VANCE PACKARD - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 07/29/1979 - HFSID 201545

VANCE PACKARD
His detailed, candid discussion of his life as a writer, and how he chooses his topics
Typed Letter signed: "Vance Packard", 1 page, 6x9. New Canaan, Connecticut, 1979 July 29. On personal letterhead to "Dear Mr. Norbutt", in full: "I have been out of the country most of this year and just today saw your most interesting letter about your work with hard-pressed young people in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area. A sense of individual responsibility to society I think is one of the greatest achievements any of us can achieve, and I am glad you are stressing that. I work hard at being a writer but that is about it. You mention 'creativity' and 'perceptiveness.' I probably have more of the latter than the former. It is not a lonely life. I particularly enjoy the travel that goes with researching my books. I spend about four years on each book, start to finish, but could do them faster I guess if I tried. In each book I try to focus on an area of life where significant changes affecting peoples' lives are occurring. I research it until I have enough materials for three or four books, then write one. It becomes a distillation which probably helps readability. Thank you for your interest, and good luck in your work. Sincerely". Journalist, author and social critic Vance Packard (1914-1996) wrote several best-selling books raising issues still topical half a century later. These included The Hidden Persuaders, a critique of modern advertising's power of manipulation, including the use of subliminal messaging. This was followed by The Status Seekers (1959, analyzing American social stratification), The Waste Makers (1960, focused on planned obsolescence), and The Naked Society (1964, examining threats to privacy). The last of his twelve books, The Ultra Rich: How Much is Too Much, was published in 1989.) Fine condition.