Reviews for On the Front Lines: Following America's Foreign Correspondents Across the Twentieth Century

The average rating for On the Front Lines: Following America's Foreign Correspondents Across the Twentieth Century based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-11-14 00:00:00 Chris Midgley I confess that I read Clerical Error because I wanted to learn about Malachi Martin. Robert Blair Kaiser first became known to me through a documentary on Martin. Like Donald Trump, Martin is a polarizing figure. Kaiser was the skeptical voice of the documentary, as I discuss on my blog post (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World) on the book. The reason, he was quite clear, was that Malachi Martin had an affair with his wife. This book, however, is a strange mix of things. Part biography, part reportage on Vatican II, and part exposé of an allegedly lecherous Jesuit priest. The early part of the book describes how Kaiser became a Jesuit. The training is downright medieval, but, like many, I admire the discipline of the Society of Jesus. I think that enforced celibacy only leads to problems, however. Kaiser is frank about his sexual struggles, but he left the Society because he wanted more career opportunities. He married and became a journalist for Time. He covered Vatican II, which he does in far too much detail in this book. Perhaps he's trying to build credibility because the final part raises all kinds of questions. He came to know Martin in Rome and Martin broke up his marriage, he claims. Not only that, but Martin's own brother, also a priest, admitted that he had a pattern of affairs with married women and breaking up their families. Martin moved to America and became a bestselling author, largely due to the success of his Hostage to the Devil. Kaiser says we should take anything Martin says with, metaphorically, a grain of salt. At the end, the reader is persuaded by Kaiser's sense of loss, but is nevertheless left wondering what really happened.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-08-01 00:00:00 Christopher Kessler A personal favorite - covers every presidential election from 1960 to 2000 and if often hilariously entertaining (especially 1988).