A Private Battle

by Cornelius Ryan

This book details Cornelius Ryan's struggle with Prostate Cancer. His own private battle. An intimate account co-written with his wife who completed it after his death in 1974.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Cornelius Ryan was born in Dublin. After finishing his education he moved to London in 1940, and became a war correspondent for ''The Daily Telegraph'' in 1941.

He initially covered the air war in Europe during WW II, flew along on fourteen bombing missions with the Eighth Air Force and Ninth Air Force United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), then joined General Patton's Third Third Army and covered its actions until the end of the European war. He transferred to the Pacific theater in 1945, and then to Jerusalem in 1946.

Ryan emigrated to the United States in 1947 to work for Time magazine, where he reported on the postwar tests of atomic weapons carried out by the United States in the Pacific. This was followed by work for other magazines, including Collier's Weekly and Reader's Digest.

He married Kathryn Morgan (1925–1993), a novelist, and became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1951.

On a trip to Normandy in 1949 Ryan became interested in telling a more complete story of D-Day than had been produced to date. He began compiling information and conducting over 1000 interviews as he gathered stories from both the Allies and the Germans, as well as the French civilians.

In 1956 he began to write down his World War II notes for The Longest Day, which tells the story of the invasion of Normandy. Published in 1959 it was an instant success.

His next work was Last Battle The Classic History of the Battle for Berlin (1966), about the Battle of Berlin.

This work was followed by A Bridge Too Far (1974), which tells the story of Operation Market Garden, the ill-fated assault by allied airborne forces on the Netherlands culminating in the Battle of Arnhem.

Ryan was awarded the French Legion of Honor, and an honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Ohio University, where the Cornelius Ryan Collection is housed (Alden Library). He was diagnosed with cancer in 1970, and struggled to finish A Bridge Too Far during his illness. He died in Manhattan, while on tour promoting the book, A Bridge Too Far, only two months after publication.

Four years after his death, Ryan's struggle with cancer was detailed in A Private Battle written by his wife, from notes he had secretly left behind for that purpose. He is buried in the Ridgebury Cemetery in northern Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Biography info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corneliu...

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cornelius Ryan was a reporter and author of The Longest Day, The Last Battle and A Bridge Too Far, all well-received World War II accounts that made him famous. He and his wife were well connected in New York City circles and here, they want you to know it. The name dropping is endless and tedious. As he is working on his last, much anticipated book, he discovers he has cancer. It is his dying wish to get this last work finished despite his weakened body and spirit.

The writing is good and the honesty is such that you would find in one's personal diary, but it includes TOO many details that just are not interesting to the average reader. His reporter skills come out in that regard but all the minutiae do not add to the story. From the vantage point of forty years later, one can certainly appreciate medical advances in cancer treatment. Not that they have it figured out, by any means, but treatment options have improved.

[Paul Jellinek · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerfully written account of Cornelius Ryan's battle with prostate cancer while writing his monumental account of the Battle of Arnhem, "A Bridge Too Far." Both battles ultimately ended in defeat--Ryan succumbed to the cancer shortly after completing "A Bridge Too Far" and the Allies were defeated by the Germans at Arnhem, leaving most of the Netherlands in German hands for the remainder of the war--but in both battles, those who were defeated displayed astonishing grit and courage. While Cornelius Ryan and his wife Kathryn are listed as co-authors of "A Private Battle", it was in fact Kathryn who wrote the book, drawing heavily on notes her husband had taken while working on "A Bridge Too Far." It is hard to imagine a more fitting tribute.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. I first read this book in 1983. I have reread it because so many near and dear to me have suffered or are battling cancer in one of its many forms. Cornelius Ryan's private battle with cancer is openly recounted by him and by his wife Kathryn in this combination of journals they both kept secret from each other as his disease progressed to its inevitable conclusion. Medical snafus and triumphs, family crises, the strength and weaknesses of friends and family alike are all laid bare. Not for the faint of heart, this.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very frank narrative of the Ryans' ordeal with Connie's prostate cancer. Both husband and wife are self-critical, which compensates for the tedious name-dropping. But one feels for the children.

[Judy]

Interesting account of a journey with cancer

[Michael Linton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a book I couldn't put down. I was fascinated by the experiences of the family and the treatments Cornelius took. It was interesting to learn about the hospital experience and treatments at the time (some good and some bad). I also never thought about what a patient goes through. I learned so much because he was recording intimate notes about his experiences which his wife didn't know he was during that time. And when he didn't have any notes, his wife provided her diary to fill in the gaps. She's given credit on the book but in reality, she IS the author.