Historian McCullough: Hometown Pittsburgh 'one of the best cities'
Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian David McCullough said Tuesday that he's often thought about writing a book about his native Pittsburgh, and might. References to the city appear in several of his works.
“People will say to me that I managed to work Pittsburgh into my books. I don't ‘work in' Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is a major part of American history,” said McCullough, who's scheduled to speak Wednesday in Heinz Hall. “My book on the Wright brothers, for example — their first plane worked because they built a motor cut from aluminum. That aluminum block was from Pittsburgh from the Aluminum Co. of America.”
McCullough, 81, grew up in Point Breeze and splits his time between Martha's Vineyard and Boston. He's often on the go, and this stretch he is no different, speaking in five cities in the past two weeks. McCullough was preparing for a speech in St. Louis on Tuesday.
“I love coming back to Pittsburgh because I'm coming home. My admiration and pride in the city are always reinforced by coming back. I think it's one of the best cities in the country. The street I grew up on still looks the same. That's rare.”
McCullough said he plans to focus his talk, part of the Pittsburgh Speaker Series, on the importance of teaching history and about his book, “The Wright Brothers,” scheduled to be released in May.
The historian said he's worried that too many colleges are eliminating history requirements for graduation and that a generation is growing up with no sense of the past.
“But there are many encouraging signs. Books are reaching a far larger audience than ever before, indicating that people who come out of college are eager to make up for what they didn't learn,” he said.
He pointed to history programs on public television, the History Channel and HBO, which made a John Adams miniseries adapted from McCullough's Pulitzer Prize-winning book on the second president. McCullough won his first Pulitzer for “Truman,” a biography on President Harry S Truman.
“There's no better guide or lessons in leadership than from history. People who are the best leaders have the best sense of history,” McCullough said. “It's important because you have to know how the systems of our government work, and why our way of life was founded on a new way of thinking where power is controlled by the people; and to keep that in mind as we move forward in a world that grows increasingly dangerous,” McCullough said.
McCullough said he continues his speaking engagements because he benefits from seeing what's going on in cities around the country other than the bad news the media report.
“It renews my faith in the American people,” McCullough said.
Bobby Kerlik is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7886 or bkerlik@tribweb.com.
