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Arthur Edmund Morris

アーサー・エドマンド・モリス

Aasuā Edomundo Morisu

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1940-05-27 （Nairobi, Kenya Colony）
Died
2019-05-24 （Danbury, Connecticut, U.S.） age 78
Nationality
South African, American
Languages
English
Residence History
New York City, U.S. → Kent, Connecticut, U.S.

Career

Occupations
Writer, Biographer, Journalist
Active Years
1961-2019

Education

Rhodes University (Grahamstown)
Music, Art and Literature
Period: 1950年代–1961
Country: South Africa
Dropped out in 1961. Later worked in advertising and developed copywriting skills.

Awards

Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography
1980
Work: The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
Category: 伝記・自伝
Organization: Pulitzer Prize
Result: 受賞
National Book Award (Biography)
1980
Work: The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
Category: 伝記
Organization: National Book Award
Result: 受賞
Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Biography)
2001
Work: Theodore Rex
Category: 伝記
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt

1979 Biography

A comprehensive biography tracing Theodore Roosevelt from his youth to his rise to the presidency; first volume of a trilogy.

American historyPresidencyPersonal development

Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan

1999 Biography (experimental narrative)

A biography of Ronald Reagan notable for its experimental device of introducing a fictionalized author-narrator, which provoked controversy.

LeadershipTheatricalityBoundaries of biography

Theodore Rex

2001 Biography

Second volume covering Roosevelt's presidency (1901–1909), noted for its straightforward narrative.

Governance and policyLeadership

Beethoven: The Universal Composer

2005 Short biography

A concise biography aiming to convey the essence of Beethoven in plain prose.

MusicCreativity

Colonel Roosevelt

2010 Biography

Final volume of the Roosevelt trilogy; regarded as a strong contribution to modern biography.

LegacyHistorical assessment

This Living Hand and Other Essays

2012 Essays

An autobiographical collection of essays on literature, music, and the presidency.

MemoirCultural criticism

Edison

2019 Biography

A biography of Thomas Edison, published late in Morris's career.

InventionModernization

Bibliography

  • The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (1979)
  • Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan (1999)
  • Theodore Rex (2001)
  • Beethoven: The Universal Composer (2005)
  • Colonel Roosevelt (2010)
  • This Living Hand and Other Essays (2012)
  • Edison (2019)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Lively narrative voiceOccasionally experimental narration (notably in Dutch)Detail-oriented, archival research-based prose
Recurring Motifs
Theatricality and performanceAnalysis of leadershipPrecise reconstruction of historical context

Health

  • Stroke
    2019
    Suffered a stroke in 2019 which led to his death that year.

Legacy

Made significant contributions to presidential biography, winning the 1980 Pulitzer for The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. Dutch (1999) sparked debate about biographical method. His Theodore Roosevelt research archive was placed at Dickinson State University.

Archives

  • Dickinson State University (Theodore Roosevelt research collection, 151 boxes)

Quotes

  • He was truly one of the strangest men who's ever lived. Nobody around him understood him.
    Source: CBS '60 Minutes' interview (with Lesley Stahl) (2004)

Trivia

  • Born in Nairobi to South African parents.
  • Won the Pulitzer Prize for The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (1979/awarded 1980).
  • Dutch (1999) provoked controversy by presenting an invented narrator within a nonfiction biography.
  • Married fellow biographer Sylvia Jukes Morris in 1966.