Michael Korda

Michael Korda (born 8 October 1933) is an English-born writer and novelist who was editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster in New York City.

Early years

Born in London, Michael Korda is the son of English actress Gertrude Musgrove, and artist and film production designer Vincent Korda. He is the nephew of Hungarian-born film magnate Sir Alexander Korda and brother Zoltan Korda, both film directors.^[1] Korda grew up in England but received part of his education in France where his father had worked with film director Marcel Pagnol. As a child, Korda also lived in the United States from 1941 to 1946.^[1] He was schooled at the private Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland and read History at Magdalen College, Oxford.^[1] He served in the Royal Air Force^[2] doing intelligence work in Germany.^[1]

The novelist Graham Greene was a lifelong friend. Korda met him on his Uncle Alex Korda's yacht.^[1]

Career

Korda moved to New York City in 1957 where he worked for playwright Sidney Kingsley as a research assistant and then later as a freelance reader in the CBS story department.^[1] In 1958 he joined the book publishing firm, Simon & Schuster, starting as an assistant editor, which included the task of reading slush pile manuscripts for Henry Simon.^[1]

Many editors stick to one area of interest, but early on Korda demonstrated an ability and interest in editing both fiction and non-fiction. He states in his memoir that he edited books on everything from mathematics and philosophy, memoirs, fiction, translations from French, politics, anthropology and science history among others.^[1]

After Robert Gottlieb left Simon & Schuster for Alfred E. Knopf, Korda became Editor-in-Chief of Simon & Schuster.^[1] Korda was a major figure in the book industry, publishing numerous works by high-profile writers and personalities such as William L. Shirer, Will and Ariel Durant, Harold Robbins,^[1] Irving Wallace,^[1] Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Korda was a major part of Simon & Schuster for more than forty years and one of the most influential people in the business of book publishing. In the autumn of 1994, he was diagnosed as having prostate cancer. In 1997 he wrote Man to Man, which recounted his medical experience. In 2000, he published Another Life: A Memoir of Other People, about the world of publishing.^[1]

In addition to being an editor, Korda was also a writer. In the mid-sixties Korda began to write freelance articles for Glamour Magazine and eventually wrote their film review column for almost ten years.^[1] Korda also wrote for Clay Felker's New York magazine including a piece that eventually became his first book, Male Chauvinism and How it Works at Home and in the Office.^[1] Korda's second book, Power!, reached the number one spot on the New York Times Bestseller list in 1975.^[3]

Korda the writer was represented by agent Lynn Nesbit.^[1]

Among Korda's better-known books are Charmed Lives, which was a memoir about his life with his father and uncle, and the novel Queenie, which is a roman à clef about his aunt, actress Merle Oberon, which was later adapted into a television miniseries.

Beginning in the 2000s written a number of history and biography books on the Hungarian Revolution, Dwight Eisenhower, T.E. Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. On writing histories Korda said, "I've always wanted to write history, and it was only the accident of going to work for a book publisher in 1958 (and the need to earn a regular paycheck) that slowed me down." ^[4]

Michael Korda is currently Editor-in-Chief Emeritus for Simon & Schuster.^[5]

Private life

Michael Korda married first wife Carolyn Keese in 1958, and had one child, Chris.^[1] Chris became the leader of the Church of Euthanasia. Michael remarried to Margaret Mogford, a former fashion model.^[6]

Korda has written about his personal life and his hobbies. Korda is also an avid horseman and fox hunter and he authored Horse People and Horse Housekeeping. Korda met his second wife, Margaret, while riding in Central Park.^[1][6] In 2001, Korda released Country Matters which chronicled his life at his second home, Stonegate Farm.^[6]

Bibliography

• Male Chauvinism and How It Works at Home and in the Office, Hodder and Stoughton, 1972 ISBN 0-340-19936-9
• Power! How to Get It, How to Use It, Random House, New York, 1975, ISBN 0-394-49314-1
• Success!, Ballantine Books, New York, 1977, ISBN 0-345-27741-4
• Charmed Lives, Random House, 1979 ISBN 0394419545
• Worldly Goods, Random House, 1982, ISBN 9780394512518
• Queenie, Simon & Schuster, 1985, ISBN 0671466682
• The Fortune, Summit Books, 1989, ISBN 0671601008
• Man to Man: Surviving Prostate Cancer, Little, Brown & Company, 1997, ISBN 0316882976
• Another Life: A Memoir of Other People, Random House, 1999 ISBN 0-679-45659-7
• Making the List: A Cultural History of the American Bestseller, 1900-1999, Barnes and Noble Books, 2001, ISBN 0760725594
• Country Matters: The Pleasures and Tribulations of Moving from a Big City to an Old Country Farmhouse, New York: Harper, 2001, ISBN 978-0060197728
• Ulysses S. Grant: The Unlikely Hero, New York: HarperCollins, 2004, ISBN 978-0-06-059015-4
• Marking Time: collecting watches and thinking about time, New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004, ISBN 9780760735763
• Horse People: Scenes from the Riding Life, Harper Perennial, 2004, ISBN 9780060936761
• Horse Housekeeping: Everything You Need to Know to Keep a Horse at Home (co-authored with Margaret Korda), 2005, ISBN 978-0060573089
• Journey to a Revolution: A Personal Memoir and History of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Harper Perennial, 2006, ISBN 978-0-06-077262-8
• Ike: An American Hero, 2008
• With Wings Like Eagles: A History of the Battle of Britain, Harper, 2009, ISBN 978-0-06-112535-5
• Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia, Harper, 2010, ISBN 978-0-06-171261-6
• Clouds of Glory: The Life and Legend of Robert E. Lee, Harper, 2014, ISBN 978-0-06-211629-1

Notable books as editor or publisher

• The Forest People by Colin Turnbull
• The Love Machine by Jacqueline Suzann^[1]
• The Story of Civilization VII: The Age of Reason Begins by Will Durant and Ariel Durant
• The Fifth Horseman by Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre^[1]

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Michael Korda

• Appearances on C-SPAN
  • Booknotes interview with Korda on Another Life: A Memoir of Other People, 11 July 1999.
  • C-SPAN Q&A interview with Korda about IKE: An American Hero, 14 October 2007
  • In Depth interview with Korda, November 2, 2014