Reporting the War: The Journalistic Coverage of World War II

Profiles the lives and work of journalists who kept Americans informed during World War II

YA-This book contains over 100 photographs and illustrations taken or painted in actual combat, and the articles were written by correspondents on the scene; thus, it gives an authentic feeling for the times. The haunting picture of the young Marine on the verso is one of the most famous to come out of the war. Ernie Pyle's report from the front lines on "the death of Captain Waskow" is a classic and should be read by any high school student who is trying to understand the atmosphere during World War II. There are many explanatory articles about persons, events, and ideas that will be extremely valuable to anyone studying the era for reports, projects, or for general interest. There is much information on press censorship-why it was necessary and also why it sometimes went too far. Other sections, such as those on humor, artists in the war, and the mavericks among the correspondents, make this an entertaining volume as well as a fine reference resource.
John Travis, Thomas Jefferson Sci-Tech, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The highlights of this companion volume to an upcoming exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery are 121 photographs and illustrations, including such famous images as Joe Rosenthal's Pulitzer Prize-winning image of Iwo Jima and Margaret Bourke-White's picture of the liberation of the prisoners at Buchenwald. Also compelling are reprints of famous news stories and broadcasts by, among others, Ernie Pyle and Edward R. Murrow. The narrative is thorough and serviceable, if somewhat plodding, but more problematic is the haphazard organization of the chapters. The ten chapters (each of which opens with a brief introduction and a biographical profile) are arranged chronologically by type of media (broadcasting, photojournalism, painting, cartoons), by race or gender, by style ("Mavericks," featuring Hemingway is one example) and by subject ("Dawn of the Atomic Age"). Also troubling is the sometimes inconsistent tone: for instance, after a lengthy cataloguing of General MacArthur's blatant manipulation of the press (tampering with photo captions to make it seem that MacArthur was on the front, for example), these actions are apologetically dismissed: "MacArthur did indeed emerge from the war, in the eyes of many Americans, as a nearly flawless military genius. But in light of his genuinely good performance in the Pacific, that might have occurred without his press office's efforts to make it happen." Still, a general overview of American journalism's place in World War II has been wanting, and this volume satisfies that need quite competently.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

It's a demographic reality that some 70 percent of Americans today have no personal recollection of World War II, reason enough to welcome this superb volume. Visually exciting and tautly written, it presents some of the best color and drama of the war while saluting U.S. writers, photographers, cartoonists and painters whose surnames stand out like beacons: Ernie Pyle, Edward R. Murrow, William Shirer, Margaret Bourke-White, Robert Capa, Bill Mauldin, et al. Here, too, is a report on censorship and on the troubled role of the black press during the war. The book accompanies an exhibition of the same name at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. Strongly recommended for all libraries.
--Chet Hagan, Berks Cty. P.L. System, Pa.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.