During World War II, Robert St. John of NBC, broadcast from London
opposite CBS's Edward R. Murrow. Afterward, St. John would become a
noted writer and commentator on world affairs, as well as a
prominent and vocal supporter of the state of Israel. In Merchant
of Words: The Life of Robert St. John, Terry Fred Horowitz not only
documents St. John's accomplishments and adventures but takes
readers behind the scenes with St. John, who, for over three
quarters of a century, served as a firsthand witness to history as
it was being made in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. From his
auspicious beginnings when lying about his age in order to join the
U.S. Navy during World War I to his final days as a
well-established author and "righteous gentile," St. John was both
a participant and critical observer of American and world history.
He became the youngest newspaper editor-publisher in the United
States, breaking a story on prostitution in Cicero, Illinois, that
resulted in his beating by Al Capone's mob. When World War II began
he became a war correspondent for the Associated Press, later
escaping from the Nazis when they invaded Yugoslavia, he was
wounded by a Messerschmitt's strafing. He subsequently wrote From
the Land of Silent People, the first full account of the fall of
Yugoslavia and Greece during the war. Shortly afterward, he was
hired by NBC as a radio broadcaster, covering the Blitz in London
and D-Day and becoming the first commentator to announce the end of
the war in Japan. During the McCarthy era, he was "pinklisted" and
his passport was confiscated for a year, stranding him in
Switzerland. During its War of Independence he started his lifelong
love affair with Israel, becoming the only foreign correspondent to
cover, in person, all of its wars, including the Israel-Lebanon War
of 1982, during which he was known as the "dean of correspondents."
In addition to working as a regular contributor for the World Book
Encyclopedia, St. John eventually wrote twenty-three books, many of
them about Israel and the Middle East. These included well-received
biographies of David Ben-Gurion (Builder of Israel), Eliezer
Ben-Yehudah (Tongue of the Prophets), Abba Eban (Eban), and Gamal
Abdul Nasser (The Boss: The Story of Gamel Abdal Nasser). Merchant
of Words is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of
journalism and the adventures of recognized war correspondent. For
historians and history buffs it offers unique details from a
journalist's perspective on World War II, the Cold War, the Red
Scare, Vietnam and the history of Israel and the Middle East.
General
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