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Anthony Summers

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Anthony Summers
Summers in 2010
Born
Anthony Bruce Summers

(1942-12-21)December 21, 1942(age 81)
Ireland
Occupation(s)Non-fiction author,documentary filmmaker

Anthony Bruce Summers(born 21 December 1942) is an Irish author. He is aPulitzer PrizeFinalist and has written tennon-fictionbooks.[1]He worked for theBBCin current affairs coverage as a producer and then as an assistant editor of the long-running investigative documentary seriesPanorama.His first book was published in 1976.

Career[edit]

Summers is an Irish citizen who has been working withRobbyn Swanfor more than thirty years before she became his co-author and fourth wife.[2]After studying modern languages atOxford University,he began work in laboring jobs, later progressing to freelance reporting for London newspapers. He later worked at Granada TV'sWorld in Action,[3]the UK's first tabloid public affairs program, and following that he wrote the news for theSwiss Broadcasting Corporation's Overseas Service. Later, he went back to England toBBC'sTelevision News and then the BBC's24 Hours,a late evening current affairs show that brought viewers international coverage of events.

Summers became the BBC's youngest Producer at 24, travelling worldwide and sending filmed reports from theUnited States,acrossCentralandLatin America,and the conflicts inVietnam,theMiddle East,andAfrica.[3][4][5]A main focus, though, was on the momentous events of the 1960s and 1970s in the United States – such as on-the-spot reports, during 1968, on theassassination of Martin Luther King Jr.and onRobert F. Kennedy's bid for the presidency.He smuggled cameras into the then Soviet Union to obtain the only TV interview with dissident physicistAndrei Sakharov– when he was under house arrest, having just won the 1975Nobel Peace Prize.[3]

Before moving on from the BBC, Summers became an Assistant Editor of the weekly programPanorama.[6]

Based inIrelandfor many years, he has since the mid-'1970s concentrated on investigative non-fiction, sometimes taking four to five years to complete a book.[7][8]

Works[edit]

Summers has written about historical figures including TsarNicholas II of Russia,PresidentJohn F. Kennedy,FBI DirectorJ. Edgar Hoover,PresidentRichard Nixon,and AdmiralHusband Kimmel,who commanded theU.S. fleetatPearl Harbor.He is author of a major book on the9/11 attacksonNew YorkandWashington.He has also written biographies of celebritiesMarilyn MonroeandFrank Sinatra,and investigations ofBritain'sProfumo Affairand the 2007 disappearance inPortugalof the British child,Madeleine McCann.

Most of Summers' books were developed as TV documentaries.Honeytrapwas credited as a source for theJohn HurtmovieScandal.[9]

The File on the Tsar,with Tom Mangold (1976)[edit]

Summers publishedThe File on the Tsarwith formerBBCcolleague,Tom Mangold,in 1976. The book is on the disappearance and presumed execution ofNicholas II,lastTsarofRussia,and his family.[10]In the UK,The Sunday Timessaid it "demolished the massacre story beyond recovery. There is not a dull page in this book."[11]In the U.S.A., theLos Angeles Timescalled it "a compelling and impressive work",[12]Cosmopolitandeemed it "sensational...a masterful work of great suspense, meticulously researched".[13]In a comparison that must surely have pleased the authors,The Toronto Sunrated the book's "superlative investigative reporting that makes Woodward and Bernstein seem like beginners."[14]

Conspiracy(1980), since updated asNot in Your Lifetime(1998 and 2013)[edit]

In the late 1970s Summers was working on a documentary forPanoramaabout the recently released report from theUnited States House Select Committee on Assassinations.Interviews for that program served as the impetus for Summers' 1980 book on the assassination ofPresident John F. Kennedy,Conspiracy.[15]Conspiracywas later updated asNot in Your Lifetime: The Defining Book on the JFK Assassination.In the most recent, 2013, edition, Summers was first to report the alleged confession of a Cuban sharpshooter, Herminio Diaz Garcia, to have taken part in the assassination.[16]

The book won theCrime Writers' Association'sGold Dagger for Non-Fictionin 1980.[17]The New York TimesdescribedConspiracyas "important...serves to dramatize, as no previous book has done, the superficiality of the Warren Commission's investigation."[18]The Boston GlobedescribedConspiracyas "the closest thing we have that literary chimera, a definitive work on the events in Dallas."[19]

