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Ernie Pyle's War; America's Eyewitness to World War II
A biography of the newsman who everyday during World War II brought the voices of America's fighting men to the front page and who became a pioneer for today's war journalists follows the life and career of Ernie Pyle. 17,500 first printing.
312 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
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January 19, 2021
This is the biography of Ernie Pyle, "the GI's journalist". While I've read many, many books on World War 2, this is the first one I've read as seen from from those who wrote the first draft of its history ---- the war correspondents.
Ernie Pyle originally was not one of American journalism's elites. Born and raised in the Midwest, he entered the newspaper world from the bottom and the lesser known, and built upon that, getting his first big break in becoming one of America's premier aviation journalists --- in a time when aviation was still, if not in its infancy, in its adolescence ---- a time that required men of determination and risk taking, departing often from grass strips, with little in the way of nav aids upon which to rely. Pyle built this, not by sensationalism or by always seeking the big story. On the contrary, he did this by cultivating personal relationships with ordinary pilots and aircrew --- telling the stories of everyday experiences of the first air mail, airline, and barnstorming pilots to a nation becoming more aware of aviation's revolutionary potential to change the nation as the Internet would be in the decades to come.
From this, Ernie Pyle shifted, under the Scripps-Howard News Service, to becoming a roving reporter. From 1935 to 1942, he traveled the nation from one end to the other --- again, not pursuing the big scoop, but in finding interesting stories from the lesser known and rural portions of America. I would liken this to being a newspaper version of Charles Kuralt's "On the Road" segment that was part of Walter Kronkite's Evening News on CBS. This experience of knowing all parts of the nation and its various people and locales and cultures -- and ability to relate to so many different people --- would serve Ernie Pyle for what would be the culmination of his life's work --- his news coverage of World War 2.
I would be remiss if I did not point out that Ernie Pyle's personal life was one filled with pain. Meeting his wife, Jerry, in the 1920s, both seemed to love the Bohemian style of that time, fell in love and became married. Yet, something --- and the bio here is not entirely clear --- was wrong. The couple seems to have been fine, yet, while this book does not make this explicitly clear, like a bolt from the blue, it reveals that she aborted their child without even bothering to tell her husband until after the fact. This must have been extremely painful for him. I just cannot imagine. Did she do it because there was something going on deep inside her latently -- only revealed much later --- or did Jerry do it, and then the devastation of the abortion caused her psyche to crumble? We will never know. From the book, it does seem like things were generally relatively stable and normal, yet, after this astonishing act, it does seem like both her psychological state and their marriage would from thenceforth be on a downward trajectory -- a development of immense pain for Pyle.
Nevertheless, as these events unfolded, the War broke out, and Ernie Pyle volunteered to become a war correspondent. His only personal military experience was a brief enlistment in the Navy during the First World War, with it having ended before he could see active service. Yet, by now being in his 40s in what would be taxing for younger men, Pyle took to frontline war coverage well. Whilst most of his peers would dash off to the front for a quickie visit, Ernie Pyle truly was what would become known later by Desert Storm as an "embedded journalist". Also unlike many of his peers, Pyle did not engage in sensationalism or seek the big break. Instead, his coverage consisted of telling what the actual conditions were for the average grunt --- and for a nation with millions of its sons, brothers, fathers, etc., in these very condition, there was a hunger for someone to tell them their story. Pyle's years of traveling the nation before the war gave him an ability to connect to the average soldier. Those who encountered him mention that they almost forgot he was a news correspondent. Typically, Pyle's approach was to just talk with them about their home town, their backgrounds ---- and being familiar with so many of these places --- what's now known as "fly over country" -- he gained their trust and respect. There was no television or internet then for someone to have any conception what it was like. In those times, Pyle's coverage painted that picture in a way that could be frank and brutally honest about the fear, the filth, the death, the disease, and the brutality, but, in such a way, that, somehow, those back home could feel reassured.
After covering the war in Europe, and a brief stint back in America for a well-deserved break, Ernie Pyle went to what would be his final assignment, coverage of the Pacific War. Clearly, he found it much different from Europe's --- the vast distances so much different than there, the clear dependence on naval support just to achieve any military objective. After much effort to get to the front lines, Pyle was assigned to Okinawa. Sadly, in his effort to tell the story of those men, he gave his life.
Now, seemingly, journalism is so much different --- the relentless pursuit of content, for clicks, for followers, for buzz. One wonders if these times could have an Ernie Pyle. I don't know. But I do admire, in this war, how Pyle was, in a time before the advent of TV, able to give us a picture of what it must have been like for those who did the fighting, killing, and dying --- I find his account of the D-Day battlefield, Omaha Beach, especially compelling.
I recommend this book for World War 2 history buffs and for anyone interested in learning more about how journalism was during WW2 and the 1930s.
Ernie Pyle originally was not one of American journalism's elites. Born and raised in the Midwest, he entered the newspaper world from the bottom and the lesser known, and built upon that, getting his first big break in becoming one of America's premier aviation journalists --- in a time when aviation was still, if not in its infancy, in its adolescence ---- a time that required men of determination and risk taking, departing often from grass strips, with little in the way of nav aids upon which to rely. Pyle built this, not by sensationalism or by always seeking the big story. On the contrary, he did this by cultivating personal relationships with ordinary pilots and aircrew --- telling the stories of everyday experiences of the first air mail, airline, and barnstorming pilots to a nation becoming more aware of aviation's revolutionary potential to change the nation as the Internet would be in the decades to come.
From this, Ernie Pyle shifted, under the Scripps-Howard News Service, to becoming a roving reporter. From 1935 to 1942, he traveled the nation from one end to the other --- again, not pursuing the big scoop, but in finding interesting stories from the lesser known and rural portions of America. I would liken this to being a newspaper version of Charles Kuralt's "On the Road" segment that was part of Walter Kronkite's Evening News on CBS. This experience of knowing all parts of the nation and its various people and locales and cultures -- and ability to relate to so many different people --- would serve Ernie Pyle for what would be the culmination of his life's work --- his news coverage of World War 2.
I would be remiss if I did not point out that Ernie Pyle's personal life was one filled with pain. Meeting his wife, Jerry, in the 1920s, both seemed to love the Bohemian style of that time, fell in love and became married. Yet, something --- and the bio here is not entirely clear --- was wrong. The couple seems to have been fine, yet, while this book does not make this explicitly clear, like a bolt from the blue, it reveals that she aborted their child without even bothering to tell her husband until after the fact. This must have been extremely painful for him. I just cannot imagine. Did she do it because there was something going on deep inside her latently -- only revealed much later --- or did Jerry do it, and then the devastation of the abortion caused her psyche to crumble? We will never know. From the book, it does seem like things were generally relatively stable and normal, yet, after this astonishing act, it does seem like both her psychological state and their marriage would from thenceforth be on a downward trajectory -- a development of immense pain for Pyle.
