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Assignment to Hell: The War Against Nazi Germany with Correspondents Walter Cronkite, Andy Rooney, A.J. Liebling, Homer Bigart, and Hal Boyle Audiobook
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Publisher Description
THEIR WORK ON THE FRONT LINES MADE HEADLINES
In February 1943, a group of journalists-including a young wire service correspondent named Walter Cronkite and cub reporter Andy Rooney-clamored to fly along on a bombing raid over Nazi Germany. Seven of the sixty-four bombers that attacked a U-boat base that day never made it back to England. A fellow survivor, Homer Bigart of the New York Herald Tribune, asked Cronkite if he'd thought through a lede. "I think I'm going to say," mused Cronkite, "that I've just returned from an assignment to hell."
During his esteemed career Walter Cronkite issued millions of words for public consumption, but he never wrote or uttered a truer phrase.
Assignment to Hell tells the powerful and poignant story of the war against Hitler through the eyes of five intrepid reporters. Crisscrossing battlefields, they formed a journalistic band of brothers, repeatedly placing themselves in harm's way to bring the war home for anxious American readers.
Cronkite crashed into Holland on a glider with U.S. paratroopers. Rooney dodged mortar shells as he raced across the Rhine at Remagen. Behind enemy lines in Sicily, Bigart jumped into an amphibious commando raid that nearly ended in disaster. The New Yorker's A. J. Liebling ducked sniper fire as Allied troops liberated his beloved Paris. The Associated Press's Hal Boyle barely escaped SS storm troopers as he uncovered the massacre of U.S. soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge.
Assignment to Hell is a stirring tribute to five of World War II's greatest correspondents and to the brave men and women who fought on the front lines against fascism-their generation's "assignment to hell."
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"slightly biased, as this was one of my work titles, but a really great read for anyone who enjoys biographies of journalists and reading about some of the more harrowing experiences as a reporter in the midst of crisis."
— Jennifer (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“A book every modern journalist—and citizen—should read.”
— Tom Brokaw, television news anchor and author of The Greatest Generation -
“A sprightly synthesis of literature and history…Unique [and] engaging.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) -
“If one can say that reading a book titled Assignment to Hell was a delight, I say it now. The stories are so vivid and alive all these years later that I felt I was there with the legendary correspondents of World War II as they wrote their way from France to Germany.”
— David Maraniss, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of They Marched into Sunlight
Awards
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A 2012 Kansas City Star Top 100 Book for Nonfiction
Assignment to Hell Listener Reviews
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" Great insight to the difficulties of journalists on the front lines in WWII. Many stories for this WWII history buff that heretofore I was unaware of. "
— A, 11/15/2013 -
" Couldn't finish it because I couldn't get into it. My grandmother recommended it, and I'm sure it's an enlightening read, but I've read so many serious books this year that I wasn't motivated to get into this one. "
— Abby, 9/24/2013 -
" Very good account of world war II war correspondents, some of the giants of journalism and broadcasting in the 20th century "
— Bill, 9/13/2013 -
" This book gives you a different perspective on the war. "
— Glenn, 5/7/2013 -
" fascinating to find out what these 1st rate journalists thought about the war and did in it but how they knew one another. "
— Michele, 3/9/2013 -
" What a debt of gratitude we all owe to the soldiers odpf World War II, and the correspondents that also went into harms wya to cover the action. "
— Annm, 2/8/2013 -
" 11-03-12, 7:45 a.m.- Review to follow, damn it; I stayed up all night again to finish this book & am unfortunately in no condition to write anything before I get a couple of hours worth of sleep, my usual mason jar full of strong coffee, and a square or two... "
— Liam, 1/6/2013 -
" WW II through the eyes of some of the most noted newsmen. A fresh look at the war through the work of young correspondents. "
— Marcia, 12/2/2012 -
" Not only does this book show the amazing lengths that these journalists went to to cover WWII, it also provides an excellent overview of the main events of the war. "
— Kyle, 8/25/2012
About Timothy M. Gay
Timothy M. Gay is the author of Satch, Dizzy & Rapid Robert: The Wild Saga of Interracial Baseball before Jackie Robinson and Tris Speaker: The Rough-and-Tumble Life of a Baseball Legend. His essays and op-eds on American history, politics, public policy, and sports have appeared in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, USA Today, and many other publications. A graduate of Georgetown University, where he majored in American history, Tim lives in Virginia with his wife and children.
About Walter Dixon
Walter Dixon is a broadcast media veteran of more than twenty years’ experience with a background in theater and performing arts and voice work for commercials. After a career in public radio, he is now a full-time narrator with more than fifty audiobooks recorded in genres ranging from religion and politics to children’s stories.