The Book Materials series consists of advertisements, booklets, chapter drafts, charts, clippings, contracts and other legal documents, correspondence, cross-reference sheets, executive orders and drafts, financial documents, galleys, legislative bills, lists, lyrics/poems, memos, notes, postcards, press releases, proofs, and telegrams.

The materials in this series span the period 1932-1958, with the bulk of the items dating from the years 1947 and 1958 when first Speaking Frankly and then All in One Lifetime were published.

The files are arranged alphabetically by folder title and chronologically within each folder. The galleys for Speaking Frankly and other oversize material have been moved to oversize storage.

[This series contains materials related to Byrnes two books, Speaking Frankly and All in One Lifetime. Speaking Frankly, published in 1947, details Byrnes’ experiences as President Harry Truman’s Secretary of State during post-war negotiations. Byrnes published his memoirs, All in One Lifetime, in 1958.

Of particular interest are the early drafts of the manuscripts and the background or “related” materials for each book. The related materials for Speaking Frankly include an extensive chronology of events from the 1930’s to 1946, especially regarding World War II, diplomatic conferences and the peace treaties; press releases, clippings, and other information on the treaties; and similar background information for the formation of the United Nations.

The related material for All in One Lifetime is comprised of notes, memos to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and “political memos” that actually consist of correspondence, executive orders memos, press releases, and other items for the period 1943-1945, documenting war production matters and his leadership of the Office of War Mobilization (OWM). This includes material that was not used in the book. Correspondents include individuals that worked with Byrnes in OWM and related agencies such as Bernard Baruch, Walter Brown, Ben Cohen, Leo Crowley, and Fred Searls; Generals Lucius Clay, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and George Marshall; Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox; Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson; and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. While most of this material is copied from Series 4 War Mobilization there are some original documents, so individuals interested in this period of Byrnes’ career would be well-advised to check both series. These materials also include some drafts of his responses to comments in former President Truman’s memoirs and notes/memos by Herbert Feis of the Institute of Advanced Studies at Princeton University of interviews he had with Byrnes and his comments on a draft of All in One Lifetime. There are also clippings files related to each book.

The correspondence concerning both books includes congratulations, requests for autographed copies and thank-yous for same, and reactions to the books and to reviews of the books. There are also some discussions of past and present American foreign policy in the correspondence about Speaking Frankly, while that for All in One Lifetime relates more to Byrnes’ life and career. A letter from Secretary of Defense James Forrestal speculates on the effect of the publication of Speaking Frankly on the 1947 French national elections. There is also business correspondence and legal materials (including contracts) in the series relating to publication of the books, serialization rights, and publicity. Most of this correspondence is between Byrnes and his agent, George T. Bye; his publisher Cass Canfield, Chairman of the Board of Harper Brothers Publishers; and Porter McKeever, who helped Byrnes write Speaking Frankly. Other correspondents in the series include retailer George M. Ivey and Turner Catledge, who was editor of the New York Times.

SEPARATION LISTIn Removed Oversize Box 2: