G. Wayne Miller

AN UNCOMMON MAN: The Life and Times of Senator Claiborne Pell

The authorized biography of Claiborne deBorda Pell

Publication in October 2011

With 36 years in the U.S. Senate (16th longest ever) and a long list of legislative accomplishments that included the Pell Grant college-assistance program, establishment of the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, fast-speed passenger rail service, and a ban on nuclear testing on the ocean floor, the late Claiborne Pell had few equals. But he was much more than that -- a quirky and colorful man born into great wealth who spent most of his life in service to the people, a true example of noblesse oblige. Pell was a politician of unfailing courtesy, even during contentious times, a skilled legislator who worked both sides of the aisle with dignity and grace -- imagine that today, in the Joe Wilson/Glenn Beck era. AN UNCOMMON MAN, by G. Wayne Miller with the cooperation of the Pell family, is the first and only book about his life. The bio will be published in October of 2011 by the University Press of New England.

Follow the writing, publication and promotion of the book and see never-before-published letters, photos and more, on the Claiborne Pell biography blog.

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For some background on Pell, read my April 10, 2005 Providence Journal story, "A Remarkable Life," about Nuala and Caiborne and their family, published when the senator, who suffered from Parkinson's Disease, was 87. Some nice selections from the Pell family scrapbook are here, too.