In the UK,The Daily Telegraphdescribed Summers' approach as "dismissing the more fevered theories while casting doubt on theWarren Commission".[20]Author and journalistBurton HershdescribedConspiracyas "bedrock to the literature".[16]

Goddess, the Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe(1985)[edit]

The Boston Globe's reviewer described Summers' biography ofMarilyn Monroeas "mesmerizing, disturbing...reads like something out of a Robert Ludlum thriller."[21]The New York Times'Christopher Lehmann Hauptwrote that the book made for "extraordinary reading...the ghost of Marilyn Monroe cries out in these pages." Lehmann-Haupt wrote that one of Summers's most sensational conclusions was that Robert F. Kennedy was involved with Monroe's death and that at some point he removed evidence that she was sexually involved with him and his brother from the scene. About these conclusions, Lehmann-Haupt wrote "[I]t's possible that the exposure of hidden weaknesses in [Summers'] case may turn his reconstruction to dust. But his case is singularly impressive."[22]

Summers' research is criticised by the literature professorSarah Churchwellin her workThe Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe.Churchwell observes that although Summers interviewed 650 people, "The interviews often repeat second- or third-hand accounts of what someone else said, and neither Summers nor his sources is [sic] particularly dispassionate ". Churchwell writes that" Summers proffers – but does not prove – a series of sensational claims ".[23]

In April 2022,Netflixpremiered a feature-length documentary film,The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes,based on theGoddessbook, directed by Emma Cooper.[24]Summers features prominently in the film, which includes Summers' previously unreleased audiotaped interviews of close friends and contacts of the actress.[25]

Honeytrap, the Secret Lives of Stephen Ward,with Stephen Dorril (1987)[edit]

Summers' andStephen Dorril's investigation of the British political scandal known as theProfumo Affairwas widely reviewed in the British press.The Observersaid the book "ought to be read...Profumo is Italian for perfume, but the whole thing stinks to high heaven."[26]The Tribunejudged it "quite exceptional...massive demystification of the social and sexual lives of the English ruling class."[27]

Official and Confidential, The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover(1993)[edit]

TheChristian Science Monitordescribed Summers' 1993 biography of former FBI DirectorJ. Edgar Hooveras "gritty, fast-paced and disturbing", that his "case against Hoover is overwhelming."[28]The Philadelphia Inquirerreview considered Summers' take on Hoover "an important book that should give all of us pause, especially policy makers."[29]

In a review forThe New York Times,by contrast,Christopher Lehmann-Hauptcharacterised the writing and presentation in Summers' book on Hoover as "slapdash." The review judged Summers' fact checking as "unsatisfying," and his sourcing as "ill-organized and impenetrable." As a whole, the Hoover book set "a new standard of what might gently be called revisionism."[30]The book gained a great deal of publicity and aroused controversy.ABC Newsjournalist Susan Donaldson James stated that Summers "exposed the secret sex life of Hoover" but also disputed the book's allegation that Hoover was a crossdresser.[31]Summers interviewed more than 800 witnesses, including Hoover's Stork Club companionLuisa Stuart.[32]There was such widespread press coverage of the controversial cross-dressing allegation thatBill Clinton,President at the time of the book's publication, joked to reporters that he was having a problem filling the post of FBI director. It was "hard", he said, "to fill J. Edgar Hoover's...pumps."[33]

The Arrogance of Power: The Secret World of Richard Nixon,with Robbyn Swan (2000)[edit]

InThe New York Times Book Review,Christopher Hitchenswrote that the "inescapable conclusion" of the book, "well-guarded by meticulous research and footnotes, is that in the Nixon era, the United States was, in essence, a 'rogue state.'".[34]Publishers Weeklythought the book "impressive...the most thorough case against Nixon yet."[35]InThe San Francisco Chronicle,Steve Weinbergwrote that, "in many ways,The Arrogance of Poweris the best single-volume, full-life biography of Nixon ever published. "[36]

After describing the book as "a muckraking, gossipy biography that goes well beyond any previous one-sided assaults against [Nixon]", historianMelvin Smallconcluded: "What we get with Summers is a juicy story of scandal, mental illness, and evil. Nixon haters will love it. As for historians, that is another matter."[37]

