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Gordon Sinclair: A Life...And Then Some
Rok: 1988
ISBN: 9780345359582
OKCZID: 110302413
Citace (dle ČSN ISO 690):
YOUNG, Scott. Gordon Sinclair: a life ... and then some. 1st Ballantine Books ed. Toronto: Ballantine Books, 1988. vi, 275 s., [8] s. příloh.
Anotace
150 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW Gordon Sinclair: A Life... andThenSome. SCOTT YOUNG. Toronto:Macmillan 1987 . Pp.vi,275,illus.$•9.95 Inthecourse ofaperipatetic career, GordonAllanSinclair interviewed Hitler, Gandhi,and Mao Tse-tung;swamthe Gangesin India; rode with hobosin England; watched cannibals in Guinea;unearthedbodiesin Pakistan; described naturaldisasters, religiousrituals,and human tragedies. A restless spirit, heseemed toknoweveryone, goeverywhere, anddoeverything. Couldtherebeastory Sinclair missed since theCreation? To believe Sinclair, probably not.Hepursued news andmadenews. Hediscovered earlythelimits ofpublic credulity andspentalifetimechallenging them. Hisshameless self-promotion notwithstanding, Sinclair wasagreat journalist . In pith helmetand jodhpurs, revolveron hip, he wasan unlikely adventurer with an instinct for the sensational. He was the first Canadian celebrity, andtobea celebrity anda Canadian in the logoswassomething special. Coarse, ornery,andvainglorious, Sinclair wastheantithesis of hiscountry. Perhaps thatwas whyhewas popular intheUnitedStates; incharacter, hewas more American than Canadian. He knew what would make him famous and wealthy, andexploited it withoutapology. Begrudge himnothissuccesses. FromthetimeSinclair landed ajob onthe Toronto Starin •922,hewasa naturalnewshound. Newspapers werearough and tumble business,full of sodden characters who loved the chasemore than thetruth.Sinclair found a home,and stayedwiththe Startwenty-two years. It was there, in the heat of the circulation wars, that Sinclair earned his reputation.By the early 193oshe was roving the world, sendingback spine-tingling accounts. On one particularlyeventfulday, for example,he tangled witha cobra, losthiscamera in quicksand, andsuffered sunstroke. He spenttenyearsglobe-trotting and hisdispatches broughthim a fame unknown in Canada. The titlesof hisbooks- Loose Among the Devils', Cannibal Quest, Footloose in India - soundlike fiction,recallingthe popularboy's adventure series of theday. It istheseexploits whichgivethisbiographytautness andverve.Here we haveSinclairchattingwith Hitler, just monthsbefore the ftihrer roseto prominence; Sinclairlooking,but not buying,in the brothelsof Vienna; Sinclair attheearthquake inQuetta.The worldspills breathlessly fromthepen oftheskinny kidfromToronto.The readerslovedit; thousands wouldseehim off and welcomehim home. He worked hard to be the innocentabroad ('the birdyouthink! am'),although innocent hewasnot. Thetrouble withSinclair's stories istheywerenotalways true.Hiswasmore the journalism ofthenarcissist thantheiconoclast. He wastheproductof the Age of Hyperbole,when entertainmentmattered more than reportage. Newspapers woulddoanything togetthestory,evenif thatmeantmaking it REVIEWS lgl up. TheStar itself encouraged thedeception: in1935, after firing Sinclair, the papersaidhehadvisited thirty-eight countries andtravelled 16o,ooo miles. Whenhewasrehireda fewweeks later,neverhaving leftToronto, hehad visited seventy-three countries andtravelled 34o,ooo miles. A littleprevarication hereandthereembellished thelegend, butdidnot make Sinclair a fraud.Hiseyefordetail, hisbreeziness, andhistenacity brought himsuccess where others would stumble. Hewould beastar reporter today - if,that is, aneditor inthe198os would hire someone with agrade eight education. Hehadwhatmattered: anatural curiosity anddrive, which Robert Fulfordaptlycalls 'thatrushingsense of wonder.' In hiswell-etched portrait,Scott Youngchronicles Sinclair's lifeasnewspaperman, radiocommentator, andtelevision panelist. Muchof thisisnot new; Sinclair hadalready confessed agreatdealinhistwoautobiographies. ButYoungtellsusmore,andit isnotveryflattering. Sinclairwasan unfaithful husband,an abusivefather, a mercurial friend. Hismarriage was unhappy (heonce said hehadnotkissed hiswifetwenty times in fifty years),andhischildrenwereestranged. His onlydaughter diedat twelve,a tragedyfrom which Sinclairnever recovered.He found sexual gratification throughlifelongaffairs,oneof themwiththefalnilybabysitter, butnotreallove.Whenhediedin •984 attheageof eighty-three, hewas a forlorn,pitiablefiguretorturedbydepression andalcoholism. At thesametime,therewasmuchtolikeaboutSinclair. He was refreshingly candid, particularly onreligion,which hedidnotlike,andonmoney andsex, which hedid.Hispolitics seemed tohavenoideology; hewasforbilingualism butagainst liberalimmigration. He couldadmirePierreTrudeauandRichard Nixon.He drovearoundTorontoinaRolls Royce, dressed inbowties andloud sportjackets, looking'likea number•7 pizza.'He hadlittleeducation, and opinions onsubjects heneverheardof. Young,whohaswrittenthirty-fivebooks, retells allthiswithlittleembroideryandtryingsentimentality . Butcredit himfordrawing aportrait oftheold curmudgeon withathoroughness themanwould admire andacompassion he wouldnot always deserve. ANDREW COHEN Toronto Champlain.joE c.w.ARMSTROSO. Toronto: MacMillan •987 .Pp.xviii, 3•8,illus. $•ø9.95 Biography isanexacting discipline which requires keen critical abilities anda solidunderstanding of the periodin question. The author,whilebeing necessarily sympathetic tothe'hero,' must remain sufficiently detached toput events in perspective andbeableto evaluate opposing views. Retelling a well-known story adds theadditional problem offinding newandoriginal detailsthat will make the exerciseworthwhile.Unfortunately this latest ...
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