Review by Choice Review
This historical sketch, covering the period from the American Revolution to the present, features the reflections of American and European correspondents in their letters and memos on major international events of the 19th and 20th centuries. The notes William L. Laurence exchanged with his editors at The New York Times about the atomic bomb's development and use in the 1940s are particularly compelling. The book helps readers place in perspective the work of such famed correspondents as Edward R. Murrow, Theodore White, and Ernie Pyle. Hohenberg explains how a circle of talented peers contributed to their success. Reporting about international events in the past three decades is updated since the book's highly regarded first edition (CH, Apr'65). The chapters surveying recent history are less detailed than earlier chapters. Although Hohenberg foresees more female international correspondents, he avoids discussing the impact of the Internet, with its capacity instantly to access news from around the world by computer. This volume has little competition, since most books about international correspondents focus on the life of one journalist rather than on the profession. The book is not a formal literature review, but it mentions recent research on the numbers of foreign correspondents. The text is well annotated, with a useful bibliography and appendix. Recommended for undergraduate journalism collections. R. A. Logan University of Missouri--Columbia
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
