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A Diary of the Century: Tales from America's Greatest Diarist
In 1927, a teenager challenged himself and two friends to an unusual test: he dared each of them to start keeping a diary, and they’d see who could keep his the longest. In 1995—long after he’d won the contest (68 years and more than 22 million words later, to be exact—Edward Robb Ellis published this richly entertaining book, drawn from his Guinness World Record-recognized diary.
Press credentials granted the eagle-eyed Ellis a front-row seat to many major events of the 20th century, and he captures them here in a vivid, pictorial style—whether covering politicians like Huey Long, movie stars and performers such as Grace Kelly and Paul Robeson, or history-making news events, including the creation of the United Nations. He recounts his encounter with the legendarily witty Mae West—whose press agent turns out to be feeding lines to her. He chronicles a New Orleans jazz joint in the 30s where he interviews a talented, young trumpeter: Louie Armstrong. He writes of taking long strolls with Harry Truman, and of observing Senator Joseph McCarthy for the first time.
The sparkle in Ellis’s writing comes not solely from his encounters with the rich and famous, but from his attentiveness to, and enjoyment of, everyday life. In Ellis’s own words, this is “not a record of world deeds, mighty achievements, conquests” but “the drama of the unfolding life of one individual, day after day after day.”
In addition to two 16-page photographic inserts, the book contains original caricatures drawn by the author.
Press credentials granted the eagle-eyed Ellis a front-row seat to many major events of the 20th century, and he captures them here in a vivid, pictorial style—whether covering politicians like Huey Long, movie stars and performers such as Grace Kelly and Paul Robeson, or history-making news events, including the creation of the United Nations. He recounts his encounter with the legendarily witty Mae West—whose press agent turns out to be feeding lines to her. He chronicles a New Orleans jazz joint in the 30s where he interviews a talented, young trumpeter: Louie Armstrong. He writes of taking long strolls with Harry Truman, and of observing Senator Joseph McCarthy for the first time.
The sparkle in Ellis’s writing comes not solely from his encounters with the rich and famous, but from his attentiveness to, and enjoyment of, everyday life. In Ellis’s own words, this is “not a record of world deeds, mighty achievements, conquests” but “the drama of the unfolding life of one individual, day after day after day.”
In addition to two 16-page photographic inserts, the book contains original caricatures drawn by the author.
- GenresNonfictionMemoir
624 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 2, 2021
I am so glad that this book fell into my hands!
Edward Ellis is a rare bird, a one of a kind, an old school journalist with a heart and soul of gold. A man of integrity in a profession that is full of temptations.
Ellis began his diary in 1927 at the age of sixteen and kept it til 1995. It became a chronicle of American history as told through the eyes of an individual life. He lived through a great Depression, the World Wars, and Vietnam, the race riots and McCarthyism. His experiences and how history has shaped him (and being a journalist) makes this invaluable as American literature should be. I especially found a quote by Huey Long to be of interest in our present-day "Fascism will come to America in the guise of anti-fascism." (This being said in the 1930s.)
And he was a curious man who was really a great thinker, a philosopher even. His diary should be part of American literature of the 20th Century. He embodies the man that Emerson envisioned that we as Americans must be "Whosever would call himself a Man {or a Woman} must be a non-conformist." Ellis was this man who was a non-conformist, and a man who stood up against racism when those around him were not and who saw through McCarthyism when those around him supported it. He was a man who foresaw the race wars as well and who was for feminism at a time when women were being seen as dependent on men. He listened to his conscience as a journalist and did not merely go after a story for the sake of it--he respected the privacy of those who were suffering (with all of the tragedies that he encountered in his early days). He also went on to interview celebrities and he was a respectful interviewer and one who was always curious and inquisitive and this is what made him such an insightful writer. He became an author of history books and I would love to find all of the books he has written.
Edward Ellis is a rare bird, a one of a kind, an old school journalist with a heart and soul of gold. A man of integrity in a profession that is full of temptations.
Ellis began his diary in 1927 at the age of sixteen and kept it til 1995. It became a chronicle of American history as told through the eyes of an individual life. He lived through a great Depression, the World Wars, and Vietnam, the race riots and McCarthyism. His experiences and how history has shaped him (and being a journalist) makes this invaluable as American literature should be. I especially found a quote by Huey Long to be of interest in our present-day "Fascism will come to America in the guise of anti-fascism." (This being said in the 1930s.)
And he was a curious man who was really a great thinker, a philosopher even. His diary should be part of American literature of the 20th Century. He embodies the man that Emerson envisioned that we as Americans must be "Whosever would call himself a Man {or a Woman} must be a non-conformist." Ellis was this man who was a non-conformist, and a man who stood up against racism when those around him were not and who saw through McCarthyism when those around him supported it. He was a man who foresaw the race wars as well and who was for feminism at a time when women were being seen as dependent on men. He listened to his conscience as a journalist and did not merely go after a story for the sake of it--he respected the privacy of those who were suffering (with all of the tragedies that he encountered in his early days). He also went on to interview celebrities and he was a respectful interviewer and one who was always curious and inquisitive and this is what made him such an insightful writer. He became an author of history books and I would love to find all of the books he has written.
