Thoburn H. "Toby" Wiant was a fighter from an early age, and words were his weapons of choice. During World War II, he fought to scoop stories from rival reporters on the front lines as an Associated Press war correspondent. In chronicling the war from the China-Burma-India and European theaters of operation, he skillfully reported the battles of an all-too-real war while often in personal peril. In letters to his parents he revealed his personal reactions to the war. In this remarkable book, his daughter brings together Wiant’s printed articles and his private letters. With her aid, we view the war through his eyes as we watch a scrappy boy grow into manhood and an eager cub reporter develop into a seasoned war correspondent.
“. . . A compelling and detailed first-hand account.”---—On Point, The Journal of Army History
Toby Wiant, AP's fiest frontline correspondent, brought to life via articles and letters selected by his journalist daughter.---—World War II
...[an] informative and touching remembrance.---—Springfield News-Sun
“Allows historians to see what a significant war correspondent was thinking while he was covering battles in World War II. It is raw data, uncolored by the lens of memory.”
Gives insights into the challenges and practices of war reporting.
His reflections on battling the illnesses that ended his life at fifty-one are touching, as is Susan Wiant's closing letter to the father she discovered between the bylines.---—American Journalism
In a poignant and loving tribute to her Associated Press correspondent father, Wiant seamlessly integrates his personal letters, his incisive war reporting from the front, and her own narrative voice.
