Eve of a Hundred Midnights: The Star-Crossed Love Story of Two WWII Correspondents and their Epic Escape Across the Pacific

by Bill Lascher

The unforgettable true story of two married journalists on an island-hopping run for their lives across the Pacific after the Fall of Manila during World War II—a saga of love, adventure, and danger.

On New Year’s Eve, 1941, just three weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese were bombing the Philippine capital of Manila, where journalists Mel and Annalee Jacoby had married just a month earlier. The couple had worked in China as members of a tight community of foreign correspondents with close ties to Chinese leaders; if captured by invading Japanese troops, they were certain to be executed. Racing to the docks just before midnight, they barely escaped on a freighter—the beginning of a tumultuous journey that would take them from one island outpost to another. While keeping ahead of the approaching Japanese, Mel and Annalee covered the harrowing war in the Pacific Theater—two of only a handful of valiant and dedicated journalists reporting from the region.

Supported by deep historical research, extensive interviews, and the Jacobys’ personal letters, Bill Lascher recreates the Jacobys’ thrilling odyssey and their love affair with the East Asia and one another. Bringing to light their compelling personal stories and their professional life together, Eve of a Hundred Midnights is a tale of an unquenchable thirst for adventure, of daring reportage at great personal risk, and of an enduring romance that blossomed in the shadow of war.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, World War II, War, China, Historical

408 pages, Hardcover

First published June 21, 2016

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed. I cried. I tore my hair out while I was writing it.

[Lillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is non-fiction that reads like a thriller. Excellent and heart wrenching. Highly recommended. The only thing that I felt was missing was a map of China and southeast Asia. Other than that Bill Lasher does a great job in making the Reader feel like they are there with Mel and Annalee Jacoby.

[Jacquie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a painful droning story for which I feel terribley cheated by the way it was promoted. I really thought that it was about a couple but the first 40% of book is his story... I have no doubt these reporters led a remarkable life with a tremendous contribution to reporting of war and getting the stories to the outside world back in the day but the way this is written simply wasn't appealing and I could not read another line... This is a solid pass.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a book that I keep thinking about. One of the best I have read.

[Elizabeth Alves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two facts: (1) I'm not a history buff. (2) This is a good book.

Eve of a Hundred Midnights has history, Hollywood, love, adventure, and a panda bear. Above all else, it has exceptional reporting and journalism. Even in some of the early sections when I had trouble keeping the names of foreign people and places straight (again, not a history buff), I caught myself admiring the research and storytelling. Fortunately or unfortunately, I also learned some history.

I also had to keep reminding myself that it's a true story because it's pretty exceptional. I can easily picture the movie version. To the reviewers who write there's too much detail, I'd say it's not a script, it's a life--a really incredible life.

[Andrew Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

As a journalist and a WW2 buff, I had this marked as one of my most anticipated nonfiction reads of the year. First, the good news: The opening prologue and the last third of the book live up to the subtitle "Epic Escape." The last quarter of the book is particularly heartbreaking. The bad news is that there's a large section of the book that reads like a checklist (this person was in this place at this time) that lacks the same strong emotional pull that the last third does. There are compelling moments in "Eve of a Hundred Midnights," but there are also lengthy sections where the momentum of the story stalls out and plods along.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking for a strong four-star summer read about pre-WWII in the Orient? From Japan’s occupation of Manchuria in 1939, their evolution south, taking over Peking, the rape of Nanking, and onto Shanghai and Canton, through Indochina – Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos – and finally to Manila, Corregidor and Bataan. Lascher does a great job of telling the story of two young journalists caught up in the upheavals of World War II Asia. It’s an historic story – a little too heavy on personal detail – but a good read for history buffs.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was marketed very poorly. It led my book club members and I to believe that this was an epic love story, when in reality, it read like a history book with a bit of Mel and Annalee's life thrown in. I felt it was very one-sided also and Annalee was not described as fully as she could have been. I got that Mel was interested and passionate on being a journalist in China and the Far East in general, but I felt like his love for Annalee was glossed over. The story really didn't get interesting until 2/3 of the way through when they try to escape the Far East entirely and end up in Australia. Then, Mel's ultimate death was truly tragic, but again, after being married only 5 months, I didn't get why that would be so devastating to Annalee. She goes on to marry again, but still thinks about Mel, but why? I wasn't told enough as a reader to get why she felt this way.

