Joseph E. Persico (1930–2014)

'The futility of war - and the Great War in particular - has often been remarked upon, but it was carried to its logical, nonsensical conclusion on 11 November 1918. The prospect of peace appears to have left many with an unendurable sense of unfinished business, causing them to mount attacks even when war's end had been agreed. Almost 3,000 lost their lives in the last few hours before the Armistice- here their tragic story is poignantly told.' The ScotsmanUsing military archives and public records, along with journals and diaries, Joseph Persico weaves together the eleventh hour experiences of the men in the trenches, unsung and unremembered, the British Tommies, French Poilus, American Doughboys and German Feldgrau. Where, for example, was the Austrian corporal, Adolf Hitler, on that...… (meer)

Finished Joseph Persico's Edward R. Murrow. A man who saw the greatness of radio and was its voice from his time reporting the Blitz from the rooftops of London to the Liberation of Buchenwald he was the voice of the war to many as Ernie Pyle was its author. The voice of his own program "Hear It Now."

He represented both the golden age of radio and television and was a bridge between the two. He saw radio as the superior medium believing the picture conveyed less than the spoken word. He abhorred commercialism in both mediums and saw the game show Era and the subsequent game show

He saw that both as a way to bring understanding and world events to the common man.

Not the greatest writer or spoken voice but the composite of both. He attempted to recruit Walter Cronkite as a Murrow Boy while in London and had a ongoing rivalry with him when he declined. He was the voice of morality to many.

I previously read Murrow: His Life and Times by A. M. Sperber and both are excellent although I believe this does a superior job on his early pre-radio life.

A solid 4 star rating and I strongly endorse the reading of this book fine biography.… (meer)