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Broadcasts from the Blitz: How Edward R. Murrow Helped Lead America into War Hardcover – Illustrated, April 1, 2006

by Phillip Seib (Author)

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With the words “This is London,” Edward R. Murrow’s groundbreaking radio broadcasts from 1939 to 1941 brought the blitz into America’s living rooms. Countering the tide of U.S. isolationism, Murrow told his huge audience that the United States could not avoid a confrontation with Hitler and that the bombs it heard falling during his reports would eventually be targeted at American cities. But although often cited as the paragon of journalistic objectivity, Murrow had a clear agenda—to bring America into the war—and he slanted his broadcasts accordingly. And behind the scenes, he helped the British court U.S. public opinion and secure American funds for a British intelligence operation. Broadcasts from the Blitz examines Murrow’s work and life during this crucial time. It also profiles unsung heroes of those days, such as U.S. ambassador John Winant and Winston Churchill’s confidant Brendan Bracken, and villains as well—such defeatists as Joseph Kennedy and Charles Lindbergh, who believed England was doomed. Other compelling characters include Eric Sevareid, Mollie Painter-Downs, and Nancy Astor, whose “Cliveden set” was accused of being too cozy with the Germans. They and many others mixed in a London that remained vibrant even as it was being battered. Broadcasts from the Blitz is a story of courage—of a journalist broadcasting live from London rooftops as bombs fell around him—and of intrigue, as the machinery of two governments pulled America and Britain together in a common cause. Finally there is the drama of December 7, 1941, when Murrow was the sole journalist to meet with Roosevelt. Broadcasts from the Blitz is for all those interested in the influential career of an extraordinary man and in the relationship between journalism and politics.

Print length

200 pages
Language

English
Publisher

POTOMAC BOOKS
Publication date

April 1, 2006
Dimensions

5.25 x 0.75 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

1597970123
ISBN-13

978-1597970129
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Philip Seib tells us here in fascinating, can't-put-it-down detail the story of Ed Murrow who, without any plan, preparation, or training, began reciting into a microphone the saga of Britain at war from the hovels of the poor to the drawing rooms of the royal and famous and became one of America's best known and respected journalists." --Walter Cronkite

"Edward R. Murrow entered World War II years before other Americans. In 1938, when isolationist America wanted no part of Europe's problems and America's greatest hero (Charles Lindbergh) and its chief European diplomat (Joseph Kennedy) wanted to appease Hitler, Murrow saw the Nazi tyrant for the evil thug he was. Murrow's courage and high standards remain the benchmark by which all journalists are measured. Philip Seib's

From the Publisher

"Edward R. Murrow entered World War II years before other Americans. In 1938, when isolationist America wanted no part of Europe's problems and when America's greatest hero (Charles Lindbergh) and its chief European diplomat (Joseph Kennedy) wanted to appease Hitler, Murrow saw the Nazi tyrant for the evil thug that he was. Murrow's courage and high standards remain the benchmark by which all journalists are measured. Philip Seib's Broadcasts From the Blitz tells the story of how broadcasting's greatest journalist rallied America to Britain's defense while making radio a legitimate source for news." -- Bob Edwards, author of Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism

"Seib's well-documented book is recommended for academic and large public libraries, especially those with communications or World War II collections." -- Library Journal

"For any who would understand early broadcast journalism's effect on war and peace. . . . This far-reaching story will interest a wide audience, from students of broadcast journalism to those interested in military history and social issues alike. Highly recommended." -- California Bookwatch

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ POTOMAC BOOKS; Illustrated edition (April 1, 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 200 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1597970123
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1597970129
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.75 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,480,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4,692 in Journalist Biographies
- #4,724 in Historical British Biographies
- #6,259 in WWII Biographies

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Barking Loon

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2017

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Great read for history buffs who are interested in the Blitz.

Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2013

The book was a bit repetitive but painted an accurate picture of the times in Britain and the reluctance of many in the U.S. to awaken to the realities of the world. There was, and is, evil in the world and the U.S. continues to be in a position of overcoming the political obstacles of pacifism and idealism and securing freedom and democracy. Murrow knew the score.

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2015

Verified Purchase

No problems here. Good book.

