Ghosts of War: Chasing My Father's Legend Through Vietnam

by Eric Reguly

Overview

In the 1960s, few living journalists were more famous than the Toronto Star’s Robert Reguly, who landed a series of international scoops and was right there in the Ambassador Hotel kitchen when Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated.

But no story loomed larger in Reguly’s life, or in the world’s consciousness, than the war in Vietnam, which he covered from startlingly close range in 1967. Vietnam was the assignment of his lifetime and, in many respects, Robert’s undoing. It changed him and haunted him, as well as his family, for the rest of their lives. Half a century later, Robert’s son, Eric Reguly, himself an esteemed foreign correspondent, retraces his late father’s footsteps through Vietnam’s combat zones in an impassioned quest to better understand the complicated and distant man who raised him and guided him into journalism. Ghosts of War is a gripping, thoughtful book about two very different generations of war, journalism, and manhood.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781989555606
Publisher:	Sutherland House Books
Publication date:	03/30/2022
Pages:	140
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 6.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Eric Reguly's career in journalism has included posts in New York, London, Calgary, Toronto, and now Rome, where he is the European Bureau Chief for The Globe and Mail. His work has earned him the Hyman Solomon Award for Excellence in Public Policy Journalism, National Newspaper Award for business writing, a National Magazine Award and two golds from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.

Table of Contents

Prelude vii

Chapter 1 The Things He Carried 1

Chapter 2 The Boy with One Eye 5

Chapter 3 The Razzle-Dazzle Reporter 21

Chapter 4 The Sex-Spy Scandal 27

Chapter 5 Prelude to a War 39

Chapter 6 Another Wild Man 49

Chapter 7 In His Footsteps 55

Chapter 8 The Hill of Angels 59

Chapter 9 The Imperial Capital Before Its Destruction 69

Chapter 10 The Bombing Mission 73

Chapter 11 My Father's Ghost 83

Chapter 1 Retreat From Vietnam 89

Chapter 13 My Mothers Agony 95

Chapter 14 Bobby Kennedy and a Breakdown 99

Chapter 15 Wars Without End and A Kidnapping 105

Epilogue: A Broken Man, A Proud Son 119

Acknowledgements 129

Editorial Reviews

"Eric's journey in his father's footsteps is a gripping journey of the self. Ghosts of War echoes with what strong journalism used to bring us: uncensored truth." —Tim Page, acclaimed Vietnam War photographer, filmmaker, and author

"This riveting book is a revealing and poignant portrait of the glory days of Canadian journalism, the courage of one of its heroes and the complex rivalry between father and son. Ghosts of War takes a clear-eyed view of the personal cost of reporting, the sense of justice and morality that drives it, the trauma that can surround it, and why it remains so essential today." —Geoffrey York, Africa bureau chief for The Globe and Mail

From the Publisher