Hoosier lives

The Sword & the Pen: A Life of Lew Wallace
By Ray E. Boomhower
Indiana Historical Society Press; $15.95

Indiana Legends, 4th edition
By Nelson Price
Emmis Books; $24.99

General, Indiana state senator, New Mexico territorial governor, minister to Turkey — Lew Wallace died 100 years ago at age 77, hailed as one of Indiana’s famed authors. Ninety-five years ago, MGM released Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (followed in 1959 by the version starring Charlton Heston), based on Wallace’s novel that has been in print since its 1880 publication. Ray Boomhower’s biography aptly reflects the life of glory and adventure dreamed of and lived by this quintessential 19th century Hoosier who gained his lead title in the Civil War.

Wallace possessed a restless intellect. He preferred exploring Indiana’s then-wilderness, reading on his own and perfecting his violin playing and drawing to classroom learning. Wallace’s father, Indiana’s sixth governor, sent Wallace out on his own at age 16, refusing further support for music and art studies, which he considered poor vocation choices.

“He was never afraid to follow his dreams,” summarizes Boomhower, closing the book with Wallace’s words: “Men speak of dreaming as if it were a phenomenon of night and sleep. They should know better. Living is dreaming. Only in the grave are there no dreams.”

This book reveals how a school dropout came to be the only novelist whose likeness stands in the National Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., why he is as linked to the histories of New Mexico and Turkey as he is to his native state, where he left architectural masterpieces, and when he made history (even in death concerning copyright filming rights), and why Lew Wallace made novel-, stage-plays and film-hating Christians into readers and audience members.

Wallace appears on page 61 of Nelson Price’s survey of Hoosiers we honor and despise. Price ponders, “Who qualifies as a Hoosier,” and what makes someone sufficiently famous or infamous to be considered legendary? Space constraints, he points out, may be the determining factor. The almost 200 profiles reflect a diversity of pursuits, some one-of-a-kind, many clustered into professions such as “astronauts” or “basketball.”

Chris Schenkel, who died at age 82 on Sept. 11, 2005, gave status to pro bowling before moving on to “covering everything from boxing to rodeo and anchoring coverage of the 1972 Munich Olympics.” Like Lew Wallace, Schenkel never left Indiana even though he was the New York Giants’ football commentator for 13 years and served ABC-TV for 36 years as their sports commentator. Price doesn’t mention it, yet historians know Schenkel best for his defense of Jim Thorpe when Thorpe was (allegedly unfairly) stripped of his Olympic medals.

Indiana Legends is a handy reference, for example: Need a quick overview of Twyla Tharp before attending Movin’ Out? Check page 328. At a loss for how the Eli Lilly Company became an Indianapolis icon? Read pages 75-78. Want to know if there are other thrill seekers in the Wallace mode?

Live Fast, Die Young: The Wild Ride of Making REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE
By Lawrence Frascell and Al Weisel
Touchstone; $24.95

This may be more than you ever wanted to know about the inner sanctum of the film industry, yet it’s worth digesting as a means of gaining sociological and cultural context regarding “teen culture.”

“Teen-ager” entered the English vocabulary in 1941. By early 1950s, the concept, along with the growing numbers of 13 to 19 year olds, had become an economic and social force. The authors allude to this emerging power as fueling the subsequent civil rights movement dawning with the ’60s.

Symbols and action emerged in defiance of the Red Scare, where names-were-named and lives were shattered.

Actor James Dean may be credited as the face, body and attitude change-agent from “holding pen” between child-and-adulthood, but it’s director Nicholas Ray who masterminded making the film “that has rocked every generation since its [1955] release.”

The parallel stories of Ray’s personal and professional lives interfaces with the still-illusive persona of James Dean. How did this Indiana native come to imbue a new concept of maleness, coolness, recklessness? Why did Dean risk all for that fast race just as he was in a position to set his own pace?

What’s not known grabs as implicitly as does the gossip-mongering.

Author Ray E. Boomhower will appear at the annual History Conference at the Indiana Historical Society on Saturday, Oct. 29 from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Ball State professor Wes Gehring will speak about James Dean from 1:15 to 2:30 p.m. To register: 317-232-1882 or www.indianahistory.org.