dopo un poco è faticoso. Sono arenato a meta', e non voglio andare avanti. Perche' so gia' che sara' sempre peggio, e non dipendera' dall'ignoranza della lingua.