Sinatra, The Life,with Robbyn Swan (2005)[edit]

USA Today'sreviewer praised the "extensive documentation of the legendary crooner's involvement with the Mafia."[38]AuthorNorman Mailerpraised the book as "one of the very few bona fide, three-dimensional portraits of an amazingly complex, interesting and sometimes god-awful guy."[39]In the UK,The Times'reviewer, Christopher Silvester, wrote that "Summers and Swan tell us much that is new, and with panache."[40]

The Eleventh Day: The Full Story of 9/11 and Osama Bin Laden,with Robbyn Swan (2011)[edit]

In 2011, Summers' and Swan'sThe Eleventh Day: The Ultimate Account of 9/11was published to mark the tenth anniversary of9/11.[20]The Wall Street Journalsaid that the book's "essential contribution to the annals of the attacks is its painstaking examination of questions the 9/11 Commission finessed."[41]John Farmer,a 9/11 Commission senior counsel, praised the book as "meticulous and fair...an extraordinary synthesis of what is known about the 9/11 attacks."[42]

According toThe Daily Telegraph'sToby Harnden,the authors' "principal criticisms are that the Bush administration was asleep at the switch on 9/11; that vital intelligence was ignored; that the FBI and CIA did not share information; and that Saudi Arabia was intimately connected to al-Qaeda and is sometimes overindulged by the US."[20]

Harnden took the view that there was "no real evidence" for Summers' and Swan's claims that the CIA negotiated withOsama bin Ladenprior to those attacks, nor of their attempt to recruit two of the hijackers as agents.[20]While criticizing the authors for a lack of original research, failure to interview major figures within theBush administration,and "habit of posing portentous questions without answering", he noted that their depiction of the "horrors inside the World Trade Center" and the bravery of theFlight 93passengers was "well written and moving".[20]

The Eleventh Daywas a Finalist for the 2012Pulitzer Prizefor History[1][17]and was awarded theCrime Writer's AssociationGold Dagger for Non-Fictionin 2012.[17]

Looking For Madeleine,with Robbyn Swan (2014)[edit]

In 2014, in the UK only, Summers and Swan publishedLooking For Madeleine,an account of the disappearance inPortugalin 2007 of the British childMadeleine McCann.[43]The Daily Telegraphdescribed the book as "compelling."Judy Finnigan,who presented the program "Richard & Judy",observed that it was" forensically detailed ".[44]In 2019, Summers and Swan were a major on-screen element in "The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann",an 8-part series forNetflix.The authors frequently contribute their views and analysis on the case in the press and on broadcasts.

A Matter of Honor: Pearl Harbor, Betrayal, Blame, and a Family's Quest for Justice,with Robbyn Swan (2016)[edit]

Published to mark the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack onPearl Harbor,Summers' and Swan'sA Matter of Honorconsidered the circumstances in which AdmiralHusband Kimmel,then the commander in chief of theU.S. Pacific Fleet,had been blamed, accused of dereliction of duty, and publicly disgraced. They published new documentary evidence and found that Admiral Kimmel had been unjustly blamed and thatPresident Roosevelt- contrary to charges made over the years - had not known in advance that the attack was imminent. AdmiralJames Lyons,himself a former commander-in-chief Pacific, thought the book "the most comprehensive, accurate, thoroughly researched book...ever written" on the case.[45][46]The book was also praised by historiansDouglas BrinkleyandDavid Kennedy.[47]

Filmography[edit]

During his career at the BBC, Anthony Summers sent reports on subjects as varied as:

  • The civil war between royalists and republicans in Yemen. He broke the story that Egypt, which was helping the republicans, was using gas bombs against civilians.[5]
  • An interview with a member of theCharles Mansonfamily still at large following the Tate-Labianca murders.[48]
  • Interviews with figures as contrasted as Chile's PresidentSalvador Allende– soon to die in a bloody right-wing revolution – and Republican presidential candidateBarry Goldwater.[49]
  • Summers made two visits to Cuba, where he suffered the fate of many before and after him – waiting for but not getting the promised interview withFidel Castro.[50]
  • In Bolivia, defying a government ban on journalists, he travelled over rugged country to the site ofChe Guevara's death.[50]Before Guevara was killed, Summers had been approached by a sympathiser hoping to arrange a BBC interview of the guerrilla leader.
  • The Tupamaro guerrilla movement in Uruguay.[50]
  • The tension in Argentina between the Catholic hierarchy and "worker priests".[50]
  • TheUS Drug Enforcement Administration's operations on the Mexican border.[50]
  • A reflection on American servicemen who returned from theVietnam War.[51]

