Death Be Not Proud | Death Be Not Proud

At a glance:

Author: John Gunther
First Published: 1949
Time of Work: 1945–1947
Setting: New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut
Principal Characters: Johnny Gunther, John Gunther, Frances Gunther, Connie Traeger, Max Gerson, Lester Mount
Genres: Nonfiction, Autobiography, Diary
Subjects: Parents and children, Teenagers, Authors or writers, Autobiography, Cancer, Fathers, Death or dying, Sick persons, Terminal illness or terminally ill, Biography
Locales: Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts

John Gunther took the title of Death Be Not Proud: A Memoir from a sonnet by British poet John Donne, from which he quotes at the beginning of the book: “Death be not proud, though some have called thee/ Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so.” This poem is an appropriate introduction to Gunther’s account of his son’s illness and death, for the book focuses not on death itself but on the triumph of human valor against the ultimately overwhelming forces of fate. Gunther follows the poem with a foreword that paints a picture of Johnny before his...

Death Be Not Proud | Death Be Not Proud

At a glance:

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