I)  

welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember. 

This week, we continue our series of “time capsules.” Each program will explore another facet, or decade or period of America in the twentieth century. Last week, we discussed the art and culture that energized artists and writers during the difficult years of the Great Depression.

This week, we’ll look backward, to the beginning of the nineteen twenties – the Jazz Age, flappers, silent movies, more automobiles on the streets. President Warren Harding’s campaign of a return to normalcy after the First World War, the fall of Wall Street that led to the economic depression, Presidents Coolidge, Hoover, and Franklin Roosevelt and how they – and Americans – coped with the crisis.

And we’ll look ahead to the United States entry into a second world war as a result of the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor in December nineteen forty-one, and all the years in between. It can only be a synopsis of these two event-filled decades, but we’ll hope to give you a feeling for America between the two world wars – the companion story to last week’s program in our summer "American time capsule" series.

History is usually a process of slow change. However, certain events also can change the course of history. Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo was such an event. So was the first airplane flight by the Wright brothers. Or the meeting between the Spanish explorer Cortez and the Aztec king Montezuma.

All these events were moments that changed history. And so it was, too, with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December seventh, nineteen forty-one.

NEWS BULLETIN (MONTAGE): "We interrupt this program to bring you a special news bulletin. The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by air, President Roosevelt has just announced …

“A Japanese attack upon Pearl Harbor naturally would mean war. Such an attack would naturally bring a counterattack. And hostilities of this kind would naturally mean that the president would ask Congress for a declaration of war."

(MUSIC)

The surprise attack on America's large naval base in Hawaii was a great military success for Japan. However, the attack on Pearl Harbor had more than a military meaning.

The attack would force Americans to enter World War Two. More importantly, it would also make them better recognize their position as one of the most powerful nations in the world.

In future weeks, we will discuss the military and political events of World War Two. But today, we look back at the years before the United States entered that war.

(MUSIC: “We’re Going to Celebrate the End of War in Ragtime”)

The period between the end of World War One and the attack on Pearl Harbor lasted only twenty-three years, from nineteen eighteen to nineteen forty-one. But those years were filled with important changes in American politics, culture and traditions.

We start our review of these years with politics.

(MUSIC)

In nineteen twenty, Americans elected Republican Warren Harding to the presidency. The voters were tired of the progressive policies of Democratic president Woodrow Wilson. They were especially tired of Wilson's desire for the United States to play an active role in the new League of Nations.

Harding was a conservative Republican. And so were the two presidents who followed him, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover.

All three of these presidents generally followed conservative economic policies. And they did not take an active part in world affairs.

Americans turned away from Republican rule in the election of nineteen thirty-two. They elected the Democratic presidential candidate, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And they continued to re-elect him. In this way, the conservative Republican policies of the nineteen twenties changed to the more progressive policies of Roosevelt in the nineteen thirties.

The change happened mainly because of economic troubles.

CALVIN COOLIDGE: “The country needs every ounce of its energy to restore itself.”

(MUSIC: “Keep Cool and Keep Coolidge”))

The nineteen twenties were a time of growth and business strength.

President Calvin Coolidge said during his term that the "chief business of the American people is business." This generally was the same belief of the other Republican presidents during the period, Warren Harding and Herbert Hoover.

There was a good reason for this. The economy expanded greatly during the nineteen twenties. Many Americans made a great deal of money on the stock market. And wages for workers increased as well.

(MUSIC)

However, economic growth ended suddenly with the stock market crash of October nineteen twenty-nine.

In that month, the stocks for many leading companies fell sharply. And they continued to fall in the months that followed. Many Americans lost great amounts of money. And the public at large lost faith in the economy. Soon, the economy was in ruins, and businesses were closing their doors.

President Hoover tried to solve the crisis. But he was not willing to take the strong actions that were needed to end it. As time passed, many Americans began to blame Hoover for the terrible economic depression.

