Muddy Boots And Red Socks: A Reporter's Life

by Malcolm W. Browne

A war correspondent recounts his thirty years of experience in the field covering stories all over the globe, from Cuba and Argentina to Vietnam and Saudi Arabia

Genres: Nonfiction, War, Journalism

366 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1993

Reviews

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Malcolm Browne's memoirs Muddy Boots and Red Socks provide a ringing endorsement for journalism as he and his colleagues practiced it. Contrary to popular opinion which regards most reporters as bottom-feeders, Browne argues that if reporters are sometimes "less reverent of the symbols other people cherish —flags, yellow ribbons, medals, hymns, wealth, motherhood, prizes, titles — it doesn't mean that we respect nothing. More than most people, we admire honesty and courage, because we know how rare those qualities are. . . . [reporters:] spend their lives boiling in the caustic bleach of reality."

Journalism he argues can never be truly objective as all observers are flawed and view events through their own perspectives. The "best we practitioners can do is to try to be fair." Browne was a believer in the "muddy boot" form of journalism, I.e. getting out into the field rather than staying in the background without getting dirty. He also had the advantage of a strong science background which, as Molly Ivans points out in her endorsement of the book, helps "bring an especially clear-eyed gaze to journalism." It also meant that Browne was not afraid of the truth: he reported what he saw no matter who it helped or irritated. And he irritated quite a few folks in Vietnam by reporting the lies that were being told by the powers-that-be.

Browne was a reporter for Associated Press in 1963. He was aware of the tensions between the Buddhist majority and the Catholic government under Diem which permitted no Buddhist to hold office and suppressed Buddhist ceremonies. He was also very much aware of the Buddhist threat to carry out a suicide to protest their maltreatment by the government. He also learned that the Buddhist monks had experimented. They had learned that gasoline burns to quickly to complete the destruction of the human body and therefore intended to use a mixture of equal parts gasoline and diesel fuel. It was because of his close relationship with the Buddhists that he was the only foreign journalist to be present when Thich Quang Duc lit a match in his lap after being soaked with this volatile fuel. The photographs that Browne took provided the catalyst that led to the fall of Diem's regime as the event focused the world's attention on the plight of the Buddhists. The impact of the photographs also meant that journalists now become fair game for beatings from policemen. "Small nations are wise to consider carefully before accepting American patronage," says Browne who was on hand to witness the results of American support. Everything we touched in Vietnam seemed to wither despite our best intentions. For example in Cambodia, after wrecking the country's financial base and political structure we pulled out leaving the populace to suffer the horrible depredations of the Khmer Rouge.

The American leaders who visited Vietnam and other Indochinese countries treated the press with arrogance, their attitude being one of "Why can't you just get on the team?" when asked pointed questions, especially those that revealed the prevarications of the American government with regard to what was happening in the country. The correspondents had muddy boots, they were in the trenches, the could see the disparities between the official optimistic reports and the realities of the field.

[J.H. Moncrieff · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

Excellent, excellent book--best one I've read in a long time. Browne's heartbreaking, fascinating memoir of his years as a foreign correspondent should be required reading for all Americans--especially those who think war is a good thing or who still believe the U.S. "won" in Vietnam.

It's a sobering look, among other things, at the damage U.S. policy has done to other countries, and how the U.S. government works to silence even their own press. Pretty spooky stuff.

It was a bit ironic that Browne says in the beginning of his memoirs that almost no one's life is interesting enough to warrant a book about it, and then includes a chapter where he waxes on about his childhood and family in purple tones. I skipped those pages when it got a bit too overblown for me. That and some outdated attitudes about women--can't mention a female journalist without a commentary on her looks--kept this from being a perfect five-star read for me.

But I won't soon forget it.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Malcolm Wilde Browne (Wilde because his grandmother was Oscar Wilde’s cousin) was a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who covered wars all over, starting in Korea, and thence to Viet Nam (for which he won said Pulitzer), and then to the Middle East. War wasn’t all he covered, though; among other things, he was the editor of Discover magazine for a while. Along with being a memoir, political and philosophical musings are included- some I agreed with, some very much not.

Malcolm was a proponent of the type of journalism that got right into a situation instead of sitting back and being told what was acceptable to print, hence the ‘muddy boots’. In his quest for the truth, he ended up in three plane crashes, a lot of gun fire, and numerous tight situations. Because of his close ties to the Buddhist community in Viet Nam, he was on hand the day the monk doused himself in gasoline and set himself on fire. The resulting photos of the burning monk shocked the world. The American leaders did not think much of his reporting as he pointed out the ways American ‘aide’ was hurting Viet Nam. AP was impressed, though, he was *the* reporter for them during this time.

I have to admit, I wasn’t sure if I’d find a memoir about war journalism engrossing. After I was given the book (a dear friend gave me the book when I blogged about Malcolm dying; he was my cousin whom I’d only met once, when I was a teen) I’d dipped into it many times- mainly for his family and personal life- but never read it front to back. I finally did so and found it was as gripping as any novel. His writing flows and draws you along; I found it un-put-downable. I know more about my cousin now, and just as much more about the politics of war. Five stars.

[Brian Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

In MUDDY BOOTS AND RED SOCKS: A REPORTER’S LIFE, Malcolm Browne begins and ends his book with his Vietnam experience, as appropriate since he is best known as Associated Press Bureau Chief during much of the American War in Vietnam, and for his Pulitzer prize winning photograph of the immolation of Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc. But that’s not his whole story by any means. The AP and Vietnam was only a small part of his globe-trotting life. Browne dabbled in television for ABC and settled into The New York Times covering conflicts in South America, Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, the Middle East, and elsewhere.

Browne’s view of humanity is not terribly rosy: “The label ‘Third World’ is a euphemism for a domain embracing the urine-drenched sidewalks of New York City and Los Angeles slums, as well as the villages of the Nile Delta, the festering hamlets of Africa, Latin America and Asia, and all the other places where cruelty, intolerance and superstition rule.” Nevertheless, this is an engaging read, a nearly can’t-put-it-down adventure tale, and a worthwhile effort to be informed by one of the 20th century’s most informed & astute observers of the worst and best that humanity has to offer.

[Esteban Stipnieks · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a surprise about the Vietnam war in the book worth the read. Good descriptions generally one gaffe that made it past the editors entertaining and enlightening.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book!!

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating travel book from a journalist's perspective, particularly of Vietnam conflict. I disagree with his conclusions about curbing population growth in Chap 18 and evolutionary perspective in last chapter that ultimately the universe will end in zero.