Read online book Cronkite's War : His World War II Letters Home by Walter Cronkite in MOBI, PDF, DJV
9781426210198 English 1426210191 A giant in American journalism in the vanguard of "The Greatest Generation" reveals his World War II experiences in this National Geographic book. Walter Cronkite, an obscure 23-year-old United Press wire service reporter, married Betsy Maxwell on March 30, 1940, following a four-year courtship. She proved to be the love of his life, and their marriage lasted happily until her death in 2005. But before Walter and Betsy Cronkite celebrated their second anniversary, he became a credentialed war correspondent, preparing to leave her behind to go overseas. The couple spent months apart in the summer and fall of 1942, as Cronkite sailed on convoys to England and North Africa across the submarine-infested waters of the North Atlantic. After a brief December leave in New York City spent with his young wife, Cronkite left again on assignment for England. This time, the two would not be reunited until the end of the war in Europe. Cronkite would console himself during their absence by writing her long, detailed letters -- sometimes five in a week -- describing his experiences as a war correspondent, his observations of life in wartime Europe, and his longing for her. Betsy Cronkite carefully saved the letters, copying many to circulate among family and friends. (Regrettably she didn't save her own responses.) More than a hundred of Cronkite's letters from 1943-45 (plus a few earlier letters) survive. They reveal surprising and little known facts about this storied public figure in the vanguard of "The Greatest Generation" and a giant in American journalism, and about his World War II experiences. They chronicle both a great love story and a great war story, as told by the reporter who would go on to become anchorman for the CBS Evening News, with a reputation as "the most trusted man in America." Illustrated with heartwarming photos of Walter and Betsy Cronkite during the war from the family collection, the book is edited by Cronkite's grandson, CBS associate producer Walter Cronkite IV, and esteemed historian Maurice Isserman., He was a Defining Voice of "The Greatest Generation," and would become America's foremost television anchorman. But in late 1942, 26-year-old Walter Cronkite, Jr., was simply a young war correspondent, about to leave his new wife, Betsy, for nearly three years to cover World War LT from London. The heartfelt, evocative letters he wrote home to her tell a gripping story of the European front lines, and reveal a side of "the most trusted man in America" not seen on camera. Walter and Betsy Cronkite's grandson Walter Cronkite IV and historian Maurice Isserman blend Cronkite's letters home with selections from his wartime dispatches to create a compelling narrative of war and love, peppered with colorful encounters with the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Clark Gable, tales of derring-do and reporters' camaraderie, and the harsh realities of life in wartime London. Book jacket., With hair-raising accounts of bomb raids and glittery tales of elbow-rubbing with the likes of Clark Gable, Andy Rooney, and Ernest Hemingway, this book captures what foreword writer Tom Brokaw calls 'a quintessential American story'. The book recounts Walter Cronkit's experience as a United Press correspondent covering the air war in Europe from 1943-45, told through the letters to his young wife Besty.
9781426210198 English 1426210191 A giant in American journalism in the vanguard of "The Greatest Generation" reveals his World War II experiences in this National Geographic book. Walter Cronkite, an obscure 23-year-old United Press wire service reporter, married Betsy Maxwell on March 30, 1940, following a four-year courtship. She proved to be the love of his life, and their marriage lasted happily until her death in 2005. But before Walter and Betsy Cronkite celebrated their second anniversary, he became a credentialed war correspondent, preparing to leave her behind to go overseas. The couple spent months apart in the summer and fall of 1942, as Cronkite sailed on convoys to England and North Africa across the submarine-infested waters of the North Atlantic. After a brief December leave in New York City spent with his young wife, Cronkite left again on assignment for England. This time, the two would not be reunited until the end of the war in Europe. Cronkite would console himself during their absence by writing her long, detailed letters -- sometimes five in a week -- describing his experiences as a war correspondent, his observations of life in wartime Europe, and his longing for her. Betsy Cronkite carefully saved the letters, copying many to circulate among family and friends. (Regrettably she didn't save her own responses.) More than a hundred of Cronkite's letters from 1943-45 (plus a few earlier letters) survive. They reveal surprising and little known facts about this storied public figure in the vanguard of "The Greatest Generation" and a giant in American journalism, and about his World War II experiences. They chronicle both a great love story and a great war story, as told by the reporter who would go on to become anchorman for the CBS Evening News, with a reputation as "the most trusted man in America." Illustrated with heartwarming photos of Walter and Betsy Cronkite during the war from the family collection, the book is edited by Cronkite's grandson, CBS associate producer Walter Cronkite IV, and esteemed historian Maurice Isserman., He was a Defining Voice of "The Greatest Generation," and would become America's foremost television anchorman. But in late 1942, 26-year-old Walter Cronkite, Jr., was simply a young war correspondent, about to leave his new wife, Betsy, for nearly three years to cover World War LT from London. The heartfelt, evocative letters he wrote home to her tell a gripping story of the European front lines, and reveal a side of "the most trusted man in America" not seen on camera. Walter and Betsy Cronkite's grandson Walter Cronkite IV and historian Maurice Isserman blend Cronkite's letters home with selections from his wartime dispatches to create a compelling narrative of war and love, peppered with colorful encounters with the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Clark Gable, tales of derring-do and reporters' camaraderie, and the harsh realities of life in wartime London. Book jacket., With hair-raising accounts of bomb raids and glittery tales of elbow-rubbing with the likes of Clark Gable, Andy Rooney, and Ernest Hemingway, this book captures what foreword writer Tom Brokaw calls 'a quintessential American story'. The book recounts Walter Cronkit's experience as a United Press correspondent covering the air war in Europe from 1943-45, told through the letters to his young wife Besty.