Democrat Franklin Roosevelt was elected mainly because he promised to try new solutions to end the Great Depression.

FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT: "This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."

Soon after he was elected, Roosevelt launched a number of imaginative economic policies to solve the crisis.

FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT: "Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our great natural resources.

(MUSIC)

Roosevelt's policies helped to reduce the amount of human suffering. But the Great Depression finally ended only with America's entry into World War Two.

Roosevelt's victory in nineteen thirty-two also helped change the balance of power in American politics. Roosevelt brought new kinds of Americans to positions of power: Labor union leaders. Roman Catholics. Jews. Blacks. Americans from families that had come from places such as Italy, Ireland and Russia.

These Americans repaid Roosevelt by giving the Democratic Party their votes.

(MUSIC)

The nineteen twenties and thirties also brought basic changes in how Americans dealt with many of their social and economic problems.

The nineteen twenties generally were a period of economic growth with little government intervention in the day-to-day lives of the people. But the terrible conditions of the Great Depression during the nineteen thirties forced Roosevelt and the federal government to experiment with new policies.

The government began to take an active role in offering relief to the poor. It started programs to give food and money to poor people. And it created jobs for workers.

The government grew in other ways. It created major programs for farmers. It set regulations for the stock market. It built dams, roads and airports.

American government looked much different at the end of this period between the world wars than it did at the beginning. Government had become larger and more important. It dealt with many more issues in people's lives than it ever had before.

(MUSIC)

Social protest increased during the nineteen twenties and thirties. Some black Americans began to speak out more actively about unfair laws and customs. Blacks in great numbers moved from the southern part of the country to northern and central cities.

The nineteen twenties and thirties also were a time of change for women. Women began to wear less conservative kinds of clothes. Washing machines and other inventions allowed them to spend less time doing housework. Women could smoke or drink in public, at least in large cities. And many women held jobs.

Of course, the women's movement was not new. Long years of work by such women's leaders as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony had helped women win the constitutional right to vote in nineteen twenty.

(MUSIC: “Rhapsody in Blue”)

The nineteen twenties and thirties also were important periods in the arts.

George Gershwin wrote his “Rhapsody in Blue” originally for piano and jazz band. It later went on to become a symphony concert favorite.

(MUSIC: “Second Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra”)

Writers such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Eugene O'Neill and others made this what many called the "Golden Age" of American writing. Frank Lloyd Wright and other architects designed great buildings for American cities. Film actors like Clark Gable, and radio entertainers like Jack Benny did more than make Americans laugh or cry. They also helped unite the country. Millions of Americans could watch or listen to the same show at the same time.

(MUSIC)

Politics. The economy. Social traditions. Art. All these changed for Americans during the nineteen twenties and thirties. And many of these changes also had effects in countries beyond America's borders.

However, the change that had the most meaning for the rest of the world was the change produced by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

America's modern history as a great superpower begins with its reaction to that attack.

FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan …

“No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.”

(MUSIC)

Our program was written by David Jarmul. You can find our series online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and pictures at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember inviting you to join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English.

(Editor's note: We are repeating several episodes from the past year before restarting the series.)

II)

This is the VOA Special English Education Report. 

One World Education is a nonprofit group based in Washington. The group has a program in which teachers develop curriculum based on student writing. The students are in middle and high school and write essays about culture and global issues.

Students are invited to write about an issue they find important. Then professionally developed learning materials based on chosen essays are used in schools to teach other students.

Eric Goldstein is the executive director of One World Education.

ERIC GOLDSTEIN:  "Over the last four years, we have worked with over fifteen hundred student writers and we have worked with  almost three hundred twenty-five teachers accessing the One World curriculum."

He says the essays can serve as a writing and learning guide for thousands of students.

ERIC GOLDSTEIN: "It is truly the only online academic arena for young people to share and publish their writings in a way [that] it serves as a teaching tool for other students."

