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Traveling the world during the 1920s and ’30s, Richard Halliburton climbed the Matterhorn and was the first person to swim the Panama Canal (he paid 36 cents in tonnage). He climbed Mt. Fuji and Mt. Olympus, swam the Hellespont, followed the path of Odysseus, and retraced the trail of Spanish conquistador Cortez in South America. He flew around the world in an open cockpit plane, nearly falling out while shooting the first aerial photographs of Mt. Everest. And then he wrote books and articles about his adventures, becoming a bestselling author. Halliburton showed American readers the world.

Cathryn J. Prince’s new biography, American Daredevil, illustrates the ways Richard Halliburton attracted Americans of all ages looking for vicarious thrills, and the lasting influence he had on future writers and adventurers. It’s a departure from Prince’s previous event-based books on American airmen shot down over Switzerland during World War II, a Confederate raid on St. Albans, Vermont, and the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff. “I definitely felt a challenge in that regard,” she says. “I felt I had unlocked him when I started to see him as a writer and as someone who wanted to wring as much out of life as possible.” Here she discusses her research for what Booklist calls a “good old-fashioned biography of an almost forgotten celebrity,” Halliburton’s work, and how she hopes his life story impacts readers.

How did you first find out about Richard Halliburton?

I first learned about Richard Halliburton when I was very young. I remember my father telling my brothers and me the story of how he had to see the Taj Mahal because one of his favorite books when he was growing up was [Halliburton’s] Complete Book of Marvels, and he loved the way Halliburton brought the monument to life. Later, when my father was serving in in the Air Force in Vietnam he traveled to the Taj while on leave. The story struck a chord and stayed with me. Many years later, around 2012 or 2013, my parents took my daughter to Memphis, where they visited Rhodes College and saw the Richard Halliburton exhibit that Bill Short maintains as part of the Richard Halliburton collection. When I heard them talk about their visit to the college, and the many things of Halliburton that were there, he started to come to life. I could so easily visualize him.

What compelled you to write a book about him?

I believed that not only what he did—his adventures and writing—but who he was—an incredibly persistent young man—would resonate today. As an author and journalist I was inspired at how he doggedly pursued his dream to write. He proved that when someone dedicates themselves to hard work they can succeed. He never settled and because of that he built an incredible career.

Halliburton poses atop a column at the Parthenon during the trip that became his book The Glorious Adventure. Author’s collection.

Halliburton’s first book, The Royal Road to Romance, was published when he was 25 and covered nearly two years of escapades across Europe and Asia after his graduation from Princeton. It sold 100,000 copies and zoomed to the bestseller list, making him a sensation. Did you read that—or any of his other books—for your research?

I read all of Halliburton’s books as well as the numerous articles he wrote for magazines, including Ladies’ Home Journal and Reader’s Digest. I made several trips to Princeton University where I immersed myself in the Richard Halliburton Papers. I read the thousands of letters he wrote to his parents, letters he received from fans, rough manuscripts, journal entries, and ephemera. I went through boxes of photographs, some never published. I delved into the collection at Rhodes College—I immersed myself in scrap books, letters, and interviews. It was very important to me to track down people who might have met him, or at least knew of him. I found the children and grandchildren of his college roommates, distant cousins, and people who had heard him speak. I also researched the time period so that I could give Halliburton’s life and exploits context.

Have you been to any of the places Halliburton traveled?

I love to travel and have been fortunate to have visited some of the places he traveled, including London, Paris, Zermatt, Chillon Castle, Carcassonne, Yosemite National Park, Vietnam, and Italy. I recently traveled to Israel and thought of him as I climbed through the King David tunnels and saw the Sea of Galilee. He’s definitely inspired me to think about trying some of the more difficult things he did—like climbing. And because of him I now have a desire to see the Dry Tortugas.

Halliburton died at age 39, lost at sea while attempting to sail a Chinese junk from Hong Kong to the San Francisco World’s Fair of 1939. What do you think he would have tackled after that trip, had he lived?

I believe he would have gone on to write more books more in the style of the dispatches he penned about Canton. I think he was developing an interest in taking himself out of the narrative —I think he wanted to be more of an observer.

Why do you think Halliburton and his accomplishments faded from public view? What do you hope people take away from Halliburton’s life story?

I think the foremost reason was World War II. He disappeared just as the world was being torn apart and by the time it started to come back together, people’s tastes and interests had changed. Also, travel started to become easier. I think his early writing style seemed quaint. However, I hope that when people read about Halliburton they too are inspired by his zest for life, his desire to push boundaries, and his endless curiosity. As he once said: “It is a trite but true saying that wherever you go, you find only what you take with you. Adventure does not and cannot mean travel to everyone. It does not require exploring strange lands or living among strange peoples. It simply means satisfying the imagination in whatever you are doing.”

Halliburton had many gifts—what most impressed you about him?

I admire how he rose above those who took many a shot at what he did—he had such dignity in the face of tremendous criticism from Ernest Hemingway, Fred Cole of the New Yorker, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. I admire how in spite of his rock star status he remained loyal to his earliest and closest friends, as well as his parents. He never forgot where he came from. As for his writing, I was most impressed with the reporting and writing he did in the former Soviet Union and Canton in the early days of World War II, a part of his repertoire which I think has been overlooked. I admire the way he gave of himself to his fans—no matter how tired or worn down he was, he delivered and he answered their letters. And then there is the grueling schedule he kept. He demanded a lot of himself, he knew what he wanted, and he worked incredibly hard—but he made it look so easy. As his pilot Moye Stephens said: “He had guts.”

American Daredevil: The Extraordinary Life of Richard Halliburton, the World’s First Celebrity Travel Writer by Cathryn J. Prince officially publishes June 1, 2016. It is available where ever books and e-books are sold.

“Cathryn Prince has written a compelling, well researched account of an inspiring and largely overlooked life, a man who traversed the globe and wrote about all he saw with romance and flair. A sweet look back at a more innocent time, when the world called out to curious young men like Richard Halliburton.” —Neal Thompson, author of A Curious Man: The Strange & Brilliant Life of Robert “Believe It or Not!” Ripley

“Between the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression, the writer-adventurer Richard Halliburton taught America to love the world without revealing his own heart. Prince’s sensitive and unstinting portrait bottles his lightning and captures his tragedy.” —Christopher Heaney, author of Cradle of Gold: The Story of Hiram Bingham, a Real-Life Indiana Jones, and the Search for Machu Picchu

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