Nevertheless, as these events unfolded, the War broke out, and Ernie Pyle volunteered to become a war correspondent. His only personal military experience was a brief enlistment in the Navy during the First World War, with it having ended before he could see active service. Yet, by now being in his 40s in what would be taxing for younger men, Pyle took to frontline war coverage well. Whilst most of his peers would dash off to the front for a quickie visit, Ernie Pyle truly was what would become known later by Desert Storm as an "embedded journalist". Also unlike many of his peers, Pyle did not engage in sensationalism or seek the big break. Instead, his coverage consisted of telling what the actual conditions were for the average grunt --- and for a nation with millions of its sons, brothers, fathers, etc., in these very condition, there was a hunger for someone to tell them their story. Pyle's years of traveling the nation before the war gave him an ability to connect to the average soldier. Those who encountered him mention that they almost forgot he was a news correspondent. Typically, Pyle's approach was to just talk with them about their home town, their backgrounds ---- and being familiar with so many of these places --- what's now known as "fly over country" -- he gained their trust and respect. There was no television or internet then for someone to have any conception what it was like. In those times, Pyle's coverage painted that picture in a way that could be frank and brutally honest about the fear, the filth, the death, the disease, and the brutality, but, in such a way, that, somehow, those back home could feel reassured.
After covering the war in Europe, and a brief stint back in America for a well-deserved break, Ernie Pyle went to what would be his final assignment, coverage of the Pacific War. Clearly, he found it much different from Europe's --- the vast distances so much different than there, the clear dependence on naval support just to achieve any military objective. After much effort to get to the front lines, Pyle was assigned to Okinawa. Sadly, in his effort to tell the story of those men, he gave his life.
Now, seemingly, journalism is so much different --- the relentless pursuit of content, for clicks, for followers, for buzz. One wonders if these times could have an Ernie Pyle. I don't know. But I do admire, in this war, how Pyle was, in a time before the advent of TV, able to give us a picture of what it must have been like for those who did the fighting, killing, and dying --- I find his account of the D-Day battlefield, Omaha Beach, especially compelling.
I recommend this book for World War 2 history buffs and for anyone interested in learning more about how journalism was during WW2 and the 1930s.
January 15, 2014
When I was in grade school I happened to read one of the TIME LIFE books on World War II and I came across Ernie Pyle's timeless and poignant writing about the wreckage-strewn beach on the morning after D DAY. It was one of the first times I really understood the power of the written word.
This biography does an amazing job of explaining who Ernie Pyle was and where he came from, plus why his writing came to mean so much to Americans both on the Home Front and in the combat zones of World War II.
The author also provides a very thoughtful analysis of the balancing act Pyle had to perform in writing honestly about the war without playing into the hands of the generals and professional patriots of the far right on the one hand and the anti-American intellectuals of the far left on the other. Indeed, one of the funniest passages of the book details the brief collaboration between Pyle and then-unknown playwright Arthur Miller (author of the surpassingly tedious DEATH OF A SALESMAN and the prurient, overheated CRUCIBLE, he of the leaden prose and dull whine.)
The story goes that Miller, a 4F hotshot who often bragged of seducing the newly bereaved wives of slain servicemen, repeatedly badgered Pyle to come up with a "meaning" for the war that even dumb GI's could understand. Pyle, a saintly man with a very long fuse, put up with this kind of insolence for weeks before finally turning on the young leftist firebrand and saying quietly, "son, the only meaning for a man in combat is to stay alive. Because believe it or not, their lives matter to them almost as much as your life matters to you."
Ernie Pyle was an American hero who wrote achingly beautiful prose and died the death of a combat soldier. Arthur Miller wrote very bad plays, got rich, and married a movie star. He lived to be 109 years old.
Is this a great country, or what?
This biography does an amazing job of explaining who Ernie Pyle was and where he came from, plus why his writing came to mean so much to Americans both on the Home Front and in the combat zones of World War II.
The author also provides a very thoughtful analysis of the balancing act Pyle had to perform in writing honestly about the war without playing into the hands of the generals and professional patriots of the far right on the one hand and the anti-American intellectuals of the far left on the other. Indeed, one of the funniest passages of the book details the brief collaboration between Pyle and then-unknown playwright Arthur Miller (author of the surpassingly tedious DEATH OF A SALESMAN and the prurient, overheated CRUCIBLE, he of the leaden prose and dull whine.)
The story goes that Miller, a 4F hotshot who often bragged of seducing the newly bereaved wives of slain servicemen, repeatedly badgered Pyle to come up with a "meaning" for the war that even dumb GI's could understand. Pyle, a saintly man with a very long fuse, put up with this kind of insolence for weeks before finally turning on the young leftist firebrand and saying quietly, "son, the only meaning for a man in combat is to stay alive. Because believe it or not, their lives matter to them almost as much as your life matters to you."
Ernie Pyle was an American hero who wrote achingly beautiful prose and died the death of a combat soldier. Arthur Miller wrote very bad plays, got rich, and married a movie star. He lived to be 109 years old.
Is this a great country, or what?
January 12, 2021
We have read a couple of collections of his articles. This book is a biography of him, probably the most recognized war correspondent of WWII. It starts and ends with his death on the island of Ie Shima, underscoring a thread that runs through the book - his willingness to be in "the thick of things" along with the regular soldiers. The end of the book includes several of his most well-known posts. I think we ill both miss Ernie Pyle although neither of us was even born until after he had died.
June 7, 2017
Bottom line first
if it was possible to be a hero Of World War II without serving in the military or rather by being a correspondent Ernie Pyle was one of America's heroes. James Tobin's: Ernie Pyle's War is a superior biography by virtue of the superior subject and also superior authorship.
in the last several biographies I have read, particularly in the case of performers and writers the autobiographer's were generally good writers who drew from exhaustive research. What James Tobin has done to make his book better than the others was to properly balance his narrative with a selection of partial and complete columns by Ernie Pyle. We do not have to take the authors word on how well Ernie Pyle wrote we can take the context provided by the biographer, read the columns and understand the effectiveness of the columnist.
Ten years before the outbreak of World War II the idea of the traveling correspondent was virtually unknown in America. Ernie Pyle may have invented the job title. he traveled across America and much of this hemisphere writing six columns every seven days. Beginning just before America became involved in World War II a British correspondent, Alice Starr Cooke was given a similar assignment for the purpose of familiarizing the British public with their cousins and future senior ally.
Neither this biographer nor Alistair Cooke mention the two travelers ever meeting but if someone is looking to write a book it might be interesting to compare the two nearly contemporary travelers and what they had to say about traveling this country. Letter from America, 1946-2004
On the surface this is a fairly conventional biography of almost anyone who made it big in the generation leading and to World War II. He started from near poverty living in a female dominated family, hardscrabble farming in the Midwest. Among his earliest decisions was to do whatever it took to get away from female domination, the farm and hardscrabble living. It would take him several years of wanderlust including time as a merchant mariner to become an established correspondent. From the very beginning his style was to write not newsworthy material but to emphasize the common and the familiar in the unusual things that caught his eye.
It is only after he carries the same skills into war that this biography picks up on a much deeper and unique themes. James Tobin picks out two important theme running through the columns of Ernie Pyle war correspondent. The concept of embedding a correspondent in a combat unit was unknown in World War II. Ernie Pyle would embed himself in several such units quickly adopting the "dam*ed infantry" as the people with whom he felt most at home and who most needed press coverage. He would come to admire these men and to understand the love that only frontline troops can experience.