Mr. Goldstein is himself a former classroom teacher. He and another teacher, Emily Chiariello, began forming plans for One World Education in two thousand six.

The group publishes a study unit each month from August through May. Each unit of curriculum starts with a chosen essay, called a "One World Reflection." The subjects have ranged from single parenthood to protecting rainforests to exploring Arab cultures, says Mr. Goldstein.

ERIC GOLDSTEIN: "We have had students writing One World Reflections on women in the Muslim world, on Islamic media, on Arab media, on Arab identity. One student [wrote] about being Muslim and how she is perceived in her neighborhood."

Laila Kunaish of Washington wrote about her feeling that the media in the United States are often unfair to Muslims. A learning activity based on her reflection called for students to collect examples of media stories and discuss whether or not that was true.

Laila was chosen as a One World Student Ambassador last year. Twelve are chosen each year. Their reflections are published on the group's website, along with learning activities linked to common reading and writing standards used for testing. 

Isabel Nampakwa Kapotwe of Lusaka, Zambia, was also chosen as a student ambassador. She wrote about Zambia's cultural traditions, its languages, religions and tourist attractions. But she also wrote about poverty and disease, and how, after her parents died, her grandmother made a home for the remaining family. One activity based on her reflection called for research into the care given by grandparents as heads of households in today's society.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Go to voaspecialenglish.com to find a link to the One World Education website, where you can read some of the student reflections. I'm Jim Tedder.

III)

JUNE SIMMS: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English. 

(MUSIC)

I’m June Simms. This week on our program, we remember the much-loved children’s writer Jean Craighead George…

We also tell about a popular horse race in Virginia…

And we play new music by Beach House…

(MUSIC)

Jean Craighead George

JUNE SIMMS: A well-loved children’s book writer has died. Jean Craighead George wrote many books, including “Julie of the Wolves” and “My Side of the Mountain.”  Her stories often tell about the beauty and power of wilderness, and the young people trying to survive in it. Christopher Cruise has more.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Jean Craighead George died on May fifteenth following a stroke. The writer had lived ninety-two years, much of that exploring the wilderness and its animals. She also spent a lot of time writing, producing more than one hundred books.

Jean Craighead George was born in Washington, DC, in nineteen-nineteen. Her interest in nature and animals came early and maybe from her father. He worked for the National Forest Service. The family spent a lot of time in wooded areas along the Potomac River. Jean and her twin brothers learned how to build shelters and find food in the woods.

Her brothers trained falcons, one of the most powerful birds in the DC area. Jean Craighead George said the twins were among the first falconers in the United States. She also said that they gave her a falcon to train when she was thirteen years old. Later the main character in one of her books develops a close relationship with a falcon.

Jean Craighead George studied science and English at Pennsylvania State University. She worked as a reporter during the nineteen forties. She also married and had three children during this period.

She and her family started exploring wilderness areas all over the country. They also raised many animals, from huge tarantula spiders to owls and minks. And, of course, more traditional pets like dogs and cats.

The family had more than one hundred seventy animals, although not all at once. Jean Craighead George said the pets were always free to stay or go.

Her career in children’s literature began in nineteen forty-eight with the publication of her first book, “Vulpes the Red Fox.” Eleven years later came “My Side of the Mountain,” one of the best loved children’s books ever.

It tells the story of Sam Gribley, a boy who escapes the busy life of New York City. He goes to live in the wilderness of the Catskill Mountains. His home is a hollowed out tree.

Sam makes friends with several animals, including a falcon he calls Frightful. He hunts and fishes and finds plants to eat. He also steals deer that have been killed by hunters.

Jean Craighead George said she wrote “My Side of the Mountain” to tell about all the wonderful adventures she experienced as a child in the woods. The American Library Association recognized the book with a Newberry Honor in nineteen sixty.

