3 1/2 out of 5 stars
In Eve of a Hundred Midnights: The Star-Crossed Love Story of Two WWII Correspondents and Their Epic Escape Across the Pacific, Bill Lascher chronicles the lives of journalists Mel and Annalee Jacoby and their first-hand coverage of WWII in the Pacific Theater and subsequent escape using letters, articles, books, photos, and recollections from their families. I struggled with this book which is why I gave it 3 1/2 stars.
From the back cover description:
“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 Far East 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.”
I have to admit that I have a love-hate relationship with Bill Lascher’s book. I loved the story of Mel and Annalee but for large portions of the book, it felt like an information dump and I prefer more of a storyteller approach to my reading. It might have been easier to parse the information if the book had included a dramatis personae (to keep all the key players straight) and a map. The sheer number of names, both foreign and English, and their nicknames, kept me thumbing back and forth to see who the author was referring to again and again. I wanted to love it but I just couldn’t fall into the story for any length of time. My father, on the other hand, loved this book. He was the one who recommended it to me in the first place. So, I’ll pass on his high recommendation in place of my own tepid review.
Thanks for stopping by!
Kind regards,
Anne
Tea and Trifles 