From the North African desert to the bloody stalemate in Italy, from the London blitz to the D-Day beaches, a group of highly courageous and extremely talented American journalists reported the war against Nazi Germany for a grateful audience. Based on a wealth of previously untapped primary sources, War Beat, Europe provides the first comprehensive account of what these reporters witnessed, what they were allowed to publish, and how their reports shaped the home front's perception of some of the most pivotal battles in American history. In a dramatic and fast-paced narrative, Steven Casey takes readers from the inner councils of government, where Franklin D. Roosevelt and George Marshall held clear views about how much blood and gore Americans could stomach, to the command centers in London, Algiers, Naples, and Paris, where many reporters were stuck with the dreary task of reporting the war by communique. At the heart of this book is the epic journey of reporters like Wes Gallagher and Don Whitehead of the Associated Press, Drew Middleton of the New York Times, Bill Stoneman of the Chicago Daily News, and John Thompson of the Chicago Tribune; of columnists like Ernie Pyle and Hal Boyle; and of photographers like Margaret Bourke-White and Robert Capa. These men and women risked their lives on countless occasions to get their dispatches and their images back home. In providing coverage of war in an open society, they also balanced the weighty responsibility of adhering to censorship regulations while working to sell newspapers and maintaining American support for the war. These reporters were driven by a combination of ambition, patriotism, and belief in the cause. War Beat, Europe shows how they earned their reputation as America's golden generation of journalists and wrote the first draft of World War II history for posterity.

About the Author
Steven Casey is Professor of International History at the London School of Economics. His award-winning books include Cautious Crusade, Selling the Korean War, and When Soldiers Fall.

Reviews
World War II has been covered so extensively it is rare to find a book that breaks new ground. In The War Beat, Europe, Steven Casey explores a largely overlooked topic from an original perspective.Casey dives deep into the collaboration and dissention among these individuals to confront the stereotype that the media and military acted in lock-step to present a sanitized view of the war and maintain public support.... For all its deep research, historical heft, and fidelity to truth, the book has anengaging narrative flow that compels the reader on to each succeeding chapter. This is attributable, in part, to finely drawn sketches of people involved that facilitate the reader feeling as if one is in the shoes of an Ernie Pyle in combat with his beloved infantry men, or among the Writing Sixty-Ninth, getting ready to fly on a bombing run. * Kevin Bemel, Journal of Military History *
The core of Casey's book is his meticulous documenting of the many tensions between the US military and the media. Many incidents resonate with the present day ... Casey uncovers some challenging material, which flies in the face of the US media's glorification of its own historical role ... This fine book works on many levels. It has its heroes ... It has more than the requisite dose of jeep-dashes across bomb-scared terrain, testosterone and typewriters to keep the aficionado of World War Two reportage reading ... This book underlines the importance of a free media in wartime, but more than this it shows the need for a critical body of scholarship to probe that media's claims about itself; to unpicked the threads of self-aggrandizing myth and grubby reality which make up the tapestries of war and political history alike. * Nicholas J. Cull, Journal of Modern History *
The text is carefully written and contains comprehensive notes....Highly recommended. * R.A. Logan, CHOICE *
[W]ell-researched * Jim Michaels, World War II *
Focused on the combat dimension of war, Casey's account achieves considerable momentum, while his richly descriptive prose evokes the linguistic agility of his journalistic subjects. * Susan L. Carruthers, Diplomatic History *
This fine book works on many levels... [It] underlines the importance of a free media in wartime, but more than this it shows the need for a critical body of scholarship to probe that media's claims about itself; to unpick the threads of self-aggrandizing myth and grubby reality that make up the tapestries * Nicholas J. Cull, Journal of Modern History *
A vivid contribution to media and military history. * Kirkus *


Awards
Winner of Winner, Book of the Year Award, American Journalism Historians Association.



Book Information
ISBN 9780190660628
Author Steven Casey
Format Hardback
Page Count 442
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 794g
Dimensions(mm) 165mm * 236mm * 38mm