EDWARD L. SCHAPSMEIER AND FREDERICK H. SCHAPSMEIER MANUSCRIPT DRAFT, 1987

Political historians, Edward and Frederick Schapsmeier, have co-authored several works on politicians of the twentieth century including books on Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen, journalist Walter Lippman, and Vice-President Henry Wallace. In 1987 they drafted a biography of President Ford and submitted it to him for comments and corrections. President Ford made several emendations in pencil. They mostly reflect corrections to factual material and consist of little commentary by President Ford on the detailed events that the Schapsmeiers narrate. Some revisions were incorporated into the text and appeared in the final published version of Gerald R. Ford’s Date With Destiny: A Political Biography, published by Peter Lang Publishers in 1989.

President Ford has commented on pages: 10, 17, 18, 19, 21, 28, 32, 34, 39, 42, 44, 48, 53, 54, 57, 77, 87, 153, 165, 240, 242, 273, 310, 317, 332, 335, 365, 376, 387, 395, 396, 398, 403, 406, 412, 413, and 421.

Related Materials (June 2004)
For a comparison between the original draft and the final work, a published copy of the Schapsmeiers’ Gerald R. Ford’s Date With Destiny: A Political Biography can be found in the Library holdings. In addition, the Library has three other works written by the Schapsmeiers about President Ford, A Time to Heal: Gerald Ford and Lincoln Legacy, President Gerald R. Ford’s Roots in Omaha, and Gerald R. Ford and Vietnam: His Views as House Minority Leader. Other notable biographies on the life of President Ford in the Library’s collection include President Ford’s autobiography, A Time to Heal (New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1979), and James Cannon’s Time and Chance: Gerald Ford’s Appointment with History (New York: Harper Collins, 1994).