There also were too many details about the conflicts and cities, that as a North American born person, I felt needed more context to mention at all, because otherwise it all seemed a bit unnecessary and confusing to what I thought was the main story itself (the love story). I appreciate the author's enormous research but I felt it was a bit much given the premise I thought of the entire story. Overall, a story about real people that led interesting lives, but ultimately a story that was executed poorly so that their readers in my opinion are unable to fully appreciate the lives they led and risks they took in those lives. My god, he had a ship named after him and many people wrote condolences at his death, clearly he was an important man who touched many people's lives, but sadly, I feel this book didn't do him nor Annalee enough justice in showing the true essence/spirit of their lives.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I am waiting to receive this book.
I just won a giveaway YAY!
I am super exited! I like history and romance, this book combines both!

Update:

This is a very good book!
I love history and I think that WWII is the most fascinating part of the modern history.
I really look for any bright moments in that period of time and was so happy to read about love during the apocalypse.

Great book!

[Positive Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful story worth five stars. The details about China and their war against the Japanese were impressive. My problem with the book is the editing. There were too many times the story was interrupted by inserted details and hyphens.

[Janel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book about two war correspondents in China during the break out of WWII. Mel and Annalee Jacoby had a love for both China and journalism. The nonfiction book reads like a thriller. Hard to place down. I need to go find their published works to read now.

[Jennifer]

I'm sure it's a fabulous book. And maybe it's the space I'm in right now. But it's too dry for me. I just can't get into it....

[Amber]

Made it to page 78 of this book. I just couldn't get into it. I was really eager to read this since I love WWII history and know very little about China and Japan during that time period but all the Chinese/Japanese names/locations made it extremely difficult to read. I felt like I was reading a foreign language textbook.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

More reviews available at my blog, Beauty and the Bookworm.

I recently realized I haven't read a lot of nonfiction this year. This is actually kind of strange for me because I really like nonfiction, and Eve of a Hundred Midnights is a great example of why.

This is the true story of two news correspondents during WWII. The first, and main one, is Mel Jacoby, who was a relative of the author's. Mel worked for his college newspaper and went to China on a study abroad during his junior year, at which point he absolutely fell in love with the country. After his graduation, he found his way back, working as a reporter for a propaganda station in China's wartime capital. He continued to move around in various reporting capacities, coming and going from different points in Asia for several years. Eventually, he convinced a girl, Annalee, who had also worked at the college newspaper, and who he had connected with during a stop back in the United States, to also move to China in a news capacity. But as the war intensified, Mel ended up stationed in the Philippines, and Annalee ended up joining him there and the two got married. And then the United States suddenly joined the war, and the two found themselves stuck in the islands, with the Japanese army--who were likely to kill Mel if they caught him--growing ever closer.

This book has a lengthy subtitle, "The Star-Crossed Love Story of Two WWII Correspondents and Their Epic Escape Across the Pacific." Well, that's part of the story. It's not all of it, and it's really not even most of it. The actual escape across the Pacific takes up a relatively small part of the book, and it's probably actually one of the most uneventful portions. It must have been nerve-wracking at the time, I'm sure, but in retrospect, with more than a half a century between us and the story, it wasn't nearly as exciting as reading about dodging falling bombs in China. The book also isn't really the story of two star-crossed lovers. First off, star-crossed implies there was something keeping them from each other, and there wasn't. Second, Annalee is NOT very prominent in this book. The focus is definitely on Mel, which is understandable, given the author's relation to him, but it's a bit misleading to make it out like Annalee was more of a player than she was.

Most of the book is really about Mel and how he ended up in Manila prior to the US retreat and Japanese army's arrival. It's a very interesting story, about living in a war capital, navigating the different censors and political bodies, and seeing war grow ever closer, all the while trying to report the news in a way that no one back home was actually doing. I really enjoyed this, because it was a perspective that we don't usually get. Lascher includes a hefty reference section in the back, and it's a pretty good bet that Mel and Annalee actually did think and feel as he portrays them, because he quotes their letters and cables extensively. Lascher is a very engaging writer, and makes Mel and Annalee's story into just that: a story. I think he does wax poetic a couple of times; the epilogue is a great example of this. It's very purple and completely unnecessary to the content of the book. Overall, though, this was a really great book that offered a fairly unique perspective into a part of the war, and the lead-up to it, that we don't typically get to see. Very interesting. I just found myself wishing that the part of the story that was actually advertised had been a little more prominent and gripping!

4 stars out of 5.

[Susan Lorenz · Rating 4 out of 5]

My dad served in World War II in the Pacific and our family dentist growing up was a survivor of the Bataan Death March so I was drawn to this book. It is the first I have read on the subject and so can't comment on its completeness or bias. I definitely enjoyed it and have already bought another book on the subject which is more of a pure history. But be aware that the escape across the Pacific doesn't begin until the last third of the book. The first part is Mel Jacoby's college life and early adventures in China during their war with Japan in the 1930s. Annalee his future wife doesn't enter the story until the second part of the book. And all though I wish the author had explained the meaning behind the book's title, he never does.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book as a Goodreads Giveaway and I was stunned by how enlightening this book became on the story of Asia in World War II. With a slow start, this book ramps up to depict the lives of two World War II correspondents in Asia and the trials and tribulations they experience. Despite the outward narration, the book gives a clear insight into the vivid lives of the correspondents and I was very surprised at how attached and in awe of these amazing people I became. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has an inking of interest in journalism or history!