In nineteen seventy-three, Jean Craighead George won a Newberry Medal for “Julie of the Wolves.” She had earlier travelled to Barrow, Alaska and met with scientists there. They taught her how to communicate with wolves. The author said she was finally successful with a beautiful female wolf. She knew then she wanted to write about a little Eskimo girl lost on the frozen land. Julie survives by learning how to talk to the wolves. They then help protect her.

Jean Craighead George’s website includes a short video of the author talking to her dog. It is not a wolf like the one Julie ran with, but a close relative -- the Alaskan malamute.

(VIDEO)

Jean Craighead George hoped her work in fiction would help children enjoy the wilderness and also protect it. Her own children followed in her footsteps. Her daughter writes books about nature for children. One son is a whale researcher. The other studies birds.

Jean Craighead George died at a hospital in New York state, where she lived most of her adult life.

(MUSIC)

The Virginia Gold Cup

JUNE SIMMS: Horse racing is one of the oldest sporting events in the world. And it can be a major economic support in some places.  But, horse racing requires a lot of space, for the activity itself and for the large crowds who like to watch. As development spreads further and further from cities, horse racing is threatened.

But in Virginia, one horse race is still going strong after nearly ninety years. About fifty thousand people attend the Gold Cup each year in the rolling hills of The Plains, Virginia.

Many in the crowd wear fine clothes, including creative hats covered with flowers, feathers or other decorations.  And those hats are judged. A hat competition is part of the Gold Cup tradition.

 The event also always includes food and drink. Some people just bring containers of sandwiches and sodas. Others have full size tents with grills and professional cooks. Race visitor Thomas Eden grew up in the area.

THOMAS EDEN: “It’s the one day in the year that everyone drops everything and decides to be nice for a day and dress up a bit. And I love dressing up…it’s my thing.”

The Gold Cup is a steeplechase event. The horses race across fields and jump over fences. George Webb has been attending the Gold Cup for twenty years.

GEORGE WEBB: “People love getting out in the country. It’s such a beautiful area. It is a part of history. George Washington hunted fox in this very area out here.  And so for about two hundred years it’s been going on. So this remains something very near and dear to folks out here.”

The area used in a steeplechase is much larger than a traditional horse race track.  Several steeplechase events have been forced to move in recent years, as more land is developed. The Gold Cup moved to its current space in nineteen eighty-five.

And, real estate developers continue to move toward the fields where the race takes place. But George Webb, a developer himself, is not worried. He says the organization that runs the Gold Cup is working, so race fans can enjoy the event now and in the future.

(MUSIC)

Beach House “Bloom”

JUNE SIMMS: The two member group Beach House just released their fourth record album, eight years after the first. The Los Angeles Times newspaper says the new album, “Bloom,” is a “lovely lullaby.” American Songwriter calls “Bloom” either “beautifully sad or sadly beautiful.” And Rolling Stone gave it four and one half stars out of a possible five.

Faith Lapidus plays some of the new album.

 (MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS: That song was called “Myth.”  It is the first song on “Bloom.” And it was one of only two singles released before the album.

Victoria LeGrand sings and writes Beach House songs. She told a reporter that she and Alex Scally thought “Myth” would be a great gateway into the album. The song starts with the words: Drifting in and out / See the road you’re on / You came rolling down the cheek / You say just what you need

“Troublemaker” has a similar simple poetry. Victoria LeGrand sings, like a hand you reached out to me / the thunder rolls in with the dark / tiny fingers on the edges / watch it unravel pulling everything apart

(MUSIC)

Beach House travelled to a recording studio in Tornillo, Texas. The rural beauty of the southwestern town seems to have lent a quiet dreaminess to the album. Victoria LeGrand says the album itself is a journey. “A bloom is only temporary” she says, “a fleeting vision of life in all its intensity and color.”

We leave you with Beach House performing “On the Sea” from the group’s new album “Bloom.”

(MUSIC)

JUNE SIMMS: I’m June Simms. This program was written and produced by Caty Weaver. Tala Hadavi provided additional reporting.

