 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "J. C. Furnas" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(October 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
J. C. Furnas | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1905-11-24)November 24, 1905 |
| Died | June 3, 2001(2001-06-03) (aged 95) |
| Occupation | Freelance writer |
| Nationality | American |
Joseph Chamberlain Furnas (November 24, 1905 – June 3, 2001)[1] was an Americanfreelance writer.
Furnas is best known for his article, commissioned for theReader's Digest, "---And Sudden Death!" This article brought national attention to the problem ofautomobile safety, and is the most-reprinted article in the Digest's history.
His other works include a trilogy ofsocial histories of theUnited States,The Americans (covering the period 1570-1914),Great Times (covering the period 1914-1929) andStormy Weather: Crosslights on the 1930s (which covers the time between the stock market crash and theattack on Pearl Harbor.)
The Life and Times of the Late Demon Rum purports to be the only "wet" history of thetemperance movement; it covers Temperance from its earliest beginnings late in the eighteenth century up to the passage of theEighteenth Amendment and nationalprohibition. It is a useful work for those who wish to understand the context within which the temperance and prohibition movements operated; Furnas studies these movements' leaders and neither glosses over their virtues nor their shortcomings.
Two of his books,The Road to Harper's Ferry andGoodbye to Uncle Tom, deal withAfrican American issues---The Road to Harper's Ferry is an account ofJohn Brown's raid onHarper's Ferry, which delves into the lives and motivations of the "Secret Six" who gave him a great deal of his support, andGoodbye to Uncle Tom examines howUncle Tom's Cabin, both as anovel and in its manystage adaptations, has shaped American attitudes towards African Americans and slavery.
In addition to these books, he wrote several books dealing with theSouth Pacific, including a biography ofRobert Louis Stevenson, as well as severalnovels.
He is credited with uncovering the truth behind theLillian Hellman short story, "Julia," later made into a movie starring Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave. Hellman claimed the story was a true if veiled account drawn from the life of her childhood friend "Julia," a doctor trained in Vienna as a psychotherapist and an anti-Nazi. In fact, the story was taken from the life of Muriel Gardiner, a friend of J.C. Furnas's wife. He documents the story in his autobiography.
Furnas was born inIndiana on November 24, 1905. He was educated atHarvard University. DuringWorld War II he served as awar correspondent; his age, poor vision andQuaker background all combined to keep him from actual military service.
Furnas died on June 3, 2001, at his home in theStanton section ofReadington Township, New Jersey.[2]