Awards[edit]

The Eleventh Daywas a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for History and it won the Golden Dagger, the Crime Writers' Association's top non-fiction award. Summers is the only author to have won the award twice.[52]that year, he was made a Fellow of theLiterary & Historical Society of University College Dublinin 2012.[53]

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"The 2012 Pulitzer Prize Winners".pulitzer.org.The Pulitzer Prizes.Retrieved4 May2014.
  2. ^Brown, Kurtis."Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan".Curtis Brown Literary Agency.Retrieved4 May2014.
  3. ^abcLindley, Richard (2002).Panorama: 50 Years of Pride and Paranoia.London: Politicos. p. 129.ISBN1-84275-046-1.
  4. ^Kyle, Keith(2009).Reporting the World.London: I.B. Tauris. p. 209.ISBN978-1-84885-000-2.
  5. ^abSmiley, David(1975).Arabian Assignment.London: Leo Cooper. p. 225.
  6. ^"ABOUT US".anthonysummers.Retrieved12 October2020.
  7. ^Summers, Anthony; Robbyn Swan (2000).The Arrogance of Power: The Secret World of Richard Nixon.New York: Viking. p.611.ISBN0-7567-5814-9.
  8. ^Summers, Anthony; Robbyn Swan (2005).Sinatra: The Life.New York: Knopf. p.391.ISBN0-375-71370-0.
  9. ^"Honeytrap".anthonysummers.Retrieved12 October2020.
  10. ^"The File on the Tsar".anthonysummers.Retrieved12 October2020.
  11. ^Wade, David (11 September 1976)."Roll on, Dinner..."The Sunday Times.Retrieved12 October2020.
  12. ^Kirsch, Robert (24 November 1976). "Where Did the Romanovs Die?".Los Angeles Times.
  13. ^Stott, Catherine (September 1976). "Cosmo Reads the New Books".Cosmopolitan.
  14. ^Worthington, Peter (19 October 1976). "Czar Nicholas Family Survives Soviet Revolution".The Toronto Sun.
  15. ^McDermott, Peter (31 May 2017)."On the trail of the assassin(s)".The Irish Echo.Retrieved21 November2022.
  16. ^abHersh, Burton(15 November 2013)."Review: New round of books address JFK assassination 50 years later".Tampa Bay Times.Retrieved19 June2015.
  17. ^abc"CWA Dagger for Non-fiction: 2012 winners Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan".The Crime Writers' Association. Archived fromthe originalon 2 November 2013.Retrieved4 May2014.
  18. ^Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher (7 July 1980). "A Fresh, Important Look at JFK's Murder".The Spokesman Review.New York Times.
  19. ^Feeney, Mark (18 August 1980). "British Newsman's Look at Slaying of JFK".The Boston Globe.
  20. ^abcdeHarnden, Toby(25 August 2011)."The Eleventh Day: The Ultimate Account of 9/11 by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan: review".The Telegraph.Retrieved20 June2015.
  21. ^White, Diana (19 October 1985). "A Disturbing Portrait of Marilyn Monroe".The Boston Globe.
  22. ^Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher (19 September 1985)."BOOKS OF THE TIMES (Published 1985)".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved12 October2020.
  23. ^Churchwell, Sarah(2019).The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe.London:Bloomsbury Publishing.pp. 97–98.ISBN9781526613349.
  24. ^NetflixFilm (23 March 2022)."The brighter the star, the darker the truth. THE MYSTERY OF MARILYN MONROE: THE UNHEARD TAPES comes to Netflix April 27".Twitter.Retrieved29 April2022.
  25. ^"What Separates Netflix's New Marilyn Monroe Documentary From the Rest".Vanity Fair.27 April 2022.Retrieved29 April2022.
  26. ^Burgess, Anthony (17 May 1987). "Disappointing the Vultures".The Observer.
  27. ^Ramsey, Robin (24 July 1987). "Exposing the British Ruling Class".The Tribune.
