SALISBURY, Charlotte Y.

Born 12 March 1914, Weston, Massachusetts

Daughter of Benjamin L. and Mary Coolidge Hall Young; married Allstom Boyer, 1934; John A. Rand, 1940; Harrison Salisbury, 1964

Charlotte Y. Salisbury grew up in Weston, Massachusetts, and resided in Manhattan and Connecticut. Salisbury's first major publication, Asian Diary (1968), is the result of an extensive trip in 1966, on which she accompanied her husband, Harrison Salisbury, a reporter for the New York Times, to Hong Kong, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, India, Sikkim, Mongolia, Siberia, and Japan.

The special quality of Asian Diary is its informality and vivid descriptions of everyday scenes. Although Salisbury had the opportunity to mingle with the "notables," she preferred to associate mostly with the "nobodys." She talked with generals, governors, princes and prime ministers, but the people in the cities and villages were the primary focus of her attention. Salisbury describes the magic colors of Cambodia, the melee of life in the Bangkok klongs, the grace and beauty of the Southeast Asian people, the charm and fairytale quality of Sikkim, and the surprisingly beautiful landscape of Siberia. Writing during the Vietnam war, Salisbury is acutely aware of the political threats to these Asian cultures. Not surprisingly, the book includes very harsh criticisms of foreign intrusions in general and of American involvement in particular. Salisbury asks, "What are we really doing there except trying to impose our thinking, our way of life, with our army, our bombs, our modern technology, on a small simple peasant country?"

China Diary (1973) is also a descriptive travel book. It is the product of a six-week visit to Peking with her husband. As with her previous writings, China Diary is especially valuable for the perceptive observations and impressions of a casual visitor. In this sense it is a refreshing contrast to reports of experts that, though informative, are dull by comparison and lack the warmth which pervades these diaries. Of his wife, Harrison Salisbury noted that she "looks on the world with clear, unclouded eyes and records her response with a warm and frank heart…. Her feelings about people are solid and earthy. She senses what is real and what is diplomatic pretense. You can rely on her judgements." In this book, Salisbury takes her readers on a journey through Peking, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Wuhan, Sian, and Changsha. Salisbury also describes the countryside, the farms, the factories, the schools, the hospitals, and the children's facilities. It is a useful guide for the traveler, as well as a description of the life of Chinese peasants and high officials.

A third book resulting from Salisbury's travels with her husband is Russian Diary (1974). This time it was Moscow and Leningrad they had the opportunity to visit. Again, Salisbury's dominant concern is for the common people. She is interested in their daily living in an autocratic society. And again, she is not hesitant to be critical—this time of the U.S.S.R.'s oppressive policies. Salisbury writes that the government puts guns ahead of decency, and conformity ahead of creativity.

In one sense, Salisbury's books are travelogues; but they also speak out against all the indignities to the human spirit.

Bibliography:

Atlantic (Sept. 1974). Christian Century (31 July 1974). LJ (1 June 1968, 15 March 1973, 1 June 1974). Nation (6 May 1968). NYTBR (18 Feb. 1968, 22 April 1973).

—PATRICIA LANGHALS NEILS