Join us again next week for music and more on AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

 IV)

Now, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, a VOA Special English program about American expressions. I’m Rich Kleinfeldt with expressions made using the word hold. 

“Can’t hold a candle to” is a popular expression. It is from the time before electricity, when people used candles for light. Someone who lived in a big house would have a servant light his way by holding a candle. The expression meant that the person who cannot hold a candle to you is not fit even to be your servant. Now, it means such a person cannot compare or compete.  In the following song, singer Dolly Parton tells her new love that her old flames, her old lovers, cannot compare with him.

(MUSIC)

Another expression is “hold your tongue.” It means to be still and not talk.  “Hold your tongue” is not something you would tell a friend. But a parent or teacher might use the expression to quiet a noisy child.

“Hold out” is an expression one hears often in sports reports and labor news. It means to refuse to play or work. Professional football and baseball players hold out if their team refuses to pay them what they think they are worth. Members of labor unions hold out and refuse to work until they get the work agreement they want.

The expression “hold up” has several different meanings. One is a robbery. A man with a gun may say, “This is a hold up. Give me your money.” Another meaning is to delay. A driver late for work may tell his boss, “I was held up by heavy traffic.” Someone who was robbed on the way to work might say, “Sorry, boss, I was held up by a hold up.”

Still another meaning of the expression is for a story to be considered true after an investigation. The same driver late for work could say, “My boss did not believe a hold up held me up. But the police confirmed what I said so my story held up.”

“Hold on” is another expression. Often it means wait or stop. As you leave for school, your brother may say, “Hold on, you forgot your book.”

Hold on is used to ask a telephone caller to wait and not hang up his telephone. If you call a library to ask for a book, the librarian might say, “Hold on while I look for it.”

Our final expression is “hold the line.” That means to keep a problem or situation from getting worse, to hold steady. For example, the president may say he will hold the line on taxes. He means there will be no increase in taxes. Now, I must hold the line on this program. I have no more time left today.

(MUSIC)

This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Frank Beardsley.  I’m Rich Kleinfeldt.

V)

BOB DOUGHTY: And I’m Bob Doughty with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today we tell about Truman Capote, one of America’s most famous modern writers. He invented a new kind of book called the nonfiction novel. This literary form combined factual reporting with the imaginary possibilities of storytelling. Capote’s writing ability and his wild personality captured the interest of people all over the world. 

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS: Truman Capote became famous for living a wild and exciting life. He traveled a great deal and divided his time between homes in New York City and Switzerland. But he started out from more common roots.

Truman was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in nineteen twenty-four. His name was Truman Streckfus Persons. When he was a very young child, Truman’s mother sent him to live with her family in Monroeville, Alabama. He lived with his aunts and cousins for several years.

Truman rarely saw his parents. But he did become friends with the little girl who lived next door to his family. Her name was Harper Lee. She would later grow up to be a famous writer. Her book “To Kill a Mockingbird,” would earn her a Pulitzer Prize. One of the characters in the book is based on Truman as a child.

BOB DOUGHTY: Truman was a very lonely child. He later said that he felt very different from everyone around him. He said he felt he was much more intelligent and sensitive than others and feared that no one understood him. This helps explain why Truman began writing. Putting his thoughts on paper helped him feel less lonely. As a child he would write for about three hours a day after school.

FAITH LAPIDUS: When Truman was about ten years old he joined his mother in New York City. She had remarried a Cuban-American businessman named Joseph Capote. Mr. Capote soon became the legal parent of Truman. He renamed his stepson Truman Garcia Capote.

Truman did not do well in school. He was very smart but did not like classes. He stopped attending high school when he was seventeen years old. Instead, he started working for the New Yorker magazine. And, he kept on writing.

BOB DOUGHTY: Truman Capote once said: “I had to be successful and I had to be successful early.” He said that some people spent half of their lives not knowing what they were going to do. But Capote knew he wanted to be a writer and he wanted to be rich and famous. He succeeded.

