The Great War Reporter
Journalism 1914-1916
Published on 2. November 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
246 pages
978-0-9907137-4-6 (ISBN)
Description
The well-traveled and photogenic Richard Harding Davis represented all that was edgy and glamorous about the new breed of American journalist: foreign correspondent. Fearlessly tramping by rail, road and horseback to the front lines of the "Great War," he sent back colorful dispatches on the murderous trench warfare in France, shocking German atrocities in Belgium, and the convoluted fighting in the Balkan mountains, where tribal loyalties and murky national rivalries created a confusing strategic chessboard. While pulling down a hefty annual retainer of $32,000 for the Wheeler Syndicate, Davis ran serious risks to his life and freedom; on one nearly fatal day he was arrested by the Germans as a British spy, and managed to turn the incident into one of the most famous newspaper stories of the entire war. His reports landed on the front pages of the leading New York papers, including the Herald, the Times, and the Tribune, and also earning him a spotlight in the Sunday supplements, where his descriptions of civilians, political figures and combat veterans revealed the war’s many fascinating backstories. The Great War: Journalism 1914 – 1916, the first compilation of Davis’ original reporting in history, is a publishing landmark that will help students, historians and casual readers understand the most important single event of the 20th century.
More details
Language
English
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
352 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-9907137-4-6 (9780990713746)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Richard Harding Davis was an American journalist, fiction and drama writer who is best remembered for becoming the first American war correspondent to cover the Spanish-American War, the Second Boer War, and WWI. His writing considerably helped Theodore Roosevelt's political career. He also played a significant effect in the evolution of American magazines. His impact extended to the world of fashion, and he is credited with popularizing the clean-shaven style among males at the start of the twentieth century. Davis was born April 18, 1864, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His mother, Rebecca Harding Davis, was a well-known writer in her day. His father, Lemuel Clarke Davis, was a journalist who edited the Philadelphia Public Ledger. Davis attended Episcopal Academy when he was a young man. After an unsatisfactory year at Swarthmore College, Davis relocated to Lehigh University, where his uncle, H. Wilson Harding, was a professor. Davis' first book, a collection of short stories titled The Adventures of My Freshman (1884), was published while he was at Lehigh. Many of the tales had previously appeared in the student magazine, the Lehigh Burr. Davis attended Johns Hopkins University after transferring in 1885.