May 19, 2012
Unless I live to be very old, I will have spent most of my life in the 20th century. And now that it's more than a dozen years past, I find myself wanting to understand it. I just read Shirer on the Third Reich and now this history in diary form by a NY reporter. A parade of terrific characters pass through this wonderful diary. Among these is the 20th century's greatest con man--Chicago's Joseph "Yellow Kid" Weil. Some of his cons were so elaborate, he failed to show a profit despite a big haul. Ellis describes him thus:
"At the age of 68 he is of medium height, slender, wears rimless glasses and sports a Van Dyke. When he was in the money, between prison sentences, he dressed in winged collars, colorful cravats held in place by a diamond stickpin, striped trousers, cutaway coat, spats and patent leather shoes. He picked ladies to match his cravats."
In addition to Weil, the sweet Jimmy Durante, the malignant Joe McCarthy, the normal Dr. Seuss, the genuine Harry Truman, and so many more. I think I like Ellis best of all. After a long day covering the crash of an airliner and surveying the carnage scattered across a frozen field on Staten Island, he returns home and to bed. He falls into his wife's arms, thankful for her warmth and her life. There's a real humanity about Ellis. And he was clearly as intrigued by Joseph Mitchell's New Yorkers as I am. Ellis may be our Pepys.
"At the age of 68 he is of medium height, slender, wears rimless glasses and sports a Van Dyke. When he was in the money, between prison sentences, he dressed in winged collars, colorful cravats held in place by a diamond stickpin, striped trousers, cutaway coat, spats and patent leather shoes. He picked ladies to match his cravats."
In addition to Weil, the sweet Jimmy Durante, the malignant Joe McCarthy, the normal Dr. Seuss, the genuine Harry Truman, and so many more. I think I like Ellis best of all. After a long day covering the crash of an airliner and surveying the carnage scattered across a frozen field on Staten Island, he returns home and to bed. He falls into his wife's arms, thankful for her warmth and her life. There's a real humanity about Ellis. And he was clearly as intrigued by Joseph Mitchell's New Yorkers as I am. Ellis may be our Pepys.
December 3, 2010
This book --- which is an abridged version of Edward Robb Ellis' diary (begun as a bet among friends when he was 16 in 1927) --- is FANTASTIC.
Ellis began work as a journalist in the 1930s in New Orleans, "covering Huey Long, Louis Armstrong, as well as the city's hungry workers, and the colorful French Quarter."
Later in the decade, Ellis moved on to Oklahoma City, where he covered stories on "the Depression, dust storms, and [First Lady] Eleanor Roosevelt." Then, he went to work for a newspaper in Peoria at the beginning of the Second World War.
Ever the journeyman journalist, Ellis moved on to Chicago, where he worked as a features writer for the United Press.
Following service in the Navy, Ellis eventually wound up in New York, where he would live and work from 1947 until his death 51 years later.
The best part about this diary is that the reader is not only given entree to Ellis' quest for greater understanding of self and environment, as well as his encounters with some of the notable figures of the last century. But also the reader becomes a witness to the profound changes that took place in American social and cultural norms throughout Ellis' long and remarkable life.
Ellis began work as a journalist in the 1930s in New Orleans, "covering Huey Long, Louis Armstrong, as well as the city's hungry workers, and the colorful French Quarter."
Later in the decade, Ellis moved on to Oklahoma City, where he covered stories on "the Depression, dust storms, and [First Lady] Eleanor Roosevelt." Then, he went to work for a newspaper in Peoria at the beginning of the Second World War.
Ever the journeyman journalist, Ellis moved on to Chicago, where he worked as a features writer for the United Press.
Following service in the Navy, Ellis eventually wound up in New York, where he would live and work from 1947 until his death 51 years later.
The best part about this diary is that the reader is not only given entree to Ellis' quest for greater understanding of self and environment, as well as his encounters with some of the notable figures of the last century. But also the reader becomes a witness to the profound changes that took place in American social and cultural norms throughout Ellis' long and remarkable life.
July 16, 2017
One of the seminal diaries published, Ellis' Diary of the Century is replete with musings, everyday observations, trifles, conjecture, memorable encounters with glitterati of yesteryear and, in short, an immersion into how a life was lived and, more compellingly, how it may gut have been had we lived it. We are reminded that history has not escaped us, that what we experience today has been performed before even if the chords be arranged slightly differently. We are merely a variation of the times. Ellis' magnificent diary is to be read not only because of its plain-spoken eloquence, but because in a way it serves as our sibyl to what we may awake to tomorrow. I've heard it said that if time does not repeat itself, it sure does rhyme. Most certainly true, as these words of the day show.
July 16, 2012
This was one of the most intriguing books I have ever read. This man saw so many changes throughout the 20th century. I highly recommend this book to just about anyone.
January 31, 2024
This was my second reading of Ellis's book, the first coming shortly after its publication, years before Goodreads was even a gleam in any app developer's eyes. As a former newspaper reporter Ellis had an opportunity to interview notable, newsworthy, and run-of-the-mill subjects, all providing good fodder for a diary. But what strikes me most is how unabashedly personal and transparent he is, even though from an early age he wanted his diaries to be made public. Would you want
your
teenage musings published? Brave man.
June 1, 2018
He was a journalist throughout the Depression and into the early 60s. He met many famous people and he paid attention to the big events of life. The diary IS very interesting. I wish I'd met him.
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