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS: In nineteen forty-five Truman Capote sold his first short story to a major magazine. This story, “Miriam”, won a literary prize called the O. Henry Award. A publishing company soon gave him money to start working on a book.

Capote was only twenty-three years old when he finished his first novel, “Other Voices, Other Rooms.” It tells the story of a southern boy who goes to live with his father after his mother dies. The story is an exploration of identity. The boy learns to understand and accept that he loves men.

BOB DOUGHTY: “Other Voices, Other Rooms” was a great success. Critics praised its clarity and honesty. But the story was also disputed. It openly deals with homosexual issues of men loving men. Truman Capote had relationships with men and was not afraid of expressing this fact to the world.

The photograph on the book cover also caused a dispute. The picture of Capote is intense and sexually suggestive. Capote loved shocking the public. He liked to get all kinds of publicity.

Truman Capote soon became well known in the literary world. He loved rich people from important families. Capote was as famous for his personality as he was for his writing. He attended the best parties and restaurants. His small body, boyish looks, and unusual little voice became famous.

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS: Capote wrote many more short stories and essays. In nineteen fifty-eight, he published a book called “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” It has become one of the most well known stories in American culture. The main character is Holly Golightly. She is a free-spirited young woman living in New York City.

Holly is very beautiful and has many lovers. She runs from party to party wearing little black dresses and dark sunglasses. But she has a mysterious past that she tries to escape. At the end of the story Holly leaves New York forever. She disappears from the lives of the men who knew her. But they can never forget her colorful personality.

BOB DOUGHTY: “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” was soon made into a movie. The film stars Audrey Hepburn. She captures Holly Golightly’s spirit perfectly. Here is a scene from the movie. Holly and her friend Paul are visiting Tiffany’s, a very costly jewelry store.

HOLLY GOLIGHTLY: "Isn’t it wonderful? You see what I mean how nothing bad could ever happen to you in a place like this? It isn’t that I give a hoot about jewelry except diamonds of course -- like that! [looking at a diamond necklace] What do you think?"

PAUL: "Well …

HOLLY GOLIGHTLY: "Of course, personally I think it would be tacky to wear diamonds before I am forty."

PAUL: "Well, you’re right. but in the mean time you should have something."

HOLLY GOLIGHTLY: "I’ll wait."

PAUL: "No, I’m going to buy you a present. You bought me one -- a typewriter ribbon and it brought me luck."

HOLLY GOLIGHTLY: "All right, but Tiffany’s can be pretty expensive."

PAUL: "I’ve got my check and …ten dollars."

HOLLY GOLIGHTLY: "Oh, I wouldn’t let you cash your check. But a present for ten dollars or under, that I’ll accept. Of course, I don’t exactly know what we’re going to find at Tiffany’s for ten dollars."

FAITH LAPIDUS: In the late nineteen fifties Truman Capote started developing a method of writing that would revolutionize journalism. He wanted to combine the facts of reporting with the stylistic richness of storytelling. He became interested in a short New York Times report published in November of nineteen fifty-nine.

The report described the murder of a family in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas. A husband, wife and two children had been shot in their home in the middle of the night.

BOB DOUGHTY: Truman Capote immediately traveled to Kansas to learn more about the killings. His childhood friend Harper Lee went with him. Together they spoke with everyone involved in the investigation. They met with police officers and people living in the town. Capote even became friends with the two killers. The writer met with them many times in jail after they were arrested.

Capote spent the next few years researching what would become his next literary project. His book would give a detailed description of the murders. It would explore the effects of the killing on the town. And it would even tell the story from the point of view of the killers.

FAITH LAPIDUS: But Capote became involved in a moral conflict. He could not complete his book until he knew its ending. So, he had to wait until the end of the trial to see if both killers were found guilty and put to death. As a writer he wanted to finish the story. But as a friend, it was difficult for him to watch the two men die. Capote was torn between his duty towards human life and his duty to his work.

