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How did you keep him writing when he was busy all of the time?

You can't keep him from writing. He is a born writer-- a pro! He will spend a day on a word. Truman's a perfectionist, in contrast to John O'Hara, who will stop in the middle of a sentence at night and pick up exactly where he left off the next day. John is that kind of a great writer. Truman's the kind who must have the perfect word and will spend a day searching for it. I've known him to do it. When he has a book finished, it is a gem--a polished gem.

There's never any editing, is there?

It never needs any. It's perfect. Of course we'll catch him on a mistake of fact once in a while or some sentence that we think is a little awkward, but Truman is virtually perfect. Oh, he's a joy to handle. He's a professional to his fingertips.

Now let me tell you the story of In Cold Blood. I had lectured at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. I was there for two days. Besides lecturing, I had spent a day with the English classes. I do that sometimes. I became a great friend of the president of Kansas State--a man named James McCain. He succeeded Milton Eisenhower, who had made Kansas State a top university. He really pulled it up to where it's better I think than the University of Kansas today.