[Jeanne Boudreau · Rating 2 out of 5]

The history in the book is great. I thought the way the writer told the story was unpolished. Several times on a single page a sentence would start with "as I said". It's worth reading to gain more knowledge about the United States and China's relationship at that time. I just felt the story of Mel and Annalee was underwhelming. This may be because it was only a small portion of the book.

[Leticia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half was a little slow moving, with not much of a mention about Mel's wife or their relationship. It wasn't until about 200 pages in that it started to draw me in, when tragedy strikes.

[Jacqueline Marks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read about the trials and tribulations of war correspondents. This is a true story but reads like exciting fiction. Hard to put down.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great story of these two journalists, but the writing was kind of dry which is why it took me FOREVER to get through it.

[Lucy Meeker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely wonderful book! If you like historical non-fiction, you will really appreciate the writing of this book. A delight to read. I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

[Emesskay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The true story of two self-motivated and determined young people, who find themselves in Asia at the outbreak of WWII and have to figure out how to escape ahead of the invading Japanese. What they went through is quite incredible - if this had been a fictional tale it would almost be unbelievable. I have tried to put myself in their shoes, and can't imagine the inner strength and resilience they had to have.

I am at a bit of a disadvantage writing this because I had to return the book to the library. However, the story starts with following the adventures Mel Jacoby, a young man - in college he had an opportunity to take a year abroad and study in China, and he fell in love with the country, and was determined to go back there after graduation (which he did). Analee was actually a successful screenwriter for MGM, but had a yearning to be a reporter and also had a passion for China. She managed to get a job which would send her overseas so she could do charity work and reporting from China. Mel and Analee had known each other briefly when their paths crossed in the states, but when they met up again in China, sparks flew. They both sent reports back to the States trying to educate the country about the situation in China, and interest the citizens of the US in taking a stand to help China.

In US public schools, when you study World War II, there is not much discussion of what was happening between China and Japan in the lead up to the war. I had not realized that Japan invaded China in 1931, and from that time had been pushing further and further into China. China was also fractured between the Nationalists under Chiang Kai-Shek and the Communists under Mao, which made it hard for the country to unite to fight off the Japanese. It was really interesting to read about that aspect of the war.

Mel and Analee tried to warn the west of the aggression of the Japanese, but at the time, the folks in charge believed the bigger threat was from Europe. As the Japanese pressed deeper into China, Mel and Analee had to flee the country and try to get to a safe location, starting a months long journey across the Pacific, staying just one step ahead of the Japanese.

It is an excellent book about two amazing people, and also very informative about an aspect of WWII that was not widely covered in the USA.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put it down, as this very fine author,Bill Lascher, introduced two remarkable human beings: Mel and Annalee Jacoby, "star-crossed lovers," journalists in China as the war between China and Japan grew increasingly violent, America's uncertain role, the eventual attack on Pearl Harbor, their flight to the Philippines, a retreat to the Bataan Peninsula following the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, and eventually their escape through Japanese dominated seas to safety in Australia.

This was my first major foray into the Pacific War.

As I read, I often read aloud to my wife, and the ease with which it can be read aloud is, for me, a characteristic of good writing.

Well-reserched and documented, the author begins his work when a family member gives to him a typewriter used by his great uncle Mel, and that gift opened doors of thought and work, eventually giving to us this book, filled with notes and quotes from both of them, photos taken by them, or others, loaded with insights into how journalism sought both the truth and, as well, served American interests. Often what was submitted to the New York offices was rewritten to serve national interests - both Mel and Annalee were aware of this, but in order to remain in the thick of it, there was no luxury of either protest or quitting. They soldiered on.

If you're interested in history, biography, journalism or just want a good love story, this is it.

Filled with lots of tangential characters and detail, bits and pieces, covering China, Indochina, and the Philippines ... and the New York offices of Time and Life, and Mel's family in Los Angeles ... and Annalee's family in California and then Maryland, their student days at Stanford (they knew of one another, but didn't know one another until a few years later), generals and GIs, journalists galore - so many people who have become a part of American story.

Mel came from a family wealth ... Annalee from a Depression family which had lost everything ... from this unlikely mix, both Mel and Annalee discovered common interests in China, a desire to see the world, and a fundamental compassion for the suffering. They fell in love, got married in China and spent the remaining months in the midst of war.

