Lines of Battle
The war in Vietnam, in some ways, corresponded to a larger war being
fought by women in America as they battled to win standing and equality
in traditionally male-dominated fields such as journalism, offers Joyce
Hoffman in her thoroughly researched On Their Own: Women
Journalists and the American Experience in Vietnam (Da Capo, 448 pages,
$26).
Hoffman, herself an experienced journalist, associate professor at Old
Dominion University and public editor for the Virginian Pilot, opens up
an almost-lost story of both wars in this well-written, well-paced
history of the more than 300 female journalists who fought to report
from the war zone.
“South Vietnam was no place for a woman.” Hoffman writes. “Or so thought
the legions of male editors who were at the top of newsroom hierarchies
in the mainstream media in the 1950s and 1960s. In fact, many of those
men believed that a newsroom was no place for a woman, either.”
Some women were killed. Some were captured. Some won top awards for
reporting, including the Pulitzer Prize. And through it all, they
persevered in the battlefield and in the industry. Hoffman makes it
clear that these women were vital not only in reporting the war, but
also in breaking up the boys’ club that controlled the media of the day.
“On Their Own” will appeal to lovers of contemporary history, to readers
interested in the large cultural changes of the 1960s and 1970s, to
Vietnam historians, and to anyone who just likes to sit down and read a
good book.
The Black Death was the largest disaster ever to hit mankind. Within
a span of only a few years in the 14th century, the plague killed up to
40 percent of the human race. Yet little is known of the tragedy as
there are few, if any, first-hand reports of how it affected everyday
people.
In The Black Death: A Personal History (Da Capo, 330 pages,
$27.50), John Hatcher, chairman of the history faculty at
Cambridge University, imagines the scenario. Extrapolating from a
treasure trove of documents from a small parish in Suffolk, England,
Hatcher has written a “history from the inside,” putting personalities
to the statistics and intimacies to the generalizations.
The story follows the characters of Master John and others through the
dark days of the scourge. Yet “The Black Death” should not be considered
historical fiction. It is, instead, fictional history.
One can feel Hatcher, a renowned historian and expert on the subject,
struggle with the fictional aspect of his story to maintain the
scientist’s unbiased eye. At times the characters and action seem flat
as they’re molded to fit the parish records. Despite this lack of
narrative strength, however, “The Black Death” is a fascinating read and
is a welcome addition to our understanding of this poorly documented
catastrophe.
John Denniston lives and writes in Richmond.