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2013

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This little volume is a breezy, often repetitive overview of Edward R. Murrow and his London years. However, it's cut-and-paste, perhaps because the author was not trained in a traditional academic discipline. A serious student should pursue any of the primary sources Seib cites, and many more he does not. This virtual Cliffs Notes to Murrow doesn't do.

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George T. Garlock

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2015

Verified Purchase

Excellent in all aspects!

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2008

...hearing Murrow's "This is London." The first time was while visiting my grandparents. My grandfather took me into the kitchen and closed the door before turning on the radio because my grandmother didn't want to hear it. I was only 10 years old, and I'm sure I didn't understand the full significance of what I heard until much later. Nevertheless, it has stuck with me. It was one of the nights when Murrow was outside and we could hear the air raid siren in the background. (If I stop to think about it for a moment, I can still hear the siren's distinctive wail in my "mind's ear.") Seib's book is a superb addition to the shelves of books about the beginning of World War II because it deals with an aspect of how U.S. involvement came about that I do not recall reading elsewhere. The focus is on Murrow because he was so influential in forming Americans' opinions about the importance of sustaining England as it fought the Nazi menace alone, but the work of other journalists is also cited. (I have a small nit to pick here: the name of The New Yorker writer is Mollie Panter-Downes, not Painter-Downes.) Seib writes well, and his narrative moves quickly and to the point. There are no wasted words. Anyone with an interest in the early days of the war should read this book.

7 people found this helpful

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Cabin Dweller

Good Night and Good Luck

Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2015

Broadcasts from the Blitz is a Philip Seib work from 2006. It’s refreshing to read an honest biography of an honest man, although just as some of these books lean to the right this one takes leaning to the left for granted. Murrow, Seib says, was on the side of the good guys. Of course I already knew Murrow to be in a distinct class of hero that could live his life only by the purest interpretation of the First Amendment.
As a journalist, the book’s author gives me a little fodder for more background research in the introduction: “During the 1890s, publishers William Randolph Hearts and Joseph Pulitzer so inflamed public opinion that President William McKinley slid into the Spanish-American War.” And also the book gives an intellectual and emotional appeal for entering for knowing all along that aid short of war was always the moral and militaristic thing to do. All of the courage of Churchill is summed up, from the “We will fight until” speech to the visiting of bombed areas to conversations that continued during blitz attacks, and just as Churchill was the courageous leader, Murrow was his most prominent American friend in the media because he too insisted on the moral victory of living day to day life as a normal Briton would. At certain parts of this book with U2 playing in the background, I recognized the Battle of Britain as for what Churchill called it: “Never in the course … so many to so few.”
Charles Lindbergh is in the book, with Gerald P. Nye. Robert Wood is in the book. America First is in the book. Joseph Kennedy gets another George McClellan-style black eye. With them come their less commendable peers in anti-intervention, New Yorker Lord Haw-Haw and Iowa native Fred Kaltenbach, who countered Murrow’s appeals for Lend-Lease efforts with “Dear Harry” letters that complained of British plans to trick the US into war. Foremost in getting the US involved was the Ministry of Information, first described on page 65 and 66, an English organization with an American Division. A close friend of Murrow’s, Ronnie Tree, worked in step with British ambassador to the US Lord Lothian, a figure disavowed by George Sylvester Viereck in a previous reading. Also clarified from a previous reading is that Raymond Gram Swing worked in radio like Murrow. Tree deserves more research. As I was looking up information today about George M. Cohan and Yankee Doodle Dandy, a movie which unfortunately was not released until 1942, I basically found a replacement in Grim Glory and Bloody but Unbound, two Murrow projects off the radio that had the singular purpose of motivating American voters into discerning that the British are both good and needy allies.

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Thomas R. Fasulo

we could use his style of reporting today

Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2018

I'm old enough to actually remember seeing Murrow on TV, but was too young at that time to remember or appreciate his stands for whatever he reported on. However, I do remember his opposition to Senator Joseph McCarthy, who caused this country problems it didn't need. That stand was an example of Murrow's courage.

If I have a negative response to this book, it is that it didn't include one or more transcripts of his reports from "This is London."

Finally, I think many of the so-called journalists we have today could learn from Murrow and his reporting. Compared to him they are not reporters but simply propagandists.

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