Cold War Correspondent: A Korean War Tale

 

Last night, I finished reading Cold War Correspondent: A Korean War Tale by Nathan Hale. This graphic nonfiction book is about Marguerite Higgins, a journalist who became the Far East bureau chief for the New York Herald Tribune in 1950. After North Korea, with weapons from the Soviet Union, invaded South Korea and captured Seoul because they were unhappy with where the border was drawn after World War II, Marguerite was trapped in enemy territory when the bridges over the Han River were blown up. Although she was constantly told that women weren't supposed to be on the frontlines, she risked her life and fought for her right to record what was happening. She even appealed to General Douglas MacArthur who reversed the ban on female war correspondents. Covering some of the key moments of the first year of the Korean War, she was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for outstanding international reporting in American journalism.

This was such a fantastic graphic nonfiction book! I had never heard of Marguerite Higgins before, so it was especially compelling reading her story about being a female war correspondent during the Korean War. It also particularly piqued my interest because both of my grandfathers had fought during the Korean War and I don't know much about the experience (nor can I ask because they have both passed away in the time since). Her story was incredibly action-packed and it was enlightening that she faced both life-threatening situations and men challenging her authority to report on the war. I thought it was amazing that she ended up having the complete support of General MacArthur. Additionally, I enjoyed the humor of the narrators, Nathan Hale, E. Pluribus Hangman, Bill Richmond, the Provost, and a fictionalized version of Marguerite Higgins herself. The illustrations were so detailed and it felt fitting that they were in black, white, and shades of yellow. In the back of the book, readers can find a bibliography, photos of Marguerite Higgins, and statistics. I'd recommend Cold War Correspondent to anyone who has an interest in war history and/or women's history.