Career Carleton Beals

unable find work writer, beals took job standard oil company, did not suit him. in 1918, spent brief period of time in jail world war draft evader. upon release, decided go see world, , little money had, beals , wife lillian drove mexico. there, founded english preparatory institute, , taught @ american high school. left mexico in 1921 europe beals studied @ university of madrid, , university of rome. in mexico, became correspondent nation, separated wife, , became romantically involved photographer tina modotti s sister, mercedes.

in february 1928, oswald garrison villard, editor of nation, sent beals nicaragua write series of articles. became notable foreign journalist interviewed general augusto sandino during nicaragua s 1927–33 war against military occupation.

in all, beals wrote on 200 magazine articles publications such new republic , harper s magazine. beals wrote more 45 books, including on history, geography, , travel. of books written juvenile audience. autobiography, glass houses, published j.b. lippincott company in 1938. in 1931, beals awarded john simon guggenheim memorial foundation fellowship biographies. biography subjects included porfirio díaz, huey p. long, roberto de la selva, stephen f. austin, john eliot, carrie nation, , leon trotsky.

during career, beals witnessed mexican revolutions, lectured on shakespeare, , held incommunicado mexican general. travels took him french morocco, tunisia, algiers, greece, turkey, soviet union, germany, , caribbean. ford hall forum speaker in 1936, , member of american committee defense of leon trotsky in 1937. following year, time magazine called beals, best informed , awkward living writer on latin america.