Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Guide to the Jack Harrison Pollack papers, 1943-1982
BANC MSS 86/14 c
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Collection Title: Jack Harrison Pollack papers,
Date (inclusive): 1943-1982
Collection Number: BANC MSS 86/14 c
Creator:
Pollack, Jack Harrison
Extent:
Number of containers: 4 boxes, 2 cartons
Linear feet: 3.0
Repository: The
Bancroft Library.
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Languages Represented:
English
Collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft
Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which
must also be obtained by the reader.
[Identification of item], Jack Harrison Pollack papers, BANC MSS 86/14 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California,
Berkeley.
- Photographs and negatives transferred to the Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library.
The Jack Harrison Pollack Papers were donated to The Bancroft Library on August 21, 1985 by his daughter, Susan Pollack.
Papers pertaining to Pollack's research for his biography of Earl Warren. Includes correspondence of prominent individuals,
clippings, rough drafts, and galley proofs. Of particular interest is correspondence with James H. Dolsen concerning the Communist
Labor Party, and with Edison Uno concerning Warren's support for Japanese-American relocation during World War II.
Jack Harrison Pollack was born in Philadelphia on December 4, 1914. His first publication was a group of crossword puzzles
that he sold to the Philadelphia Ledger for five dollars each.
He received his B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania in 1936, and turned his talents to free-lance writing,
reporting, and ghost-writing. Among his ghost-writing clients was then-Senator Harry Truman.
In 1942 Pollack was the press liaison officer on alien registration with the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1943 he was an
information specialist with the Office of Civilian Defense and an aide to Senator Kilgore, Chairman of the War Mobilization
Committee.
After the war, Pollack began his writing career in earnest. His over 500 magazine articles have covered topics as diverse
as law, the occult, travel, education, and medicine, and were published in periodicals such as Life, Look, Harper's, and the
Saturday Evening Post. Pollack was a founder and past president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors; and he
was the recipient of awards from the American Bar Association, UNICEF, and the National Education Association among others.
Pollack was the author of three books: Croiset the Clairvoyant (1964); Dr. Sam: An American Tragedy (1972); and Earl Warren:
The Judge Who Changed America (1978). Dr. Sam: An American Tragedy was the basis of a 3-hour television film in 1975.
Pollack continued to write until his death from cancer on September 30, 1984, at the age of 69.
This collection contains the papers of Jack Harrison Pollack pertaining primarily to his research and writings for his biography
of Chief Justice Earl Warren (1891-1974). The papers include correspondence with figures who knew and associated with Warren,
research notes, and newspaper and magazine articles about Warren and his family. Also included are rough drafts of Pollack's
biography, Earl Warren: The Judge Who Changed America, a corrected author's copy of the book, correspondence and promotional
materials relating to the publication of the biography. Photographs which were used and considered for use in the book are
also included in the collection. These photographs have been separated and placed with Pictorials Collections.
The items included in the collection generally fall within the dates 1943-1982 and include both originals and photocopies.
Of particular note is the correspondence which provides activities as prosecutor for Alameda County, Governor of California,
and Chairman of the Warren Commission. Little material in the collection relates directly to any of Warren's Supreme Court
duties or his decisions made while sitting on the bench.
For other materials relating to Earl Warren, consult the catalogs of the Bancroft Library for publications, other manuscripts,
and sound recordings. Check also at the Earl Warren Legal Center, Boalt Hall, University of California, Berkeley.