"Understand" is the operative word. By pushing himself forward to the point where there was nothing and no one between himself and the enemy he would have the combat infantry man's understanding and you can't understand if you haven't been there. Ernie Pyle's first mission was to find a way not to bridge that gap for the huge number of noncombatants and civilians for that gap is inherently unbridgeable. Rather his first task was to ensure that these people who had not been there understood the debt they owed to the few who were.
His second task was more subtle and becomes the narrative arc of the balance of this biography. Ernie Pyle was determined to understand why otherwise decent, peaceful human beings would let themselves become the kind of killing machines demanded of warfare fought as a mechanized industry. In the same way that American soldiers lost their innocence fighting across North Africa Ernie would recognize that people do not fight for their country or for ideals. In Italy he would suggest that if soldiers do not fight for abstracts they will fight for each other. After Normandy and the battles of the Cotentin peninsula he would realize that the truth was more basic.
There was more to Ernie Pyle's life than his insights as a war correspondent. James Tobin is perceptive and humane speaking of Ernie's childhood, married life, and what reads like hypochondria. No doubt he could have included a lot more medical and psychiatric analysis but there is enough that what is missing is not missed. Altogether Ernie Pyle's story is a story that more American should know. I would also recommend Ernie Pyle's War to anyone who writes biographies as a positive example of how they should be written
if it was possible to be a hero Of World War II without serving in the military or rather by being a correspondent Ernie Pyle was one of America's heroes. James Tobin's: Ernie Pyle's War is a superior biography by virtue of the superior subject and also superior authorship.
in the last several biographies I have read, particularly in the case of performers and writers the autobiographer's were generally good writers who drew from exhaustive research. What James Tobin has done to make his book better than the others was to properly balance his narrative with a selection of partial and complete columns by Ernie Pyle. We do not have to take the authors word on how well Ernie Pyle wrote we can take the context provided by the biographer, read the columns and understand the effectiveness of the columnist.
Ten years before the outbreak of World War II the idea of the traveling correspondent was virtually unknown in America. Ernie Pyle may have invented the job title. he traveled across America and much of this hemisphere writing six columns every seven days. Beginning just before America became involved in World War II a British correspondent, Alice Starr Cooke was given a similar assignment for the purpose of familiarizing the British public with their cousins and future senior ally.
Neither this biographer nor Alistair Cooke mention the two travelers ever meeting but if someone is looking to write a book it might be interesting to compare the two nearly contemporary travelers and what they had to say about traveling this country. Letter from America, 1946-2004
On the surface this is a fairly conventional biography of almost anyone who made it big in the generation leading and to World War II. He started from near poverty living in a female dominated family, hardscrabble farming in the Midwest. Among his earliest decisions was to do whatever it took to get away from female domination, the farm and hardscrabble living. It would take him several years of wanderlust including time as a merchant mariner to become an established correspondent. From the very beginning his style was to write not newsworthy material but to emphasize the common and the familiar in the unusual things that caught his eye.
It is only after he carries the same skills into war that this biography picks up on a much deeper and unique themes. James Tobin picks out two important theme running through the columns of Ernie Pyle war correspondent. The concept of embedding a correspondent in a combat unit was unknown in World War II. Ernie Pyle would embed himself in several such units quickly adopting the "dam*ed infantry" as the people with whom he felt most at home and who most needed press coverage. He would come to admire these men and to understand the love that only frontline troops can experience.
"Understand" is the operative word. By pushing himself forward to the point where there was nothing and no one between himself and the enemy he would have the combat infantry man's understanding and you can't understand if you haven't been there. Ernie Pyle's first mission was to find a way not to bridge that gap for the huge number of noncombatants and civilians for that gap is inherently unbridgeable. Rather his first task was to ensure that these people who had not been there understood the debt they owed to the few who were.
His second task was more subtle and becomes the narrative arc of the balance of this biography. Ernie Pyle was determined to understand why otherwise decent, peaceful human beings would let themselves become the kind of killing machines demanded of warfare fought as a mechanized industry. In the same way that American soldiers lost their innocence fighting across North Africa Ernie would recognize that people do not fight for their country or for ideals. In Italy he would suggest that if soldiers do not fight for abstracts they will fight for each other. After Normandy and the battles of the Cotentin peninsula he would realize that the truth was more basic.
There was more to Ernie Pyle's life than his insights as a war correspondent. James Tobin is perceptive and humane speaking of Ernie's childhood, married life, and what reads like hypochondria. No doubt he could have included a lot more medical and psychiatric analysis but there is enough that what is missing is not missed. Altogether Ernie Pyle's story is a story that more American should know. I would also recommend Ernie Pyle's War to anyone who writes biographies as a positive example of how they should be written
May 10, 2015
This book has been around awhile, published in 1997, but I am an on and off WWII aficionado who will spend months reading about and/or watching movies about that war and that era. I will spend a couple of hours in my public library’s catalog searching for books and movies about “World War 1939-1945, “ and devour what I find for however long it takes me to tire of it and move on. I’ve been doing this most of my life, and have decided that either I should have majored in military history in college or perhaps I’m just reliving a past life. Anyway, two books about Ernie Pyle came up in my last search. I remember my mother telling me about Ernie Pyle’s articles during WWII, so I decided I would like to read a few.
I should have chosen Ernie's War: The Best of Ernie Pyle's World War II Dispatches by David Nichols instead of this one. Not that this isn’t a wonderful read, but it is more about Ernie Pyle, the man, than his actual articles. James Tobin, at the time this book was written, was a reporter for the “Detroit Press,” so his interests lie more in the how and why of Pyle’s writing.
Still, Ernie was a fascinating, insightful, intelligent, and yet seemingly unhappy and disturbed man who went off to war like many others and reacted just as many others reacted to the uncomfortable and horrifying inconvenience of it all. Where most war correspondents of his time spent very little time at the actual front, Ernie lived among the soldiers, eating the same food, getting little sleep, marching mile after mile, and even digging and diving into the trenches. His depiction of “the God-damned infantry,” soldiers and sailors of all types, and the after effects of battle became, in some cases, the only knowledge civilians in the U.S. had of what war was truly like. He once admonished his fellow reporters to write as you would talk to another person, and Ernie became the master at this style of reporting.
He used the pronouns “I” and “you” so liberally and so well that his readers were convinced that Ernie was a personal friend. As a matter of fact, hundreds wrote him directly requesting that he give a message to a father or brother or husband. Soldiers, who also read his columns religiously (mailed to them by family members back home) also made personal requests which Ernie was reluctant to turn down, and which were just one of a number of things that kept him exhausted.
He realized almost immediately, what is now common knowledge in the military and elsewhere, which is that men may go to war for patriotic reasons, but they fight war for their buddies, and that any man that purports to be unafraid of battle and dying is lying! “For my brothers,” has been known to cause a soldier to return to battle over and over, in spite of the fear. He also agonized, just as soldiers the world over and throughout the ages have agonized, about how you overcome the moral dissonance produced when you voluntarily kill another human being. He asks himself if the American soldiers, who were killing every day, had actually become killers because of the war, or had they “...been savages to begin with, freed by war’s special circumstances to satisfy lusts and hatred,” a question that apparently cannot be answered to anyone’s satisfaction considering that we still tend to run out and greet war enthusiastically regardless of past lessons.
