Captured by History: One Man's Vision of Our Tumultuous Century

At age 84, Pulitzer Prize-winning (for Infamy: The Rising Sun ) historian John Toland reveals in his autobiography how he was able to access and capture the essence of so many key players and events of the 20th century: e.g. interviewing the emperor of Japan, Hitler's inner circle, and secret Chinese contacts regarding the Korean and Vietnam Wars. All these achievements from a man who begins his story: "I was what the world would term a failure until I was forty-two." But revealingly, he continues: "But I did not regard myself as a failure; I learned from every mistake as best as I could." Toland also credits his early playwriting experience for his highly readable dramatic exposition of history. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.