Deadline Delayed offers immediate perspectives of World War II and its aftermath–both mournful and hopeful.
High Point: The book starkly portrays the impact of a world war on its participants.
Low Point: The realization that we seem to have learned little about the evils of the greed and pride that lead to war.
Author: Various (edited by the Overseas Press Club of America)
Publication Date: 1947
Genre: History
Project Gutenberg: Not available
LibriVox: Not available
Movie/TV Adaptation: None
Deadline Delayed, released in 1947, is a fascinating collection of previously unpublished articles written during and immediately following the second world war. All contributors were members of the Overseas Press Club of America.
Personal Perspectives to War
These articles offer immediate perspectives of the war and its aftermath. They generally serve as sober commemoratives rather than joyous celebrations.
The stories often provide an incredibly personal touch to events we still read about in the history books. Among the best:
- “The Postwar Germans” by Julian Bach, Jr. describes life for residents of the defeated Germany. Bach offers suggestions for avoiding the Allies’ mistakes during recovery from the first world war.
- “General Patton’s Version of the Sicilian Slapping Incidents” by Henry J. Taylor details the famous general’s motives for his discipline of soldiers suffering from combat fatigue.
- “Architects of a Better World?” by John A. Parris, Jr. is a hopeful account of the establishment of the United Nations. Parris portrays a new hope that the UN would be effective for maintaining and enforcing peaceful relations among the world’s nations.
The best of the bunch may be “Tea and Ashes” by Irene Kuhn. Her article is a poignant and emotional account of the fate of two B-25 crews captured by the Japanese after the Doolittle raid on Tokyo in 1942.
Deadline Delayed
The most common reason for not publishing the articles initially was wartime censorship by the military. Other times, communication facilities from war zones weren’t available to get the articles out. But sometimes the journalists simply didn’t realize the significance of their articles, and they neglected to file them.
If they had been published during the war, their impact likely would have been lost in the noise of the war. The articles in Deadline Delayed may be most effective 80 years later as we reflect on how the world has developed since the second world war.
Quotes
| “When I start to feel that I’m becoming a bit of a biblio-fanatic, I remember the words of Luc Van Donkersgoed, a Dutch genius: ‘Think not of the books you’ve bought as a ‘to be read’ pile. Instead, think of your bookcase as a wine cellar. You collect books to be read at the right time, the right place, and the right mood.’” —J.P. McEvoy, “Huroo for Who?” |
| “It has been said that the difference between a politician and a statesman is that the statesman thinks of the next generation, while a politician thinks of the next election.” —J.P. McEvoy, “Huroo for Who?” |
