Stephen E. Ambrose | |
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 Ambrose in August 2001 | |
| Born | Stephen Edward Ambrose (1936-01-10)January 10, 1936 Lovington, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | October 13, 2002(2002-10-13) (aged 66) Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, U.S. |
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| Education | University of Wisconsin–Madison (BA,PhD) Louisiana State University (MA) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5, includingHugh Ambrose[1] |
Stephen Edward Ambrose (January 10, 1936 – October 13, 2002) was an American historian, academic, and author, most noted for his books onWorld War II and his biographies of U.S. presidentsDwight D. Eisenhower andRichard Nixon. He was a longtime professor of history at theUniversity of New Orleans and the author of many bestselling volumes of Americanpopular history.
In 2002, several instances of plagiarism were discovered in his books. In 2010, after his death, Ambrose was found to have fabricated interviews and events in his biographies of Eisenhower.
Ambrose was born January 10, 1936,[2] inLovington, Illinois,[3] to Rosepha Trippe Ambrose and Stephen Hedges Ambrose. His father was a physician who served in theU.S. Navy duringWorld War II. Ambrose was raised inWhitewater, Wisconsin,[4] where he graduated fromWhitewater High School. His family also owned a farm inLovington, Illinois, and vacation property inMarinette County, Wisconsin.[5][6] He attended college at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison, where he was a member ofChi Psi fraternity and played on the University of Wisconsin football team for three years.[7]
Ambrose planned to major in pre-medicine, but changed his major to history after hearing the first lecture in a U.S. history class entitled "Representative Americans" in his sophomore year. The course was taught byWilliam B. Hesseltine, whom Ambrose credits with fundamentally shaping his writing and igniting his interest in history.[8] While at Wisconsin, Ambrose was a member of the Navy and ArmyROTC. He graduated with a B.A. in 1957. Ambrose received a master's degree in history fromLouisiana State University in 1958, studying underT. Harry Williams.[8] Ambrose then went on to earn a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1963, under William B. Hesseltine.[8][9]
Ambrose was a history professor from 1960 until his retirement in 1995. From 1971 onward, he was a member of the University of New Orleans faculty, where he was named the Boyd Professor of History in 1989, an honor given only to faculty who attain "national or international distinction for outstanding teaching, research, or other creative achievement".[9][10] During the 1969–1970 academic year, he was theErnest J. King Professor of Maritime History at theNaval War College. While teaching atKansas State University as the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of War and Peace during the 1970–1971 academic year, Ambrose participated in heckling of Richard Nixon during a speech the president gave on the KSU campus. Given pressure from the KSU administration and having job offers elsewhere, upon finishing out the year Ambrose offered to leave and the offer was accepted.[11][12] His opposition to the Vietnam War[13] stood in contrast to his research on "presidents and the military at a time when such topics were increasingly regarded by his colleagues as old fashioned and conservative."[14] Ambrose also taught atLouisiana State University (assistant professor of history; 1960–1964) andJohns Hopkins University (associate professor of history; 1964–1969). He held visiting posts atRutgers University, theUniversity of California, Berkeley, and a number of European schools, includingUniversity College Dublin, where he taught as the Mary Ball Washington Professor of American History.[8][15]
He founded the Eisenhower Center at the University of New Orleans in 1989 with, "The mission of the Eisenhower Center is the study of the causes, conduct, and consequences of American national security policy and the use of force as an instrument of policy in the twentieth century."[16] He served as its director until 1994.[17] The center's first efforts, which Ambrose initiated, involved the collection of oral histories from World War II veterans about their experiences, particularly any participation in D-Day. By the time of publication of Ambrose'sD-Day, June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II, in 1994, the center had collected more than 1,200 oral histories.[18] Ambrose donated $150,000 to the Center in 1998 to foster additional efforts to collect oral histories from World War II veterans.[19]
Ambrose's earliest works concerned theAmerican Civil War. He wrote biographies of the generalsEmory Upton andHenry Halleck, the first of which was based on his dissertation.[20]