As I said above, this is a wonderful read, especially if you have a particular interest in WWII and/or excellent journalism like we rarely get to experience now.
I should have chosen Ernie's War: The Best of Ernie Pyle's World War II Dispatches by David Nichols instead of this one. Not that this isn’t a wonderful read, but it is more about Ernie Pyle, the man, than his actual articles. James Tobin, at the time this book was written, was a reporter for the “Detroit Press,” so his interests lie more in the how and why of Pyle’s writing.
Still, Ernie was a fascinating, insightful, intelligent, and yet seemingly unhappy and disturbed man who went off to war like many others and reacted just as many others reacted to the uncomfortable and horrifying inconvenience of it all. Where most war correspondents of his time spent very little time at the actual front, Ernie lived among the soldiers, eating the same food, getting little sleep, marching mile after mile, and even digging and diving into the trenches. His depiction of “the God-damned infantry,” soldiers and sailors of all types, and the after effects of battle became, in some cases, the only knowledge civilians in the U.S. had of what war was truly like. He once admonished his fellow reporters to write as you would talk to another person, and Ernie became the master at this style of reporting.
He used the pronouns “I” and “you” so liberally and so well that his readers were convinced that Ernie was a personal friend. As a matter of fact, hundreds wrote him directly requesting that he give a message to a father or brother or husband. Soldiers, who also read his columns religiously (mailed to them by family members back home) also made personal requests which Ernie was reluctant to turn down, and which were just one of a number of things that kept him exhausted.
He realized almost immediately, what is now common knowledge in the military and elsewhere, which is that men may go to war for patriotic reasons, but they fight war for their buddies, and that any man that purports to be unafraid of battle and dying is lying! “For my brothers,” has been known to cause a soldier to return to battle over and over, in spite of the fear. He also agonized, just as soldiers the world over and throughout the ages have agonized, about how you overcome the moral dissonance produced when you voluntarily kill another human being. He asks himself if the American soldiers, who were killing every day, had actually become killers because of the war, or had they “...been savages to begin with, freed by war’s special circumstances to satisfy lusts and hatred,” a question that apparently cannot be answered to anyone’s satisfaction considering that we still tend to run out and greet war enthusiastically regardless of past lessons.
As I said above, this is a wonderful read, especially if you have a particular interest in WWII and/or excellent journalism like we rarely get to experience now.
October 14, 2011
Written in 1997, Tobin takes a long look back into war correspondence and the unique character of Ernie Pyle. The book chronicles Pyle's life and personal struggles as WWII's consummate journalist, but also examines what made Pyle different as the defining voice of the common soldier. It attempts to define what war was and is, politically, morally and practically. Tobin shows that Pyle, though not a philosopher, nevertheless struggles with the age-old questions of how soldiers convert from husbands and fathers to “patriotic” killers. Pyle gradually changed his views of what we were fighting for. He wrote in simple, down-home style that endeared his columns to the vast majority of Americans and he never glorified war as anything other than what it was from what he saw. Tobin relies on generous excerpts from Pyle's writings, his columns, personal interviews with friends, and his correspondence to Pyle's editors that revealed his personal doubts and feelings. This is an excellent book that helps keep alive the legacy of WWII with generations after the fact.
February 7, 2008
ernie pyle is amazing. the stories that he was able to tell & the things he went through are so incredible...and he didn't have to. he did it so that we, the people back home & the decendants of the greatest generation, know what happened to ensure our happiness & freedom.
February 19, 2008
Such a crazy, strange man who touched the hearts of Americans everwhere with his columns. Be prepared to cry when his columsn are re-produced in this fascinatng story of Ernie's life!
April 30, 2020
I picked up this book after venezuelan war correspondent Ramon Lobo mentioned the name of "Ernie Pyle" in an interview on a spanish late night tv show. This interview founded an intrigue in me. Being war, in all its forms, the representation of the most horrible atrocitties humankind is capable of, (and a main pillar of change in human history) I wanted to know and correspond to the cause and the reality of those who lived and are living through such darkness.
As Tobin quotes more than once through this wonderfuly written and documented biography (this being one from correspondent Ira Wolfert): "Ernie Pyle was telling the truth when he said he tried all the time to tell folks back home what the war was like, but not he nor me nor the hundreds of others who are in there trying have been able to put down on paper the really ferocious ugliness of war... But Pyle remains... all sweetness and light... He tells us not only what we want to know, but what we, in our fear and ache, enjoy to know".
Even before this intrigue was founded on me I guess deep inside I wanted to know if it was possible aknowledging light even in the darkest pit... and this book is as close as a "Yes" as an answer to that question can get for me (so far).
This was a first for me. First voluntary read of a propperly documented book about war. My first read out of a genuine antropological and existential curiosity. Let me tell you I couldn't possibly be more satisfied. Couldn't stop reading 'till the end.
As Tobin quotes more than once through this wonderfuly written and documented biography (this being one from correspondent Ira Wolfert): "Ernie Pyle was telling the truth when he said he tried all the time to tell folks back home what the war was like, but not he nor me nor the hundreds of others who are in there trying have been able to put down on paper the really ferocious ugliness of war... But Pyle remains... all sweetness and light... He tells us not only what we want to know, but what we, in our fear and ache, enjoy to know".
Even before this intrigue was founded on me I guess deep inside I wanted to know if it was possible aknowledging light even in the darkest pit... and this book is as close as a "Yes" as an answer to that question can get for me (so far).
This was a first for me. First voluntary read of a propperly documented book about war. My first read out of a genuine antropological and existential curiosity. Let me tell you I couldn't possibly be more satisfied. Couldn't stop reading 'till the end.
March 26, 2018
I have heard Ernie Pyle’s name mentioned in numerous WW2 books but knew nothing about him. This is a well written book and covered his life well. I wish that it had included more of Ernie’s writings
November 2, 2018
Full disclosure: I have long considered Ernie Pyle to be one of the best nonfiction writers of the 20th century. To me he rates right up there with A. J. Liebling (who would have been aghast at the comparison) and Martha Gellhorn. Pyle’s prose is deceptively plain; but as someone once said, "it's damn hard to write simply." And Ernie Pyle is the epitome of that quip. Or, as Pyle wrote in 1936: “One story a day sounds as easy as falling off a log. Try it sometime.” (p. 256) If you are an Ernie Pyle fan, and if you have read his work, then Ernie Pyle's War: America's Eyewitness to World War II by James Tobin is the book for you. It’s a masterful biography.
The title is a double entendre, or even a triple. It’s about Pyle’s reporting of World War II; Pyle’s war with his obvious PTSD; and Pyle’s war with his own demons (which pre-dated his war coverage). Tobin presents Pyle’s life in a wide context and examines Pyle’s writing critically, in an analytical sense (that simple style isn’t so simple after all), as well as the place Pyle’s work occupies in the larger scope of war reporting. As fans of Pyle know, he didn’t write about strategic issues based on briefings from generals and War Department communiqués; and the correspondents who did write that “serious” stuff looked down on Pyle’s writing. That attitude persisted long after WW II and has helped shape Pyle’s standing in university literature departments. He deserves better.
