Home
Search transcripts:    Advanced Search
Notable New     Yorkers
Select     Notable New Yorker

Andrew HeiskellAndrew Heiskell
Photo Gallery
Transcript

Session:         Page of 824

Heiskell:

It was LIFE's. No.

Q:

Okay. I'm going to mention some specific--let's talk about the product of LIFE now. Some of the specific things, and I want you to tell me your recollections, anything that would be interesting.

Heiskell:

Yes.

Q:

Let's talk about Churchill. The memoirs. Go ahead.

Heiskell:

Oh! Well, immediately after the war, Luce had approached Churchill about writing for us. And it was rather indefinite at the beginning. I remember his reporting back to us and saying, well, yes, he'd seen Churchill and he thought he had gotten him to agree to write. And than it would be, no, he hadn't gotten him to agree to write. And I think several years went by, during which time he tried to interest Churchill in doing a history of World War II. Finally, he got him to agree in principle to it for a price of--I think it was around a million. He had an agent who was an extraordinary character--Reeves--only man who ever sold the same article to the New York Times twice--about Churchill in the 1930s. He was Churchill's agent when Churchill really needed one, namely when he was very poor. He was one of these wild Hungarians. And he had sold book rights at the same time to Houghton Mifflin in Boston. Then we decided that we would share the burden with the New York Times, and made a deal with them whereby they would have paid--I think it was $350,000 and





© 2006 Columbia University Libraries | Oral History Research Office | Rights and Permissions | Help