Early in his career, Ambrose was mentored byWorld War II historianForrest Pogue.[21][22] In 1964, Ambrose took a position atJohns Hopkins as the Associate Editor of theEisenhower Papers, a project aimed at organizing, cataloging and publishing Eisenhower's principal papers. From this work and discussions with Eisenhower emerged an article critical ofCornelius Ryan'sThe Last Battle, which had depicted Eisenhower as politically naîve, when at the end of World War II he allowed Soviet forces to take Berlin, thus shaping theCold War that followed.[23] Ambrose expanded this into a book,Eisenhower and Berlin, 1945: The Decision to Halt at the Elbe (1967).[24] Ambrose was aided in the book's writing by comments and notes provided by Eisenhower, who read a draft of the book.[24]
In 1964, Ambrose was commissioned to write the official biography of the former president and five-star generalDwight D. Eisenhower.[24] This resulted in a book on Eisenhower's war years,The Supreme Commander (1970), and a two-volume full biography (published in 1983 and 1984), which are considered "the standard" on the subject.[25] Regarding the first volume, Gordon Harrison, writing forThe New York Times, proclaimed, "It is Mr. Ambrose's special triumph that he has been able to fight through the memoranda, the directives, plans, reports, and official self-serving pieties of the World War II establishment to uncover the idiosyncratic people at its center."[26] Ambrose also wrote a three-volume biography ofRichard Nixon. Although Ambrose was a strong critic of Nixon, the biography was considered fair and just regardingNixon's presidency.[27][28]
A visit to a reunion ofEasy Company veterans in 1988 prompted Ambrose to collect their stories, turning them intoBand of Brothers, E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne: From Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest (1992).D-Day (1994), built upon additional oral histories, presented the battle from the view points of individual soldiers and became his first best seller. A reviewer for theJournal of Military History commendedD-Day as the "most comprehensive discussion" of the sea, air, and land operations that coalesced on that day.[29]Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, writing forThe New York Times, proclaimed that "Reading this history, you can understand why for so many of its participants, despite all the death surrounding them, life revealed itself in that moment at that place."[30] Ambrose'sCitizen Soldiers, which describes battles fought in northwest Europe from D-Day through the end of the war in Europe, utilized, again, extensive oral histories.Citizen Soldiers became a best seller, appearing on theNew York Times best sellers lists for both hardcover and paperback editions in the same week. During the same week, in September 1998,D-Day andUndaunted Courage, Ambrose's 1996 book onMeriwether Lewis and the Corps of Discovery, appeared on the best seller list, also.[31] He also wroteThe Victors (1998), a distillation of material from other books detailing Eisenhower's wartime experiences and connections to the common soldier, andThe Wild Blue, that looks at World War II aviation largely through the experiences ofGeorge McGovern, who commanded aB-24 crew that flew numerous missions over Germany. His other major works includeUndaunted Courage about theLewis and Clark Expedition andNothing Like It in the World about the construction of thePacific Railroad. His final book,This Vast Land, a historical novel about the Lewis & Clark expedition written for young readers, was published posthumously in 2003.
Ambrose's most popular single work wasUndaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West (1996), which stayed on theNew York Times best seller list for a combined, hardcover and paperback, 126 weeks.[32] Ambrose consolidated research on theCorps of Discovery's expedition conducted in the previous thirty years and "synthesized it skillfully to enrich our understanding and appreciation of this grand epic", according toAlvin M. Josephy, Jr., who reviewed the book forThe New York Times.[33]Ken Burns, who produced and directed aPBS documentary on Lewis & Clark declared that Ambrose "takes one of the great, but also one of the most superficially considered, stories in American history and breathes fresh life into it."[34]
In addition to 27 self-authored books, Ambrose co-authored, edited, and contributed to many more and was a frequent contributor to magazines such asAmerican Heritage.[35] He, also, reviewed the works of other historians in theJournal of Southern History,Military Affairs,American Historical Review,The Journal of American History, andForeign Affairs. He served as a contributing editor toMHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History, also.[36]
Ambrose featured in the 1973-74ITV television series,The World at War, which detailed the history of World War II.