Another aspect of the time that Tobin addresses is how all U. S. correspondents were “on the team” during the war – in contrast to the position of the media that developed during the American war in Vietnam. Pyle engaged (heavily) in self-censorship; but Tobin notes that even soldiers soft-peddled the more obscene accounts of what they experienced. Indeed, one of the “charms” of Pyle’s writing is that he was able to convey much about the horror of warfare without dripping blood all over his column.
The final chapter, “Then and Now” casts a wider net, contrasting the field of journalism as practiced by Pyle’s generation with that of today. Today doesn’t fare well in Tobin’s opinion: “…Pyle had the good fortune to work for editors who trusted his judgement and told him to exercise it. They didn’t give him stories to write. They assigned him to find stories to write, and assumed he would find good ones.” (p. 246)
This book will enrich your understanding of Pyle, his writing, and his legacy.
The title is a double entendre, or even a triple. It’s about Pyle’s reporting of World War II; Pyle’s war with his obvious PTSD; and Pyle’s war with his own demons (which pre-dated his war coverage). Tobin presents Pyle’s life in a wide context and examines Pyle’s writing critically, in an analytical sense (that simple style isn’t so simple after all), as well as the place Pyle’s work occupies in the larger scope of war reporting. As fans of Pyle know, he didn’t write about strategic issues based on briefings from generals and War Department communiqués; and the correspondents who did write that “serious” stuff looked down on Pyle’s writing. That attitude persisted long after WW II and has helped shape Pyle’s standing in university literature departments. He deserves better.
Another aspect of the time that Tobin addresses is how all U. S. correspondents were “on the team” during the war – in contrast to the position of the media that developed during the American war in Vietnam. Pyle engaged (heavily) in self-censorship; but Tobin notes that even soldiers soft-peddled the more obscene accounts of what they experienced. Indeed, one of the “charms” of Pyle’s writing is that he was able to convey much about the horror of warfare without dripping blood all over his column.
The final chapter, “Then and Now” casts a wider net, contrasting the field of journalism as practiced by Pyle’s generation with that of today. Today doesn’t fare well in Tobin’s opinion: “…Pyle had the good fortune to work for editors who trusted his judgement and told him to exercise it. They didn’t give him stories to write. They assigned him to find stories to write, and assumed he would find good ones.” (p. 246)
This book will enrich your understanding of Pyle, his writing, and his legacy.
September 8, 2014
I knew the power and precision of Ernie Pyle’s writing, but I wanted to know the man himself. So I picked up a copy of Ernie Pyle’s War: America’s Eyewitness of World War II by James. Tobin. The author takes readers back to the beginning in Dana, Indiana and shows how an only child grew up in a farming family. Pyle was an undersized but bright student who could not wait to make his way out into the world away from the Midwest.
Pyle was an excellent journalist, one worthy of studying. He began with reporting, then an aviation column (during the early years when planes were the new technology), and then a roving column of human interest stories in roadside spots of America. He gradually became popular, the number of readers growing during the era of Hearst, Scripps-Howard and other big newspaper chains. Eventually, he became the world’s greatest war correspondent during World War II.
Pyle did not write of policy or generals; he wrote of the common soldier, the common man. He made readers see what he saw. Indeed, the author’s ability with words recreated everything for readers that he saw with his own eyes. His writing allowed readers to view the war in a time when newsprint was the way media got stories out. He became so popular among his favorite subject the infantrymen and the reading public that he developed a mythological aura. Eventually a movie, Ernie Pyle’s American G. I. Joe, was made from his work. Starring Burgess Meredith and Robert Mitchum, the dated film can be seen on U-Tube.
While Pyle was developing a star persona, producing extraordinary copy from fox holes, and setting a standard for other writers, his personal life was somewhat a shambles. A slightly built man of ordinary looks, he suffered health problems, drank too much, and dealt with a rocky marriage to a woman of mental instability. Like many creative people, he doubted his own work many times feeling he was not writing quality copy.
This is an extraordinary book published 17 years ago and 69 years after Pyle’s death on a Pacific Island covering the war. It reveals the weaknesses and travails of an ordinary man; it shows the power of a great writer; it takes readers through the war that should never be forgotten.
July 4, 2020
What a great book! James Tobin throughly researched the life and times of Ernie Pyle and presented an excellent account of Erine, the G.I.'s correspondent, to the world. He wove letters from Ernie to his wife, his editor and other friends along with news reports and his writings for the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain. Tobin shows us the private life of Erine, his bouts his inner demons of depression and fear, his troubled marriage with Geraldine ("That Girl" in all of his travel stories), and his compassion and concern for the American G.I. He brought the citizens at home stories from the front lines, literally, the exploits of their sons, husbands and fathers. Pyle rose above all the other correspondents with his compassion, attention to detail and close identity with the men at the tip of the spear. His words brought confidence and understanding to those reading his columns at home. If you want to know how the troops felt as they waged an endless fight, read Ernie's newspaper columns in "This is Your War" and "Brave Men". If you want to know the man that penned those articles, read this book.
December 19, 2017
Honestly, I thought this book explained a lot about how World War II famous war corresponders must've been. Specifically, I'm talking about this skinny yet amazing man called Ernie Pyle, who writes newspapers as if he was talking to them personally. Ernie started these published talks in 1932, where he started talking about aviation and went his way onto war correspondence, which are proven in the back of the book where samples are shown.
Why I haven't given this a five star is because I personally am not into how World War II is described from people in it, but specifically analyzing military-used weapons and uniforms during the war. Ultimately, this book is a great read for those who want to read about the life of a war correspondent greatest known for his Scripps-Howard business's papers, also showing the downsides of what Ernie did such as go to the Pacific and face censorship from Army officials.
Why I haven't given this a five star is because I personally am not into how World War II is described from people in it, but specifically analyzing military-used weapons and uniforms during the war. Ultimately, this book is a great read for those who want to read about the life of a war correspondent greatest known for his Scripps-Howard business's papers, also showing the downsides of what Ernie did such as go to the Pacific and face censorship from Army officials.
December 8, 2013
As a non WW2 buff with a limited familiarity of Ernie Pyle, I found this biography accessible,well- written, and informative. It felt like an honest look at an average guy who did some extraordinary reporting. It didn't seem to gloss over the negatives or hyperbolize the positives, but it did leave me with a sense of admiration for both the man and the soldiers he loved. I use excerpts of this now when I have my students read WW2 news reports.
February 3, 2016
The ETO of WWII from a journalist's point of view. Mr. Pyle's columns themselves are fascinating. James Tobin's style of writing is not. He tends to be a bit dry for me.
October 25, 2021
Ernie Pyle (August 3, 1900– April 18, 1945) was quite the sensation when newspapers were still the major form of communication. It’s a bloody shame most people today probably know more about television’s Gomer Pyle than the intrepid World War II reporter. Ernie Pyle certainly didn’t look the type. The short bald scrawny newsman resembled Steve Rodgers before Captain America was injected with the Super-Soldier serum… but without the good looks. Mr. Tobin’s 1997 biography does a good job of resurrecting and explaining why Pyle was loved by so many.
