About this title: Johnny Gunther was only seventeen years old when he died of a brain tumor. During the months of his illness, everyone near him was unforgettably impressed by his level-headed courage, his wit and quiet friendliness, and, above all, his unfaltering patience through times of despair. This deeply moving book is a father's memoir of a brave, intelligent, and spirited boy.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Perennial Library, New York
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780060809737ISBN:0060809736
Description: Good. No Jacket. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. The book is very solid with unmarked pages. A previous owner's name is written twice along with a couple of doodles on the first end paper. The cover has moderate shelf & edge wear with creases at the corners. There is sticker residue on the front. The spine has a few creases. read more
Description: Very good. SOFTCOVER. MMPB. Excellent Condition copy Ex-library copy. Stamp on bottom edge only. No other names, underlining, highlighting, tears, stamps, bookplates, remainder marks, price clips, etc. I ship International orders by Air Mail. read more
Description: Very good. SOFTCOVER. MMPB. Excellent Condition Ex-library copy in a HARD reinforced cover. All possible library stickers removed. Normal library markings. No other names, underlining, highlighting, tears, stamps, bookplates, remainder marks, price clips, etc. I ship International orders by Air Mail. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Harper & Row, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1965
Description: Good. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. First Perennial Library Edition; Some cover wear with no creases. Pages tanning otherwise very good. SYNOPSIS: Johnny Gunther was seventeen years old when he died of a brain tumor. During the months of his final illness everyone near him was unforgettably impressed by his level headed courage, his wit and quiet friendliness, and above all, by his unfaltering patience through the times of despair and those few heartbreaking days when it seemed, unbelievably, that ... read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Harper & Row, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1965
Description: Fair. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. First Perennial Library Edition; Spine is creased and rolled; Cover and page edges are worn and discoloring; Solid reading copy with no tears; SYNOPSIS: Johnny Gunther was seventeen years old when he died of a brain tumor. During the months of his final illness everyone near him was unforgettably impressed by his level headed courage, his wit and quiet friendliness, and above all, by his unfaltering patience through the times of despair and those few heartbreaking ... read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780060809737ISBN:0060809736
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Cover has some wear with a crease, spine uncreased, name on inside cover, pages have highlighting. read more
"This book gives a description of how a brain tumor struck down a young man in his prime. At times I was turned off because the family was well-off and I felt they felt entitled to the attention of every doctor/ scientist that they could find. However, it is the tale of the struggles of parents facing the eminent death of their only child and the child's struggle to continue to live his life to the fullest. It fabulously displays the parents race to find a cure to save him and the conflicts within the medical industry as to how to best treat the ailing patient. It is a story of perserverence and struggle. At times it is sad; despite knowing the ending I still found myself hoping Johnny Gunther would somehow beat the odds and survive. In spite of the parts that turned me off, I can't say that I would have behaved differently if I were in their shoes."
"I think it is too easy to talk about children who die before adulthood as though they are saints. They are unflawed and therefore able to be exalted as perfect after their deaths. They are - in the eyes of the storytellers - eternally brave, friendly, and hopeful. While the copy of Death Be Not Proud that I have includes Johnny's diary and letters, I do not believe that this account of his life was true in the sense that it tells his story from his own mouth. How do we know that he was not just keeping a brave face for those around him because he did not want to disappoint them? We know this could be possible, yet we continue to write these tales, which further limit the ability of currently suffering children (and adults) to admit their pain, fears, and despair.
Despite these misgivings, the book itself was written well and is undeniably heartfelt. As the reviews suggest, it has the possibility to give us all hope by reading about the example of one who had so much to lose and kept a brave face through it all."
"This was a fairly easy read for me, but for someone who has experienced the illness or death of a child, it might not be. Gunther managed to create the perfect balance of fact and memoir, rendering this a believable, but not maudlin, journey through the experience of his young son's battle and loss to brain cancer. What I took away from the book was how brilliant our healthcare system is, and how our medical knowledge is constantly inventing itself, even during the far-away 1940s of the book. I recommend reading Death Be Not Proud from that perspective: how fast, and with how many treatment modalities were the Gunthers able to try to save Johnny? In this day as our healthcare options are under attack, I recommend this to anyone who favors competition, innovation and humanity."
"The main portion of the story is told from the perspective of Johnny's father. My main problem with this book was not the story itself. What took away from the story for me was the way the father described how his son spoke and acted. He made Johnny seem more like a 10-12 year old boy rather than a 17 year old young man. In fact after the story the author includes letters that Johnny wrote when he was about age 10. They had the same inflection and feeling as he used for writing how Johnny spoke when he was 17. That bothered me a lot. As a result I couldn't really feel for Johnny's troubles or how terrible everything was for him and his family. Not to mention his parents purposefully didn't mention to him that he was dying. They lied to him for most of the story that he would be okay when clearly he wouldn't be...that bothered me too."
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