He served as the historical consultant for the movieSaving Private Ryan.[37]Tom Hanks, who starred in the movie, said he "pored overD-Day" andBand of Brothers in researching his role.[38] Hanks also credited Ambrose's books with providing extensive detail, particularly regarding D-Day landings.[39]
TheHBO mini-series,Band of Brothers (2001), for which he was an executive producer, helped sustain the fresh interest in World War II that had been stimulated by the 50th anniversary ofD-Day in 1994 and the 60th anniversary in 2004.[37] Ambrose served as executive producer forPrice for Peace, a documentary concerning the war in the Pacific theater during World War II, and forMoments of Truth, a TV documentary containing interviews with World War II veterans.[40]
In addition, Ambrose served as a commentator forLewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, a documentary byKen Burns.[37] He provided commentary in 20 made-for-TV documentaries, covering diverse topics, such as World War II, Lewis & Clark, and America's prominence in the 20th century.[40] He also appeared as a guest on numerous TV programs or stations, includingThe Charlie Rose Show,C-Span programming,[41]CNN programming,NBC'sToday Show,CNBC'sHardball,[36] and various programming onThe History Channel and theNational Geographic Channel.[37] Ambrose's association withNational Geographic stemmed, in part, from his designation as an Explorer-in-Residence by the Society.[37]
In addition to his academic work and publishing, Ambrose operated a historical tour business, acting as a tour guide to European locales of World War II.[20] Also, he served on the board of directors for American Rivers and was a member of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council.[42]
Ambrose's work for the Eisenhower Center, specifically his work with D-Day veterans, inspired him to co-found the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans with another historian and UNO professorGordon H. "Nick" Mueller. Ambrose initiated fundraising by donating $500,000.[43] "He dreamt of a museum that reflected his deep regard for our nation's citizen soldiers, the workers on the Home Front and the sacrifices and hardships they endured to achieve victory."[44] He secured large contributions from the federal government, state of Louisiana, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and many smaller donations from former students, who answered a plea made by Ambrose in theNew Orleans Times-Picayune.[45] In 2003, Congress designated the museum as "America'sNational World War II Museum," acknowledging an expanded scope and mission for the museum. "The Stephen E. Ambrose Memorial Fund continues to support the development of the museum's Center for Study of the American Spirit, its educational programs and oral history and publication initiatives."[44]
In 1997, Ambrose received theSt. Louis Literary Award from theSaint Louis University Library Associates.[46][47] In 1998, he received theNational Humanities Medal.[4] In 1998, he was awarded theSamuel Eliot Morison Prize for lifetime achievement given by theSociety for Military History.[48] In 1998, he received the Golden Plate Award of theAmerican Academy of Achievement.[49] In 2000, Ambrose received theDepartment of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the highest honorary award theDepartment of Defense offers to civilians.[37] In 2001, he was awarded theTheodore Roosevelt Medal for Distinguished Service from theTheodore Roosevelt Association.[50] Ambrose won anEmmy as one of the producers for the mini-seriesBand of Brothers.[37] Ambrose also received theGeorge Marshall Award, theAbraham Lincoln Literary Award, theBob Hope Award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, and theWill Rogers Memorial Award.[37]
Upon Ambrose's death, U.S.Sen.Mary Landrieu of Louisiana offered a resolution in the Senate, which received unanimous consent, saluting the "excellence of Stephen Ambrose at capturing the greatness of the American spirit in words."[51]
| External videos | |
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 Memorial Service for Ambrose at the National D-Day Museum, October 19, 2002,C-SPAN |
He married his first wife, Judith Dorlester, in 1957, and they had two children, Stephenie and Barry. Judith died in 1965, when Ambrose was 29. Ambrose married his second wife, Moira Buckley (1939–2009), in 1967 and adopted her three children, Andrew, Grace, andHugh. Moira was an active assistant in his writing and academic projects. After retiring, he maintained homes inHelena, Montana, andBay St. Louis, Mississippi.[20][52] A longtime smoker, he was diagnosed withlung cancer in April 2002. His health deteriorated rapidly, and seven months after the diagnosis, he died at the age of 66.George McGovern, the primary focus of Ambrose'sWild Blue said, "He probably reached more readers than any other historian in our national history."[4]
Ambrose donated $500,000, half the amount needed, to the University of Wisconsin, to endow a chair in the name of William B. Hesseltine, Ambrose's mentor. The chair's position would focus on the teaching ofAmerican military history. When the chair became fully endowed, after Ambrose's death, it was renamed the Ambrose-Hesseltine Chair.[53]
The Ambrose Professor of History title was established at theUniversity of New Orleans after his death. The position is reserved for amilitary historian.[54]
Each year theRutgers University Living History Society awards the Stephen E. Ambrose Oral History Award to "an author or artist who has made significant use of oral history." Past winners includeTom Brokaw,Steven Spielberg,Studs Terkel,Michael Beschloss, andKen Burns.[55]
