Dispatches from the Front: News Accounts of American Wars, 1776-1991 (Henry Holt Reference Book) [Hardcover]

Nathaniel Lande (Author)

Book Description

Series: Henry Holt Reference Book | Publication Date: October 1995

Featuring eyewitness accounts from war correspondents, innocent bystanders, and press pool journalists on the front lines of every major war in America's history, a collection of "you are there" stories includes historical background, period photographs, and illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The Persian Gulf war revived interest in the art of war reporting. Readers who want to compare the journalism of the Gulf with that of nine other American wars can do so courtesy of this compilation. Lande, a journalist and publishing executive, has chosen nearly 90 works dating back to the Revolutionary War, by such familiar recent names as Ernie Pyle, John Hersey, Edward R. Murrow, David Halberstam, and Vietnam-era Peter Arnett. The writing is often poignant, and not all of it takes place on the battlefield. Inevitably, some potency is lost when it is removed from the realm of day-to-day journalism. The collection will be best suited to libraries with significant holdings in military history and journalism, and could profitably be read in conjunction with a critical, analytical work such as Phillip Knightley's The First Casualty (LJ 10/15/75).
Bruce D. Rosenstein, USA Today Lib., Arlington, Va.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Here is a first-rate gathering of war reportage from throughout U.S. history, and Lande's exhaustive compilation is not only fascinating reading but a great example of the ongoing bond, albeit an often reluctant one, between soldiers and the press. Early accounts of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 are written in the stilted, anticonversational style of the early years of this country, but are no less harrowing than modern-day journalism. Civil War years see the emergence of the correspondent as the reader's alter ego at the center of action, notably in a piece by Henry Villard of the New York Herald that headlined the reporter's name as an eyewitness of the First Battle of Bull Run. The Spanish-American War introduces Richard Harding Davis, the first nationally known war correspondent, and Red Badge of Courage author Stephen Crane seeing his first action ever with Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders. World War I entries include an account of the firing-squad execution of spy Mata Hari, and a large section dedicated to World War II features a raging General Patton scolding correspondents for their glumness at Allied losses in the Battle of the Bulge, and the introduction of the granddaddy of all field correspondents, Ernie Pyle. Extensive chapters outlining battles and personalities in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War complete this superb and never dull collection of real-life heroes. Joe Collins

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co; 1st edition (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805036644
• ISBN-13: 978-0805036640
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,522,983 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A First Rate Book, February 22, 2000

By 

Dr. Lowell Fleming (Cambridge University) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dispatches from the Front: News Accounts of American Wars, 1776-1991 (Henry Holt Reference Book) (Hardcover)

"DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT is a first-rate book about the men and women who reported the gallantry, the raw courage and the honor of America's wars. Nathaniel Lande is both a teacher and a scholar in his vivid account of these correspondents, who became opinion makers helping shape an emerging nation." William Friday: President Emeritus

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding scholarship. A wonderful read!, February 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Dispatches from the Front: A History of the American War Correspondent (Paperback)

"A Dynamite read" Colonel David Hackworth: NEWSWEEK.

"Beautifully written...This masterful collection is for anyone who appreciates good writing and loves journalism. It is a moving account of our republic that honors the best in our profession." Edward Barnes:TIME.

I could not agree more with these quotes from the Oxford University Press edition of DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT: A History of the American War Correspondent. From typewriter patriots to frontline poets, radio microphones and satelitte links, this book is a stunning illustrated history of the American War Correspondent. I found it facinating, especially the tone and character of the press coverage that has shaped the nation's understanding of itself. Nathaniel Lande is a graceful and insightful writer, a scholar who has written one of the most facinating books with riveting accounts from Ten American Wars. It is more than "national snapshots" of the world and America on the home front and front lines. I felt every musket fire and missile blast from Lexington to Bagdad. I think readers will be particularly moved, as I was, with the selected dispatches filed by Ernest Hemingway, Ernie Pyle and Sydney Schanberg, who with more than sixty other correspondents took me inside American's Wars as they happened.