The 276-page book spends the first fifty pages covering Ernie Pyle’s life up to the age of forty. His peripatetic work and private lifestyles were nowhere near a cake walk. Pyle’s wife was constantly dealing with mental-health issues and alcoholism while he was burdened with deep bouts of depression, a lifelong inferiority complex, and constant melancholy. The remaining 225 pages of the biography describe his last five years of life while he covers World War II. Despite Pyle’s glowing reputation and acceptance by the troops, he remained a modest, bashful, hard working, and decent man. The sickly dude sported a high intelligence and had a talent for writing about the servicemen’s daily lives instead of the battles like most reporters were doing. Mr. Tobin presents many examples of Ernie Pyle’s writing which certainly show why he was so popular. The man knew how to convey the feelings and moods of being in combat as well as the drudgery of marching or waiting. He was instrumental in portraying the common man as patriotic and heroic. Unlike the Vietnam War and the advent of broadcasting the war into living rooms every night through the medium of television, World War II reporters felt obligated to not write about military blunders, ineffective officers, or soldiers’ actions that were outside the rules of the Geneva Convention. Today’s more cynical atmosphere may have you viewing Pyle’s and all the other reporters’ writings as mere propaganda, but the author does a good job explaining the cultural dynamics at play back during the war. Pyle witnessed countless highly maimed corpses and suffered from battle fatigue. Due to army censors, Pyle’s columns did not square with the war he was seeing and feeling. However, his common man portrayals were exactly what people at home and leaders wanted to read about the war. His writing made readers feel as if he was talking directly to them. This was no simple feat when you consider Pyle was under constant pressure to produce almost daily columns. The war correspondent covered campaigns in England, Northern Africa, Italy, France, and just began reporting about the Pacific campaigns when he was killed. Mr. Tobin explains the difficulties in reporting the massive D-Day assault and how Americans were mostly in the dark about what was transpiring because of the chaos and limited technology. The book includes 16 pages of black-and-white photos but does not include the last photo of him lying dead in a trench.
The columns in ‘Ernie Pyle’s War’ interested me enough to plan on reading more of his work. Mr. Tobin fleshes out the more horrific scenes that Mr. Pyle was unable to get by war censors. If you have an interest in World War II history, Ernie Pyle is a key component in its story. The author presents a balanced clear-eyed view. War is arbitrary about who lives and who dies when in combat. Pyle had many close calls in meeting the Grim Reaper until his luck ran out in the South Pacific on April 18, 1945. I found ‘Ernie Pyle’s War’ to be engrossing, informative, and sad.
The 276-page book spends the first fifty pages covering Ernie Pyle’s life up to the age of forty. His peripatetic work and private lifestyles were nowhere near a cake walk. Pyle’s wife was constantly dealing with mental-health issues and alcoholism while he was burdened with deep bouts of depression, a lifelong inferiority complex, and constant melancholy. The remaining 225 pages of the biography describe his last five years of life while he covers World War II. Despite Pyle’s glowing reputation and acceptance by the troops, he remained a modest, bashful, hard working, and decent man. The sickly dude sported a high intelligence and had a talent for writing about the servicemen’s daily lives instead of the battles like most reporters were doing. Mr. Tobin presents many examples of Ernie Pyle’s writing which certainly show why he was so popular. The man knew how to convey the feelings and moods of being in combat as well as the drudgery of marching or waiting. He was instrumental in portraying the common man as patriotic and heroic. Unlike the Vietnam War and the advent of broadcasting the war into living rooms every night through the medium of television, World War II reporters felt obligated to not write about military blunders, ineffective officers, or soldiers’ actions that were outside the rules of the Geneva Convention. Today’s more cynical atmosphere may have you viewing Pyle’s and all the other reporters’ writings as mere propaganda, but the author does a good job explaining the cultural dynamics at play back during the war. Pyle witnessed countless highly maimed corpses and suffered from battle fatigue. Due to army censors, Pyle’s columns did not square with the war he was seeing and feeling. However, his common man portrayals were exactly what people at home and leaders wanted to read about the war. His writing made readers feel as if he was talking directly to them. This was no simple feat when you consider Pyle was under constant pressure to produce almost daily columns. The war correspondent covered campaigns in England, Northern Africa, Italy, France, and just began reporting about the Pacific campaigns when he was killed. Mr. Tobin explains the difficulties in reporting the massive D-Day assault and how Americans were mostly in the dark about what was transpiring because of the chaos and limited technology. The book includes 16 pages of black-and-white photos but does not include the last photo of him lying dead in a trench.
The columns in ‘Ernie Pyle’s War’ interested me enough to plan on reading more of his work. Mr. Tobin fleshes out the more horrific scenes that Mr. Pyle was unable to get by war censors. If you have an interest in World War II history, Ernie Pyle is a key component in its story. The author presents a balanced clear-eyed view. War is arbitrary about who lives and who dies when in combat. Pyle had many close calls in meeting the Grim Reaper until his luck ran out in the South Pacific on April 18, 1945. I found ‘Ernie Pyle’s War’ to be engrossing, informative, and sad.
August 1, 2025
I knew a little about Ernie Pyle before reading this book, and I was prompted to read more after seeing his grave in Hawaii. I think Ernie looks a bit like a horse jockey. Not especially tall and has a very ordinary look. Ernie was anything but ordinary. Before World War II, he lived on the road, along with his wife, to find a source and write a column EVERY DAY. Others had daily columns, but they were in an office every day with people feeding them tips. Ernie developed all his own by talking to everyday people all over the country.
Ernie often lacked confidence, but worked hard to overcome his doubts. He often dealt with illness, some anxiety induced, and was a manic-depressive. He decided to leave the road and become a war correspondent. He started with the campaign in Africa and eventually covered the Mediterranean, France, and finally the Pacific. Ernie would immerse himself in various companies, from the front lines to logistics. Eventually, his writing became so well-known that he was treated as a celebrity. Time Magazine sent a reporter to follow him. He hated it! The story should be about the men serving, not him. Commanders would request that he report on their outfits. Families would write letters asking him to find their loved ones. It was too much for Ernie to handle. He started saying no, protecting his peace, and going where he wanted to go. His best writing was when he covered the common enlisted man. Ernie's column about Capt. Waskow is HEARTBREAKING. He could make a person feel like they were there without making it too gruesome, but you could feel the pain. D-Day changed him forever. D-Day was overwhelming, and he wasn't sure there were any words to describe how massive and deadly it was. He was the pool reporter showing up one day after landing. His column was carried in just about every paper across the country.
Ernie's personal life was a bit messy. He had an affair, divorced his wife, but they would eventually remarry by proxy. Jerry, his wife, suffered from mental illness and were committed to mental hospitals at various times.
I struggled a bit with the structure of this book, and this may be because of moving it from a book format to Kindle several years after it was published. Needless to say, if I find more books about Ernie Pyle, I will be sure to pick it up. After the book finishes, it has a few columns that Ernie wrote throughout his career. I read and loved them all.
