Remembering David McCullough

The world lost one of its finest historians when David McCullough passed away on August 7, 2022. Early in his career, McCullough served several years as editor at American Heritage. In January of 1968 McCullough wrote Hal Borland:

“I am writing to ask if you would have time to talk with me about a new series of books which American Heritage will soon begin publishing. . .My hope is that I can interest you in being the author of one of those books, or if not that, to get your advice on subjects which the series might take up, and possible approaches to those subjects. . .Charlton Ogburn, Jr. has written on the geologic history of North America; Ritchie Calder has done the evolution of the machine; and Lee Edson is writing on the solar system and the “new astronomy”. . .The books will run in the neighborhood of 40,000 words and are meant for the intelligent (and interested) layman.”

Borland and McCullough spoke by phone soon after and McCullough suggested a book on birds as a possible subject, while Borland expressed a tentative interest in writing a volume on plants. But four days later Borland wrote McCullough:

“It was good talking to you. I promised to let you know within a week or ten days whether I was prepared to sit down and discuss the proposal in more detail. I now find that I prefer to finish the book I am now working on before I get involved in anything else. That will be June or July, if all goes according to schedule. If you are still interested then, and if the proposal still seems to have possibilities that interest me, perhaps we can get together. Meanwhile, of course, the bird book idea you suggested is yours to do with as you wish, and the plant idea I suggested is mine. . .Actually, my decision would hinge on three basic questions. . .They are, money, editorial leeway and credit, and subsequent control of and rights to the material.”

The two spoke again in the spring of 1969 when Borland agreed to write a 2,000 word article on 18th-century botanists John and William Bartram for American Heritage magazine. McCullough offered a payment of $600, and mentioned Borland was free to go beyond the 2000 word limit if need be. He invited Borland to New York for a visit to talk about possible future projects. Borland responded:

“Not much chance of my being in New York in the foreseeable future. It’s trying to be spring here, and all my senses resent the city anyway. As long as the phone works and the mail gets through I’ll stay here. If you want to come up some fine day, you will be welcome. . .I’ll go along with that $600 this time, knowing damn well it won’t make American Heritage go into bankruptcy. If there is a next time we’ll renegotiate, though.”

Borland delivered his article, The Memorable Bartrams, to American Heritage in late May of 1969, the final draft running 2500 words. McCullough wrote Borland in late July that, “Everyone here likes the piece. The one criticism seems to be that it is too short which, of course, is my fault since you kept it to the length I asked for. So I wonder if you would be willing to add another 500 to 800 words or so for which I could offer a supplementary payment of $200.”

Borland sent a terse response:

“What you suggest, another 500 to 800 words describing a Bartram trip, can be done, of course. It does involve going back to the research, then weaving the new material into the script, a job I think you will agree is not done with the left hand or before mid-morning coffee break. I refuse to haggle over money, but frankly, the $200 additional would only bring the original price up close to the “competitive price” you said you would pay, with nothing left over for the re-do and extra material. What you are doing is changing the assignment after the piece was written one way. As a writer, you know this as well as I do.”

Borland suggested McCullough give him a call and they could work the matter out by phone. The two did talk, but the article remained unpublished for more than five years. The Memorable Bartrams finally appeared in the April 1975 issue of American Heritage, by which time McCullough had moved on and Borland “had almost forgotten that I wrote it.”