Theirs is a story worth knowing.

[Rashmi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eve of a Hundred Midnights by Bill Lascher

This book, this story, has touched my soul. I have read so many books on WWII but all of them give accounts and tell stories of the atrocities and devastation of what happened in Europe - England, Germany, Austria, Poland, Spain, Italy....Even the world history taught to us in school, covered WWII from the western front, namely Europe and the United States and covered Japan only after its attack on Pearl Harbor.

Here is this fantastic, nail-biting account of the war covering China and Philippines and the atrocities and destruction that these countries suffered by Japan. This is an account and the story of the young American journalists who witnessed first hand the war in China and Philippines. The story of Mel and Anne Jacoby and their epic escape is so compelling and so well written, you can almost smell the stench of the trenches, feel the oppressive heat and humidity, see the cities light up in flames after they have been bombed and shelled and smell the billowing smoke.

Somewhere your heart will pound and somewhere your tears will flow....

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eve of a Hundred Midnights is a fascinating historical accounting of the Japanese invasion of China followed by a harrowing rendering of Manila under siege after Pearl Harbor and then first hand reporting of the invasion of Corregidor.

Unfortunately, the "star-crossed love story of two WWII correspondents" was dominated by Mel's story. The better part of the first half of the book is all about Mel and his love for Asia before the reader is introduced to Annalee. Then, with rather perfunctory introduction to this amazing woman, clearly decades ahead of her time, Annalee and Mel find themselves in China together and shortly thereafter they are married. We get glimpses of Annalee's contributions as a correspondent but nothing of substance. I wanted more.

When I visited the Malinta Tunnels on Corregidor some years ago I had no idea of the squalid conditions those who were housed there endured. Either I never knew or forgot that Malinta means "many leeches." Lascher made me feel some of the horror of this terrible war.

[Chynadolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of this book was a little slow and hard to get through, but the second half made up for it! Would have liked as much information about Annalee in the second half as there was in the first half. Otherwise, it is an excellent story and one that I was particularly interested in because my grandparents, mother and aunt were in Indochina during the same time period and had to leave due to the invasion by Japan. My grandfather was a doctor and had to stay behind while my grandmother, mother and aunt traveled by night and hid by day to make their escape. This book went a long way to explain what was going on in the region at that time. Besides the personal story of the main characters, there is much to be learned from the history so that hopefully we won't repeat it. Well worth the read!!

[Susy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Mel Jacoby might well have crossed paths with my father. Born a year after my dad, they both studied journalism in college - Mel at Stanford & my father at USC. Mel sought assignments at the San Francisco Chronicle where my dad worked after graduation. Mel headed to China to report on the rising aggression of Japan to the Chinese mainland. My father went on a fact finding trip to Germany and Poland. He was denied entry to Poland and asked to leave Germany. My father joined the Navy as an officer, mostly writing press releases and Mel fought the war with his typewriter.

But the similarity ends there as my father apparently managed to stay out of harm's way while Mel and his bride Annalee, a fellow Stanford journalist, found themselves trapped in Manila after the events at Pearl Harbor. Their story was so well researched by Mel's distant cousin and reads like fiction.

I've read so much about WWII from the European perspective but this book opened my eyes to such sorrow and hardship.

For anyone who maintains an interest in the Pacific theatre of the war, this book is a must read.

[Roger Briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Memoir of Love in the Time of War

This is a true account of 2 journalists covering WWII in the Pacific theater, China and the Philippines who fall in love and marry where they continue to work as conditions deteriorate around them. Their escape to safety is bold and miraculous and would seem more likely the account of a really good storyteller but this happened. You become attached to Mel and Annalee as you would with characters in a novel, not wanting to let them go as you finish the book. A love story yes but one compelling account of the sacrifices journalists make in time of war.

[Fiona Zakka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

This book was advertised as a couples true story of love through the war time in Asia. It is not! It is the true story of what was happening around and during WWII in China and the Philippines as well as the rest is the pacific. An amazing tale of reporting on a war about to start and then while it deplorably kills people by the millions. Also a very true take on censorship of the reporters by publications and nations. I am so happy to have read this book because it sheds light in so many interesting things more people should know.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eve of a Hundred Midnights:

The work done to puzzle together diaries, notes, records and recording for this book across war torn continents and oceans was phenomenal. Melville and Annalee Jacoby's stories were unknown before this, at least to the grandchildren or possibly sons and daughters of those brave men and women who Served in The Pacific Theater. As a daughter of a P-38 pilot in the Head Hunter Squadron out of New Guinea, I had not heard this story. It was brilliant and excruciatingly sad.