  28. ^Ryan, Richard (23 March 1993)."Biography of Hoover Reveals Fallen Hero".Christian Science Monitor.
  29. ^Nichols, Mary Perot (28 March 1993). "POWER CORRUPTS".The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  30. ^Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher(15 February 1993)."Books of The Times; Catalogue of Accusations Against J. Edgar Hoover".Books.The New York Times.Retrieved10 June2017.
  31. ^Susan Donaldson James (14 November 2011)."J. Edgar Hoover: Gay or Just a Man Who Has Sex With Men?".ABC News.Retrieved19 April2020.
  32. ^James, Susan Donaldson (14 November 2011)."J. Edgar Hoover: Gay or Just a Man Who Has Sex With Men?".ABC News.Retrieved14 October2020.
  33. ^Houston, Paul; Eaton, William J. (5 April 1993)."LEAST WANTED G-MAN?".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved18 October2020.
  34. ^Hitchens, Christopher (8 October 2000)."Let Me Say This About That (Published 2000)".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved14 October2020.
  35. ^"The Arrogance of Power: The Secret World of Richard Nixon".publishersweekly.4 September 2000.Retrieved14 October2020.
  36. ^Weinberg, Steve (24 September 2000)."The Nixon We Never Knew / Though richly researched, Anthony Summers' biography suffers crises of credulity".San Francisco Chronicle.Retrieved14 October2020.
  37. ^Small, Melvin(January–April 2001)."The Arrogance of Power. The Secret World of Richard Nixon. By Anthony Summers".Book Reviews.Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography.CXXV(1–2). Philadelphia: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania Press: 153–155.ISSN0031-4587.LCCN2006267556.OCLC1762062.Retrieved1 November2022.
  38. ^"'The Life' slights the legend ".USA TODAY.Retrieved14 October2020.
  39. ^"Sinatra: The Life".anthonysummers.Retrieved14 October2020.
  40. ^Silvester, Christopher (5 June 2005)."Showbiz: Sinatra by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan".The Times.ISSN0140-0460.Retrieved14 October2020.
  41. ^Kosner, Edward (10 September 2011)."A Decade After".Wall Street Journal.ISSN0099-9660.Retrieved14 October2020.
  42. ^"The Eleventh Day by Anthony Summers, Robbyn Swan: 9780812978094 | PenguinRandomHouse: Books".PenguinRandomhouse.Retrieved14 October2020.
  43. ^Brunt, Martin(7 September 2015)."Madeleine: Book Sheds Light on Mystery Predator".Sky News.Retrieved20 June2015.
  44. ^"'Torrent of hate' for new Madeleine book ".Irish Examiner.22 September 2014.Retrieved14 October2020.
  45. ^Frank, Richard B. (15 February 2017)."Book Reviews: A Matter of Honor by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan".HistoryNet.Retrieved14 October2020.
  46. ^"C4 documentary to reveal the shocking truth about Pearl Harbor | Channel 4".channel4.Retrieved14 October2020.
  47. ^"A Matter of Honor".anthonysummers.Retrieved14 October2020.
  48. ^Tuohy, Denis(2005).Wide-eyed in Media Land.Belfast: Blackstaff. p. 103.ISBN0-85640-749-6.
  49. ^Tuohy, Denis(2005).Wide-eyed in Media Land.Belfast: Blackstaff. p. 133.ISBN0-85640-749-6.
  50. ^abcdeTuohy, Denis(2005).Wide-eyed in Media Land.Belfast: Blackstaff. p. 141.ISBN0-85640-749-6.
  51. ^Tuohy, Denis(2005).Wide-eyed in Media Land.Belfast: Blackstaff. p. 111.ISBN0-85640-749-6.
  52. ^"Anthony Summers."HarperCollins.
  53. ^UCD Literary & Historical Society(20 February 2012)."Anthony will be made a Fellow of UCD's Literary & Historical Society on Thursday, 23 Feb."Facebook.Retrieved4 May2014.

External links[edit]

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