the first casualty essays

the first casualty essays Knightley, Phillip. The First Casualty. New York and London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975. This book discusses the impact that the media, particularly the war correspondents, have had on society during and after wars between the years 1854 and 1975. It recounts wars from many different countries and raises questions on how correspondents should report, what they should report and when they should report it. The author, Phillip Knightley, is a special correspondent on the Sunday Times in London. With his colleagues on the Insight team, he is author of The Philby Conspiracy, The Secret Lives of Lawrence of Arabia, and The Pearl of Days. He has never heard a shot fired in anger, and hopes he never will. Though Knightley hasn't experienced war, many authors were quoted and a vast amount of research was done which supported the credibility of the book. In early wars, British officers brought their servants, chefs, dogs and wives to war with them. This showed their attitude. British felt heroic and noble for fighting. Special care was given to the way they looked and acted during a war, when it would seem war tactics might be more important. Then in Vietnam soldiers carried peace symbols, smoked pot from their guns and painted My God! Howd we get in this mess, on helicopters. War correspondents faced problems when war officials wouldnt recognize they were there. Correspondents couldnt find out or see what was happening. They asked other people for accounts, but everyone told stories differently. How accurate could each account be when they were hungry, tired and probably scared at the prospect of sudden death? When correspondents were allowed on front lines and could witness, they of ...