Ernie Pyle

[The Reno Kid]

I'm still fresh off the boat as far as the forum is concerned, so I don't know if this has been discussed or not. Anyway, a lot of people are familiar with Ernie Pyle's war reporting. What is less well known is the writing he did for the Scripps-Howard newspaper syndicate in the years prior to WWII. In about 1934, he was working for the Washington Star. He made a deal with his editor to go out on the road at the paper's expense. He was on the road for seven years.

The deal was he had to submit 6 1,000 word columns every week. The result was a huge number of slice-of-life type essays that are absolutely wonderful. I have three books that are collections of these columns. Home Country was released in 1947, two years after Pyle's Death. Ernie's America was published about fifteen years ago. The third volume I have a third, rather thin, book called Ernie Pyle's Southwest. It duplicates some essays from the other books but it's still worth having.

Anyway, I suspect a lot of people here would find these appealing. Pyle wrote about ordinary people doing ordinary things and the result is a sort of window on the times. Also, it comes in small, easily digestible chunks making these books perfect for dipping into without feeling like you're embarking on a major project. They are readily available on ebay or the usual used book sites. Highly recommended!

 

[Andykev]

Ernie Pyle a Great American

Can you believe it? Andykev is currently reading "HERE IS YOUR WAR; STORY OF G.I. JOE" by Ernie Pyle, first published in 1943.

As you all know, or may know, Ernie Pyle was a much loved war correspondent, who traveled to to the front lines, and submitted reports from the front in a folksy and very warm fashion which were a teriffic hit in the papers at home.

Sadly, Ernie Pyle was killed in action, on the island of Ie Shima, after the intial landings. On the morning of April 18, 1945, Pyle and several Marines were in a jeep travelling on a road used extensively after the landings. Suddenly, a Japaneese Soldier with a machine gun opened fire. Pyle, and the others in the jeep jumped for cover. Unfortunately, Pyle was struck in the head with a bullet, ending his life.

Pyle's career as a colomunist covering the war lasted two months short of three years. His works remain as a testament of what war is really like, serving to educate future Americans about war, and all the soldier goes through.


I highly recommend this book.:eusa_clap

 

[Andykev]

Easy to love

I thank you for the book recommendations. He is the predecessor to the type of journalism "On the Road" , like Charles Kuralt did for CBS.

Ernie Pyle really KNEW the common man, and that is why his stories are so well received, timely, and a testament to the "simpler times" of the early part of the last century (funny saying that, I was born in that " last century").


Read Ernie Pyle...his writings are like sitting across a table with a nice beverage and an old friend. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.