BOB DOUGHTY: Capote worked for six years to produce his book “In Cold Blood.” It was finally published in nineteen sixty-six. It immediately became an international best seller. Truman Capote had invented a whole new kind of writing. He called it the non-fiction novel. He was at the top of his profession.

Here is a recording of Truman Capote from a two thousand five documentary about him. Listen to Capote’s small southern voice as he talks about style.

TRUMAN CAPOTE: “I think one has style or one doesn’t, but style is one’s self. It’s something that you don’t, you cannot…learn. It’s something that has to come from within you. And bit by bit, be arrived at and it’s simply there like the color of your eyes.”

FAITH LAPIDUS: Truman Capote decided to celebrate his new success. In nineteen sixty-six he gave what people called the “party of the century.” He invited five hundred friends for a night of eating, drinking and dancing at the Plaza Hotel in New York. Guests included famous writers, actors and important people from the media. They were told to wear either black or white formal clothing. Capote’s “Black and White Ball” was one of the most famous events in the history of New York society.

BOB DOUGHTY: But Truman Capote’s popularity soon decreased. His drinking and drug use seriously affected his health. His writing also suffered. He published stories that insulted his rich and powerful friends. Many people no longer wanted to have anything to do with him. Capote died in nineteen eighty-four. He was fifty-nine.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Truman Capote’s writing is still celebrated today for its clarity and style. In two thousand five the film “Capote” renewed interest in his work and personality. This little man from Alabama left an important mark on American literary culture.

(MUSIC)

BOB DOUGHTY: This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I’m Bob Doughty.

FAITH LAPIDUS: And I’m Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English.

VI)

this is the VOA Special English Health Report. 

Last week, the United States government announced a major education and research campaign against Alzheimer's disease. The brain-wasting disease has no cure. The plan includes more efforts to develop drugs to prevent it.

In the United States, more than five million people have Alzheimer's or some other form of dementia. As the population gets older, the number is expected to reach almost eight million by twenty-thirty. By then, experts say Alzheimer's and other dementia disorders could affect as many as sixty-six million people worldwide.

The national Alzheimer's plan calls on scientists to develop treatments to prevent the disease by twenty twenty-five. Officials at the National Institutes of Health have promised fifty million dollars to help support that effort. NIH held a conference of the nation's top Alzheimer's researchers where NIH Director Francis Collins discussed the plan.

FRANCIS COLLINS: "We have learned more about this disease in the last couple of years than probably ever before. And now the goal is to take that and translate it into interventions."

Early next year, scientists at the Banner Alzheimer's Institute in Arizona plan to begin human testing of an experimental drug. The drug is called crenezumab, and the hope is it will prevent Alzheimer's.

The study will involve members of a large extended family living in villages in the Medellin area in Colombia. Some of the family members have a rare genetic disorder that causes them to get early-onset Alzheimer's. They begin to show signs of mental loss in their mid-forties and fully develop the disease by their early fifties.

Three hundred people have agreed to be in the study. One-third of them will receive crenezumab. The others will be given a placebo, a pill that does not contain any drug. They will not know if they have been given the drug or the placebo. The study will also include a smaller number of people in the United States.

Pierre Tariot will help lead the study, known as a human trial. He says all of the people have been informed that the drug might not work or that they might receive a placebo. Mr. Tariot says the people still wanted to be in the study.

PIERRE TARIOT: "They have been faced with this devastating illness hitting every generation for hundreds of years. As one of them put it, 'There are many rivers to cross but at least we're at the first bank.'  And that's kind of the attitude that people have had."

Scientists hope that if the drug works in those facing early-onset Alzheimer's, then it might also help older people.

The study in Colombia could take as long as five years, but researchers believe they could get results in two years.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report. You can learn more about Alzheimer's disease and find a link to the national plan at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Faith Lapidus.