Joan Murray, the granddaughter of famed Iowan Henry A. Wallace, has produced a new documentary film on his life that will be presented this month by the John C. Culver Public Policy Center at Simpson College. The documentary, "Henry A. Wallace: An Uncommon Man," will be shown at 7 p.m. Wednesday Oct. 26, 2011, at the Carver Conference Center on the campus of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, 7000 NW 62^nd St., Johnston, Iowa. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Henry A. Wallace

Wallace was the 33rd vice president of the United States, as well as the Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of Commerce. Henry A. Wallace followed his father, Henry C. Wallace, and his grandfather, Henry Wallace, as editor of Wallaces Farmer. A brilliant farmer, scientist, writer, and public servant, Henry A. Wallace is considered one of the most influential and important Iowans who ever lived.

Former U.S. Senator from Iowa, John C. Culver, who co-authored a biography on Henry A. Wallace, will introduce the film. A reception will be held after the viewing, and several members of the Wallace family are expected to attend. The biography is titled "American Dreamer," and Culver co-wrote the biography with the late John Hyde. The book was published in 2001.

The book "American Dreamer" was the first full biography of H.A. Wallace

Because of limited seating, advanced reservations are required to attend the viewing of the film on October 26 at Pioneer in Johnston. To attend, you need to RSVP to Mary Sheka at 515-961-1354 or [email protected].

The great politician, agriculturalist, economist, author, and businessman—loved and reviled--was finally revealed in the well researched and well written biography—American Dreamer. Henry A. Wallace, a visionary intellectual and one of this century's most important and controversial figures. He was a geneticist of international renown, a prolific author, a groundbreaking economist, and a businessman whose seed corn company paved the way for a worldwide agricultural revolution.

Henry A. Wallace also held two cabinet posts, served four tumultuous years as America's wartime vice president under FDR, and he waged a quixotic campaign for president in 1948. Wallace was a figure of paradox: a shy man, uncomfortable in the world of politics, who narrowly missed becoming president of the United States; the scion of prominent Midwestern Republicans and the philosophical voice of New Deal liberalism; loved by millions as the Prophet of the Common Man, and reviled by millions more as a dangerous, misguided radical. In writing the biography, John C. Culver and John Hyde combed through thousands of document pages and family papers, from Wallace's letters and diaries to previously unavailable files sealed within the archives of the Soviet Union.

His is the remarkable story of an authentic American dreamer. After the book American Dreamer first came out, George McGovern had this to say: "This is a great book about a great man. I can't recall when—if ever—I've read a better biography." It will be interesting to view the new documentary film about Henry A. Wallace, one of the more fascinating figures in American history.