Death Be Not Proud (Perennial Classics) (ISBN 0060929898)

Less Impressive Than I Had Expected:
A journalist and occasional novelist, John J. Gunther (1901-1970)was best known for the series of geo-political books he wrote during the 1930s and 1940s; today, however, he is best recalled for DEATH BE NOT PROUD. Published in 1949 and subtitled "A Memoir," it is a short work describing the final months of son Johnny Gunther, who died of a cancerous brain tumor in the late 1940s. Over the years many people have recommended this book to me, describing it as poetic in style, deeply touching in story, philosophical in content. Having at last read the work, I find the descriptions of it largely inaccurate and myself sharply unimpressed. To hear his father tell it, Johnny Gunther was an entity without flaw, a seventeen year old who was charming in his shyness, brilliant beyond his years, corresponding with Einstein even as he bemoaned his lack of skill at sports, the perfect child, a paragon beyond paragons who endured great suffering with a smile. While I can easily accept the brilliance and integrity and strength of character--such people do exist--the portrait quickly becomes cloying; Gunther elevates Johnny to the level of plaster saint and it is tiresome in the extreme. Gunther's prose is not in the least poetic; it is in fact the workman-like writing of the journalist he was. As for philosophical tone, this seems to consist of asking the time-honored questions about life and death and little more. In the end, DEATH BE NOT PROUD is the emotional purging of a grief-stricken parent who considers his loss to be unique instead of universal and therefore lacks the scope that one would really wish of this sort of memoir. Recommended, but primarily for the details it offers of the way in which cancer patients were treated in this era. GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Shared pain....:
My Mom had me read this old classic when I was about 10, only the book was not all that "old" then. I've reread it several times, and introduced my two kids to it at a young age, though certainly not at 10. This is WAY too heavy for the average youngster; fortunately, I've got pretty good reading ability. John Gunther was a well-known author and journalist of the 1930's thru the 60's, famous for his "Inside" books; in April, 1946, his only child, Johnny, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor....he lived 15 months, most of it miserable, with small doses of hope thrown in. Gunther and his ex-wife, Frances, joined forces and did all that could have been done. This is the story of Johnny's courage and determination. No child is as great as Gunther paints his son, but a father can be forgiven. The events surrounding Johnny's high school graduation somehow make the fight worth it. That Johnny fought without the comforts of religious faith is, of course, tragic...still, he fought. An excellent picture is given of cancer treatment in the late 1940's, with introduction to Wilder Penfield, and other grand master neurosurgeons of the day. Chemotherapy was in its very infancy; diagnostic imaging was far different, and often brutal, with CAT scans and the MRI far in the future. We get to meet Max Gerson, and his controversial diet; I believe it's still in use. Cancer treatment is much different now, and the results for many types of tumors much better, but one irony is that the prognosis of glioblastoma multiforme is essentially what it was 60 years ago. And radiation therapy and neurosurgery are still rough. My Mom was right about one thing; this book is still around long after John Gunther's other work is dated, and forgotten. A father shared his grief...I forgive him his excesses, and still recommend the book.

I was in the Barnes and Noble on Broadway and couldn't find "Death Be Not Proud.":
I was in the Barnes and Noble on Broadway and couldn't find "Death Be Not Proud." I was looking in the biography section and needless to say I was surprised on not finding it. I called an older clerk over and he looked too. He knew the book and he knew Johnny's story. He, too, was shocked. We went to the computer and found out that it was classified as Biography, but as "Literature." That started a conversation between the clerk and me. I told him that I just got back from Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, NY and seen Johnny's grave. I wanted to buy a copy of the book as a remembrance. He took a break and we had an interesting and thoughtful conversation about it. More than a biography, more than a piece of literature, Death Be Not Proud is a celebration of life which is also a celebration of one particular life. The book is written by Johnny's Dad and tells the story of the last year of Johnny's after he developed a brain tumor. The humanity and decency of his parents, his doctors, but mostly, Johnny comes through on every page. I was reading a critique by someone who thought that the book was pablum and a failure. They just don't get it. Johnny the whole time he is dying is keeping everyone else's spirits up. There can be no greater act of selflessness, than cheering up those who love you while you fight the good fight, even when you know that you aren't going to win. I think Johnny knew he was dying from the beginning and he dealt with it by "filling the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run." A few weeks before he died, Johnny received notification that he had been accepted by Harvard. Over a year of suffering but he still attain his greatest goal. Johnny Gunther was a man and, to me, "a man for all seasons." I know that it is highly unlikely, but I wish everyone who faced death had a father, brother, sister, mother or friend like Johnny's Dad. Thanks to John Gunther Sr., Johnny will live forever. And that is only right.

Stirring Tribute to a Son:
Death Be Not Proud is a memoir of the brief and profound life of John Gunther, Jr, written by his father, noted journalist and author John Gunther. It is discovered that John Jr - Johnny - has a malignant brain tumor at just 16 years old. He and his parents learn all they can, wrestle with the medical community, try alternative procedures, fight with all their might, but most importantly, they continue to LIVE, until the tumor finally claims Johnny's life just one year later. I enjoyed learning about the surprising personality of Johnny. For a teenager, he was remarkably intelligent and aware. His father sings his praises so poignantly, almost as if Johnny were an angel in flesh. I loved the story about Johnny writing to Albert Einstein, and about Einstein's response! There were moments when I wondered at the reality of the portrait John Sr paints of his son and how he and his parents handled the illness. There is an almost too-perfect quality to their steadfastness and their courage. I have never been in the position of losing a child to a horrible illness, but I guess that I would not always handle things with such grace. As their story continues, though, John Sr concedes that things occasionally got "messy," that there were complaints and regrets and "why me"s. That only made them more human to me. At the end of the book, after Johnny's death, John Sr gives Johnny's mother her chance to speak. What she writes is so totally heartbreaking, and beautiful at the same time. She says that if there were anything she could have changed, she would have LOVED JOHNNY MORE. She says that of course they loved him, and that he knew it, but she would have loved him even more. She exhorted parents with children still living to LOVE THEIR CHILDREN MORE. Of course children can cause exhaustion and sometimes exacerbation, but despite any trouble, we have the privilege of a living child, and we ought to love them more.

A Timeless Memoir:
This is the second time I've read Death Be Not Proud and it hasn't lost its poignancy. It is a timeless narrative that reflects Gunther's sense of loss, but at the same time, his sense of wonder in his son's ability to cope with his illness. When Johnny is diagnosed at age 16 with a brain tumor, Gunther and his ex-wife explore every possibility to make their son well. It was especially interesting to see the way this type of ailment was treated sixty years ago and the medical community's view of cancer. One aspect that I had conflicting emotions about was Gunther's decision to not tell Johnny that he was dying of a brain tumor. At times, Johnny was led to believe that he was going to be cured and that he would have his whole life ahead of him. I don't know if that was the right approach, but then again, not telling Johnny he was dying preserved his optimism and motivation. This is such a compelling memoir that anyone who has encountered loss can relate to.