Almost A Family: A Memoir
by John Darnton /
2011 / English / EPUB
5.3 MB Download
From the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and best-selling author:
a beautifully crafted memoir of his lifelong chase after his
father’s shadow.
From the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and best-selling author:
a beautifully crafted memoir of his lifelong chase after his
father’s shadow.
John was eleven months old when his father, Barney Darnton—a war
correspondent for
John was eleven months old when his father, Barney Darnton—a war
correspondent forThe New York Times—
The New York Times—was killed in World War
II, but his absence left a more profound imprint on the family than
any living father could have. John’s mother, a well-known
was killed in World War
II, but his absence left a more profound imprint on the family than
any living father could have. John’s mother, a well-knownTimes
Times reporter and editor, tried to keep alive the dream of
raising her two sons in ideal surroundings. When that proved
impossible, she collapsed emotionally and physically. But along the
way she created such a powerful myth of the father-hero who gave
his life for his family, country, and the fourth estate that John
followed his footsteps into the same newsroom.
reporter and editor, tried to keep alive the dream of
raising her two sons in ideal surroundings. When that proved
impossible, she collapsed emotionally and physically. But along the
way she created such a powerful myth of the father-hero who gave
his life for his family, country, and the fourth estate that John
followed his footsteps into the same newsroom.
Decades after his father’s death, John and his brother, the
historian Robert Darnton, began digging into the past to uncover
the truth about their parents. To discover who the real-life Barney
Darnton was—and in part who he himself is—John delves into
turn-of-the-century farm life in Michigan, the anything-goes Jazz
Age in Greenwich Village, the lives of hard-drinking war
correspondents in the Pacific theater, and the fearful loneliness
of the McCarthy years in Washington, D.C. He ends his quest on a
beach in Papua New Guinea, where he learns about his father’s last
moments from an aged villager who never forgot what he saw
sixty-five years earlier.
Decades after his father’s death, John and his brother, the
historian Robert Darnton, began digging into the past to uncover
the truth about their parents. To discover who the real-life Barney
Darnton was—and in part who he himself is—John delves into
turn-of-the-century farm life in Michigan, the anything-goes Jazz
Age in Greenwich Village, the lives of hard-drinking war
correspondents in the Pacific theater, and the fearful loneliness
of the McCarthy years in Washington, D.C. He ends his quest on a
beach in Papua New Guinea, where he learns about his father’s last
moments from an aged villager who never forgot what he saw
sixty-five years earlier.