Ernie often lacked confidence, but worked hard to overcome his doubts. He often dealt with illness, some anxiety induced, and was a manic-depressive. He decided to leave the road and become a war correspondent. He started with the campaign in Africa and eventually covered the Mediterranean, France, and finally the Pacific. Ernie would immerse himself in various companies, from the front lines to logistics. Eventually, his writing became so well-known that he was treated as a celebrity. Time Magazine sent a reporter to follow him. He hated it! The story should be about the men serving, not him. Commanders would request that he report on their outfits. Families would write letters asking him to find their loved ones. It was too much for Ernie to handle. He started saying no, protecting his peace, and going where he wanted to go. His best writing was when he covered the common enlisted man. Ernie's column about Capt. Waskow is HEARTBREAKING. He could make a person feel like they were there without making it too gruesome, but you could feel the pain. D-Day changed him forever. D-Day was overwhelming, and he wasn't sure there were any words to describe how massive and deadly it was. He was the pool reporter showing up one day after landing. His column was carried in just about every paper across the country.
Ernie's personal life was a bit messy. He had an affair, divorced his wife, but they would eventually remarry by proxy. Jerry, his wife, suffered from mental illness and were committed to mental hospitals at various times.
I struggled a bit with the structure of this book, and this may be because of moving it from a book format to Kindle several years after it was published. Needless to say, if I find more books about Ernie Pyle, I will be sure to pick it up. After the book finishes, it has a few columns that Ernie wrote throughout his career. I read and loved them all.
September 16, 2020
"The prototypical Pyle hero was hard and soft, killer and saint. This above all was the image of the American soldier that Pyle conveyed to his vast readership. This image of the G.I. as suffering servant--coldly effective yet warm-hearted--served in place of the idealism of World War I. If Americans could no longer believe wholeheartedly in a war to save the world for democracy, they at least could believe in men such as this."
Tobin's biography of Ernie Pyle succeeds as a compelling and complex portrait of the man who became one of WWII's most recognizable journalists. I first encountered Ernie Pyle after being assigned his D-Day dispatches in a WWII history class. Pyle's simple style and direct, impactful phrasing struck a cord with me and I found myself returning to "The Horrible Waste of War" and "A Long Thin Line of Personal Anguish" throughout the course and during my own experience of visiting Normandy. I picked up Tobin's biography because of my appreciation for those two columns, and I soon found myself immersed in Ernie Pyle.
Ernie Pyle's War covers not only Pyle's time on the front lines but also his prior years as a smalltime American journalist writing columns first on aviation and then on tourism. While these columns had an avid readership, Pyle was far from a household name; then came the war. Tobin follows Pyle through the early days of the conflict, when he visited London and experienced the Blitz there long before America entered the war post-Pearl Harbor, all the way to Pyle's final days in the South Pacific. Over the course of the war, Pyle transformed from a restless, determined, but as yet unremarkable and untested journalist into a practically mythical figure on the home front. Pyle spoke to the nation's heart and conveyed the war through the eyes of the average infantryman on the front, and in doing so cemented his own enduring legacy.
What I found most remarkable about Pyle, even before his famed war coverage, were the ways in which he always pushed the boundaries of journalism. Dismissed by many as writing "fluff" pieces instead of real, hard-hitting news, Pyle nevertheless gained a following by showcasing regular folk going about their regular lives, and thus appealing to the experiences of everyday Americans. He carved out a place in newspapers for columns that went beyond the sensational and made even the mundane interesting and vivid and worthwhile. Pyle then carried this same ideology into his war correspondence. Rather than covering the war from above, he immersed himself amongst the soldiers and tried to show the American people the war from the soldier's point of view.
Tobin's text is well-researched and extensive. I felt he did an admirable job of balancing Pyle's impressive coverage of the front, so revered back home, with the man's more hidden, torn morality and his shaky personal life. The picture Tobin paints of Pyle is ultimately one of a man determined to represent the little guy but constantly held back by his own insecurities and doubts. Pyle was relentless, visiting the fronts for months at a time before emotionally crashing and having to ride out his burnout back home, often with his wife, who herself was mentally ill. From this conflicting portrait of a man publicly steadfast and greatly admired, but personally tormented, is not difficult to see Pyle as exceptional. Though his name is not often in grade school textbooks, Tobin argues that he almost single-handedly laid the groundwork for the myths that so surround the second World War today. Pyle's column crafted the myth of the American G.I., helping to cement the legacy of WWII as the "good war" and the men who fought it as members of "the greatest generation."
Tobin's analysis of Pyle's role is well-thought out and executed, and I particularly enjoyed his inclusion of many of Pyle's original columns in a useful appendix at the book's end. This one took me a dismally long time to read, but I blame that more on my head space at the time due to the bleakness of current events, rather than the book itself. The four stars, as opposed to five, is largely because of the instances when I felt more analysis would have been useful, or when Pyle's words seemed to outshine Tobin's own, rendering them unnecessary.
Tobin's biography of Ernie Pyle succeeds as a compelling and complex portrait of the man who became one of WWII's most recognizable journalists. I first encountered Ernie Pyle after being assigned his D-Day dispatches in a WWII history class. Pyle's simple style and direct, impactful phrasing struck a cord with me and I found myself returning to "The Horrible Waste of War" and "A Long Thin Line of Personal Anguish" throughout the course and during my own experience of visiting Normandy. I picked up Tobin's biography because of my appreciation for those two columns, and I soon found myself immersed in Ernie Pyle.
Ernie Pyle's War covers not only Pyle's time on the front lines but also his prior years as a smalltime American journalist writing columns first on aviation and then on tourism. While these columns had an avid readership, Pyle was far from a household name; then came the war. Tobin follows Pyle through the early days of the conflict, when he visited London and experienced the Blitz there long before America entered the war post-Pearl Harbor, all the way to Pyle's final days in the South Pacific. Over the course of the war, Pyle transformed from a restless, determined, but as yet unremarkable and untested journalist into a practically mythical figure on the home front. Pyle spoke to the nation's heart and conveyed the war through the eyes of the average infantryman on the front, and in doing so cemented his own enduring legacy.
What I found most remarkable about Pyle, even before his famed war coverage, were the ways in which he always pushed the boundaries of journalism. Dismissed by many as writing "fluff" pieces instead of real, hard-hitting news, Pyle nevertheless gained a following by showcasing regular folk going about their regular lives, and thus appealing to the experiences of everyday Americans. He carved out a place in newspapers for columns that went beyond the sensational and made even the mundane interesting and vivid and worthwhile. Pyle then carried this same ideology into his war correspondence. Rather than covering the war from above, he immersed himself amongst the soldiers and tried to show the American people the war from the soldier's point of view.
Tobin's text is well-researched and extensive. I felt he did an admirable job of balancing Pyle's impressive coverage of the front, so revered back home, with the man's more hidden, torn morality and his shaky personal life. The picture Tobin paints of Pyle is ultimately one of a man determined to represent the little guy but constantly held back by his own insecurities and doubts. Pyle was relentless, visiting the fronts for months at a time before emotionally crashing and having to ride out his burnout back home, often with his wife, who herself was mentally ill. From this conflicting portrait of a man publicly steadfast and greatly admired, but personally tormented, is not difficult to see Pyle as exceptional. Though his name is not often in grade school textbooks, Tobin argues that he almost single-handedly laid the groundwork for the myths that so surround the second World War today. Pyle's column crafted the myth of the American G.I., helping to cement the legacy of WWII as the "good war" and the men who fought it as members of "the greatest generation."
