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Roderick MacLeish

American writer (1926–2006)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 31, 2026
Entity authorityQ7356635
Source-derived summary

Roderick MacLeish (January 15, 1926 – July 1, 2006) was an American journalist and writer. Born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, he grew up in the Chicago suburbs and graduated from the University of Chicago. MacLeish was news director for WBZ radio in Boston in the early 1950s, then helped start the London and Washington, DC, bureaus of Westinghouse Broadcasting, where he was a chief commentator. He later was a commentator for CBS News, National Public Radio, and The Christian Science Monitor. His published books include both nonfiction and fiction. MacLeish was the nephew of poet Archibald MacLeish. Attorney Eric MacLeish is his son. He died in Washington, DC, at the age of 80.

Bibliography

A Time of Fear (fiction, 1957)

The Sun Stood Still: Israel and the Arabs at War (nonfiction, 1967)

The Guilty Bystander (essays, 1971)

A City on the River (fiction, 1973)

Carnaby Rex (paperback title: The Man Who Wasn't There) (fiction, 1976)

The First Book of Eppe (fiction, 1980)

Prince Ombra (fantasy fiction, 1982)

Crossing at Ivalo (fiction, 1990)

Roderick MacLeish wrote a fiction published in GQ magazine in October 1984, page 214 : Th Smartest Dog in the State of Maine a great article!

Source: GQ Magazine October 1984

Sources

Adam Bernstein, "Political Commentator Rod MacLeish, 80" (obituary), The Washington Post, July 4, 2006 at B07.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Roderick MacLeish” as american writer (1926–2006). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Roderick, MacLeish and American.

Editorial reviewStrongest as a route into the people, institutions and dated events that shaped the subject’s public record. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1926, 2006, 1957, 1967—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1926-01-15. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Roderick, MacLeish and American providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Roderick MacLeish”, the useful work is to connect “american writer (1926–2006)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7356635. VIAF identifies the subject as 81145304377878571283. The Library of Congress control number is n79120938. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1926, 2006, 1957 and 1967.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Roderick MacLeish”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Roderick MacLeish primary sources, Roderick MacLeish archive and Roderick research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Roderick MacLeish”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Roderick MacLeish” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.