Passport to Adventure

by John Troan

As you leaf through this book you will discover that the author truly is a survivor. The last of his mother’s 10 children, he was only the fourth to survive infancy. He went on to survive the Great Depression, even though his father died at an early age and a sudden attack of appendicitis in the pre-penicillin era came within 20 minutes of ending his life. He also survived World War II, which he credits to President Truman’s decision to drop the atom bomb even as the aircraft carrier on which he served as a combat correspondent was steaming off the Japanese shore in preparation for what would have been history’s bloodiest invasion. And as a medical reporter he survived every symptom he wrote about – “from brain tumors to gangrene of the toenail” – to do such an outstanding job that his peers elected him president of the National Association of Science Writers. Here you’ll find him reliving his journalistic an ambush during a strike in the Pennsylvania coal fields, the Donora “death smog”, the bizarre death legendary of football coach Jock Sutherland, the “brain burglar” who volunteered for a lobotomy to sever his thieving tendencies, the first patient to survive total removal of a cancerous lung, the launching of the first atomic submarine, the building of the first commercial nuclear-power plant, tailing Communists and helping to preserve a trap for a suspected spy, chronicling the step-by-step development of the Salk polio vaccine, witnessing the birth of America’s space program from a grandstand seat, recording an insider’s account of how Franklin D. Roosevelt settled on Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy chose Lyndon B. Johnson for running mates, and much more. John Troan (nee Troanovitch) retired as editor of The Pittsburgh Press in 1983, after 44 years with the Scripps-Howard newspaper organization. He is a Distinguished Alumnus of Pennsylvania State University, where he ranks as a faculty-level Alumni Fellow. He also holds an honorary doctorate in Human letters from Westminster College. Mr. Troan is a former president of the National Association of Science Writers, an honorary fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an honorary trustee of the Science Service, and one of the founders of the Central Blood Bank of Pittsburgh and the New York-based Council for the Advancement of Science Writing. He and wife Varcey continue to reside in the Pittsburgh area. At age 94, he is still quite conversant on subjects ranging from Angioplasty to Von Braun.

354 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 20, 2013

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Troan writes an interesting memoir of his life as a sports and science reporter during the mid 20th century. Lots of variety and his personal voice make this a very enjoyable read. The chapters tell a variety of individual stories so it was a great book to read in snatches on my phone during waiting times.

[Miguel Panão · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laugh and depth

Being a science writer means bring complex ideas and the stories that led to these ideas in a interesting and compelling way. The life of John Troan(ovitch) is a delight, funny and inspiring account from one of the best science writers of his age.