Tobin's analysis of Pyle's role is well-thought out and executed, and I particularly enjoyed his inclusion of many of Pyle's original columns in a useful appendix at the book's end. This one took me a dismally long time to read, but I blame that more on my head space at the time due to the bleakness of current events, rather than the book itself. The four stars, as opposed to five, is largely because of the instances when I felt more analysis would have been useful, or when Pyle's words seemed to outshine Tobin's own, rendering them unnecessary.
July 24, 2021
A much more thorough and unsanitized biography of Pyle. It does not shrink from his adulterous affairs, nor his alcoholism (though it doesn’t call it that), nor his terrible struggles with both his and his wife’s depression, and in her case mental illness. It does make you wonder what he would have done had he survived the war, because he was such a wreck from combat fatigue. Obviously a great writer and heroic individual, struggling with his desire to stay home and live a normal life, and his sense of duty to cover the war. A good read.
Pyle’s columns, both before and during the war were extremely popular. He already felt duty-bound to go, as he had “missed” combat in WWI when he felt he should have been there, and he continued going back, though he grew extremely battle-fatigued, and had to leave for home intermittently, for his sanity, as he said. The American public loved what he wrote about and how he wrote them. The GIs loved him for his down home manner and willingness to be there with them and share their stories. His popularity may have compelled him to keep going back, even though he absolutely hated being there, especially when war was done in Europe and he was being requested in the Pacific. He definitely did not think he would come back alive from the Pacific, and as we know, he didn’t. Died when he was 44 years old.
Pyle’s columns, both before and during the war were extremely popular. He already felt duty-bound to go, as he had “missed” combat in WWI when he felt he should have been there, and he continued going back, though he grew extremely battle-fatigued, and had to leave for home intermittently, for his sanity, as he said. The American public loved what he wrote about and how he wrote them. The GIs loved him for his down home manner and willingness to be there with them and share their stories. His popularity may have compelled him to keep going back, even though he absolutely hated being there, especially when war was done in Europe and he was being requested in the Pacific. He definitely did not think he would come back alive from the Pacific, and as we know, he didn’t. Died when he was 44 years old.
November 9, 2025
Ernie Pyle's reportage played a large role in how Americans saw World War II. The syndicated columnist had already made his name in the years before the war, when he crossed the country writing about uniquely American subjects (he also could be said to have played a big role in the human interest story). His focus on the ordinary fighting man, ignoring the generals to cover the war on the ground. Pyle was a celebrity yet people knew little about him. Tobin's book fills in the gaps in Pyle's story. For example, Pyle's anxieties and sad private life made it easier for him to spend so much time in war zones. His pain turned into masterpieces of war reporting, accomplished with his personal style. Tobin provides the detail behind this unique journalist, detailing the experiences that made him so well-qualified for his moment as a distinguished war correspondent. This is an entertaining combination of biography and social history, the man and his moment. It is an excellent addition to any World War II library.
September 3, 2021
I finished James Tobin's Ernie Pyle's War: America's Eyewitness to World War II.
A short book under 300 pages that includes an appendice of some of his work both before and during the war.
This was a great dip into the life of Ernie Pyle, a man I knew only through reputation. It provides a compact whole life history and goes into his family, marriage and career before the war and if course his work most notable in the ETO with his unfortunately short stint in the Pacific Theater.
Both a simple and complex man at the same time who was limited by his past yet yearned for greatness. His reporting throughout his career focused on the common man and soldier, reporting on their daily experience.
Always a loyal following, slow to fame who blossomed into greatness during the war.
A great read.
A short book under 300 pages that includes an appendice of some of his work both before and during the war.
This was a great dip into the life of Ernie Pyle, a man I knew only through reputation. It provides a compact whole life history and goes into his family, marriage and career before the war and if course his work most notable in the ETO with his unfortunately short stint in the Pacific Theater.
Both a simple and complex man at the same time who was limited by his past yet yearned for greatness. His reporting throughout his career focused on the common man and soldier, reporting on their daily experience.
Always a loyal following, slow to fame who blossomed into greatness during the war.
A great read.
July 11, 2023
I'm giving this 5 stars mainly because of the writing of Ernie. He writes so eloquently, beautifully and thoughtfully. His personal story is interesting but he seemed to be such an important person in WWII, I feel he should be more well known. The other reason I gave this 5 stars is because I feel everyone who reads about WWII should read this.
He tried to not write about war itself but how it affected people and himself. It seemed to have an effect on him. He seemed to be an unhappy person but loved to write and was great at it.
He tried to not write about war itself but how it affected people and himself. It seemed to have an effect on him. He seemed to be an unhappy person but loved to write and was great at it.
July 1, 2025
Excellent portrait of a complex man who was both repulsed by and attracted to the horrors of war. Tobin does an excellent job of capturing Pyle’s complex and conflicting emotions, aided in no small part by excerpts from Pyle’s letters and columns.
The book concludes with a small sampling of Pyle’s columns. It’s easy to understand his legendary status; Pyle’s captured not only what happened, but more importantly, how it felt.
The book concludes with a small sampling of Pyle’s columns. It’s easy to understand his legendary status; Pyle’s captured not only what happened, but more importantly, how it felt.
March 26, 2021
What a great book. I didn't know much about Pyle, but this was a fascinating book that after a brief biographical chapter, focuses primarily on his coverage of WW2. What a great writer, reporter, storyteller and human being. All reporters should read this book as should anyone even remotely interested in WW2 or humanizing one of the inevitable and beastly activities of the human race.
April 9, 2022
A thorough account of a man cherished by many Americans before and during WWII. The book certainly leaves an impression. I didn't realize how much I didn't know about the famous correspondent and what a rough life he led. I did think the many quotes became repetitive after a while, but overall an interesting read.
November 5, 2022
This book is a detailed look at the life and times of war correspondent Ernie Pyle. He traveled to the European theatre to write a richly-detailed account of the battles in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and France. In 1945 Ernie relocated to the Pacific theatre, where he was going to write about the fighting on Okinawa. Unfortunately, he was shot and killed by a Japanese soldier on Okinawa, April 17, 1945. This book is highly recommended for war historians!
August 8, 2025
Amazing story of the average soldier and seaman through the eyes of Ernie Pyle
One of the three best books on the life of Ernie Pyle during the job of the average GI during WWII. No fancy words or myths; just down to earth facts, talk and stories that make you feel like you’re taking to Ernie Pyle around your dinner table.
One of the three best books on the life of Ernie Pyle during the job of the average GI during WWII. No fancy words or myths; just down to earth facts, talk and stories that make you feel like you’re taking to Ernie Pyle around your dinner table.
December 15, 2020
An interesting biography of a war correspondent that was (apparently) the most famous during WWII that I was completely unfamiliar with. Sounds like both he and his wife were mentally ill alcoholics, and I was interested to learn that the glorification of the infantryman started with him.
July 30, 2024
Ernie Pyle was an iconic WWII correspondent. He was loved by GI’s and Americans back home. The book explores his strengths and doubts. He seemed to be an empathetic and fragile but brave man. I suggest readers not to neglect some of his writings in the appendix. It was my favorite part of the book!
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