In 2002, Ambrose was accused of plagiarizing several passages in his bookThe Wild Blue.[56][57]Fred Barnes reported inThe Weekly Standard that Ambrose had taken passages fromWings of Morning: The Story of the Last American Bomber Shot Down over Germany in World War II, byThomas Childers, a history professor at theUniversity of Pennsylvania.[58] Ambrose had footnoted sources, but had not enclosed in quotation marks numerous passages from Childers's book.[57][59]
Ambrose asserted that only a few sentences in all his numerous books were the work of other authors. He offered this defense:
I tell stories. I don't discuss my documents. I discuss the story. It almost gets to the point where, how much is the reader going to take? I am not writing a Ph.D. dissertation.I wish I had put the quotation marks in, but I didn't. I am not out there stealing other people's writings. If I am writing up a passage and it is a story I want to tell and this story fits and a part of it is from other people's writing, I just type it up that way and put it in a footnote. I just want to know where the hell it came from.[57]
AForbes investigation of his work found cases of plagiarism involving passages in at least six books, with a similar pattern going back to his doctoral dissertation.[60] TheHistory News Network lists seven of Ambrose's more than 69 works—The Wild Blue,Undaunted Courage,Nothing Like It In the World,Nixon: Ruin and Recovery,Citizen Soldiers,The Supreme Commander, andCrazy Horse and Custer—contained content from twelve authors without appropriate attribution from Ambrose.[59]
A front-page article published inThe Sacramento Bee on January 1, 2001, entitled "Area Historians Rail Against Inaccuracies in Book",[61] listed more than sixty instances identified as "significant errors, misstatements, and made-up quotes" inNothing Like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad, 1863–1869, Ambrose'snon-academic popular history about the construction of thePacific Railroad betweenCouncil Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska, and theSan Francisco Bay atAlameda/Oakland viaSacramento, California, which was published in August 2000. The discrepancies were documented in a detailed"fact-checking" paper compiled in December 2000 by three Western US railroad historians who are also experienced researchers, consultants, and collectors specializing in the Pacific Railroad and related topics.[59][62][63]
On January 11, 2001,Washington Post columnistLloyd Grove reported in his columnThe Reliable Source that a co-worker had found a "serious historical error" in the same book that "a chastened Ambrose" promised to correct in future editions.[64] A number of journal reviews also sharply criticized the research and fact checking in the book. Reviewer Walter Nugent observed that it contained "annoying slips" such as mislabeled maps, inaccurate dates, geographical errors, and misidentifiedword origins,[65] while railroad historian Don L. Hofsommer agreed that the book "confuses facts" and that "The research might best be characterized as 'once over lightly'."[66]
In the introduction to Ambrose's biography of Eisenhower, he claims that the former president approached him after having read his previous biography of the American generalHenry Halleck,but Tim Rives, Deputy Director of theEisenhower Presidential Center, says it was Ambrose who contacted Eisenhower and suggested the project,[41][67] as shown by a letter from Ambrose found in theDwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum.[68] In his response, Eisenhower stated that "the confidence I have derived from your work by reading your two books—especially the one on Halleck—give reasons why I should be ready to help out so far as I can."[24][69] The Halleck biography "still sits on a shelf" at theEisenhower National Historic Site in Gettysburg.[24]
After Eisenhower's death in 1969, Ambrose made repeated claims to have had a unique and extraordinarily close relationship with him over the final five years of the former President's life. In an extensive 1998 interview, before a group of high school students, Ambrose stated that he spent "a lot of time with Ike, really a lot, hundreds and hundreds of hours." Ambrose claimed he interviewed Eisenhower on a wide range of subjects, and that he had been with him "on a daily basis for a couple years" before his death "doing interviews and talking about his life."[11] The former president's diary and telephone records show that the pair met only three times, for a total of less than five hours.[24][41] Rives has stated that interview dates Ambrose cites in his 1970 book,The Supreme Commander, cannot be reconciled with Eisenhower's personal schedule, but Rives discovered, upon further investigation, a "hidden" relationship between the two men. Eisenhower enlisted Ambrose in his efforts to preserve his legacy and counteract criticisms of his presidency, particularly those charging that Eisenhower's actions at the end of World War II produced the Cold War. Ambrose wrote a review and book supporting the former general, with Eisenhower providing direction and comments during the process. Rives could not square the questionable interview dates cited by Ambrose in later works, but uncovered a relationship with Eisenhower that was "too complicated" to be described by Ambrose's critics.[24]
In his 2015 bookThe President and the Apprentice: Eisenhower and Nixon, 1952–1961, Irwin F. Gellman wrote that "while some Eisenhower scholars questioned Ambrose's research after [his] book's publication, the enormity of his falsifications was not revealed until after his death. Ambrose lied about his relationship with Eisenhower" and that "Ambrose also manufactured events that never took place".[70] HistorianDavid Greenberg stated in 2015 that Ambrose's "wanton acts of plagiarism and the posthumous revelation that he fabricated interviews with Dwight Eisenhower have rendered his work unusable".[71]
... historian Stephen Ambrose in 1936
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