Billy Graham: The Personal Story Of The Man, His Message And His Mission
(This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
Stanley Hoflund High was an American writer and editor. He wrote articles on Asia for Travel magazine, Literary Digest; and served as one of Roosevelt's top four speechwriters and as executive director of the Good Neighbor League.
Background
Stanley Hoflund High was born on December 30, 1895 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. He was the son of the Reverend Frank Albert High and Julia Hoflund.
High described his father as "a hard-working, small-town preacher who seldom wore a long coat and never a long face but who believed devoutly that he was called of God to help men and women to a more abundant life. "
High spent his boyhood in a number of small Nebraska and Wyoming towns where his father served.
Education
High graduated from high school in Douglas, Wyoming, in 1913 and then entered Nebraska Wesleyan University, in Lincoln, Nebr. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1917. In 1920, he entered the Boston University School of Theology, from which he received an S. T. B. in 1923.
Career
High worked briefly as a correspondent for Wyoming newspapers before being commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army. He was an aviator in World War I. In 1919 he served with the Relief and Reconstruction of Europe Commission and later that year went to China with an education study commission for the Methodist Mission to China.
The career that High was beginning during this period was described in 1932 by the Christian Century as that of "a sort of Christian war correspondent, going to and fro over the earth wherever the fighting was fiercest--not necessarily the actual clash of arms but the conflict of cultures and the struggles of faith. " In 1921 and 1922 High wrote articles on Asia for Travel magazine and published his first book, China's Place in the Sun (1922). He also joined the staff of the Christian Science Monitor as a special correspondent, writing on Europe and the Soviet Union. Working closely with the Epworth League, a Methodist youth group, High organized conferences and activities of student religious groups.
His second book, The Revolt of Youth (1923), dealt with the struggles and aspirations of youth around the world, one of his chief concerns in the 1920s. The book was dedicated to Frank Mason North, corresponding secretary and later secretary-counsel of the Methodist Episcopal Board of Foreign Missions, which High joined as assistant secretary in 1924.
He accompanied North on several trips throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia. These trips and his other earlier overseas work for the Monitor supplied him with material for Europe Turns the Corner (1925) and numerous magazine articles on international affairs for such journals as Outlook, the Christian Century, Methodist Review, Nation, and Asia. He also lectured frequently on international affairs. High was described by a New York Times writer in 1927 as a leading "voice of the younger generation in the Prohibition movement. " His was a moderate voice, calling for the "Drys" to make a reasoned case for their cause to youth and the general public without damning all who drank. His association with Dry leader Daniel A. Poling led in 1928 to his becoming a member of the staff of Poling's Christian Herald, first as an associate editor, then as editor. He resigned in June 1931 (though he continued for many years as a contributing editor) to start a Dry daily newspaper in New York City. It was to be a general newspaper, not a propaganda sheet, that would give full coverage to world news and have a progressive editorial line while also devoting more space than existing papers to news of interest to Prohibitionists. The effort failed and High moved on to other work.
From 1932 to 1935 he worked in radio as a current events lecturer specializing in religion news and comment for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). Although never ordained, he often served as a lay minister and guest speaker. One of his appearances was in 1932 at the First Congregational Church in Stamford, Connecticut, which was without a pastor. Urged to remain as the church's pastor, High did for more than two years. He was also active in later years in various committees of the National Council of Churches.
Meanwhile, his magazine career continued. A regular contributor to Literary Digest in 1933 and 1934, he did a series of eight articles for the magazine in 1933 on events in Hitler's Germany, following a trip there. In 1935 he became an unofficial adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In February 1936, NBC was asked by the president to release High from his duties as manager of talks so he could work in Roosevelt's reelection campaign. He served as one of Roosevelt's top four speechwriters and as executive director of the Good Neighbor League, an organization financed by the Democrats to attract and organize independent voters.
High's departure from the White House staff and Roosevelt's favor was announced by the White House in February 1937 after the Saturday Evening Post declared that High's article "Whose Party Is It?" would appear in its February 6 issue. Its billing of him as "one of the President's close advisors, " along with the nature of the article's disclosures of White House plans to purge the Democratic party, displeased the president. "Unfortunately, " Rosenman wrote later, "Stanley was a professional writer and could not resist the temptation to write for publication on current public affairs. .. So after what I thought was too short a stay, Stanley was withdrawn from that group. " Later that year, High published a series of articles on the Roosevelt presidency in Harper's, which described him in its column on contributors as "a friendly but detached critic" of the president. These were expanded into a book, Roosevelt - and Then? (1937).
Reader's Digest, for whom he had regularly written since 1936, appointed him roving editor in June 1941 and senior editor in May 1952. He wrote almost exclusively for the Digest until his death, covering domestic politics, international affairs, and religion. In 1954, he met evangelist Billy Graham while on assignment for Reader's Digest. Two years and several articles later, his biography of Graham was published. He died in New York City.
Although High had supported Herbert Hoover in the 1932 presidential election, he began in 1934 to support the New Deal.
He was identified variously as "Apostle for the New Deal" and the "Democrats' St. Paul" because of his religious background and his past Republican activity.
In 1940, High supported Wendell Willkie for president. He was also active in 1944 and 1948 in Thomas Dewey's presidential campaigns and in 1952 was an adviser and speechwriter for Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Personality
Samuel Rosenman, with whom High worked on drafting the Democratic platform and Roosevelt's acceptance speech, described him as "an excellent writer and a very congenial collaborator (who) had a happy facility of expression and phrasemaking. "
Connections
On June 8, 1923, High married Dorothy Brown Cutler; they had three children.