Almost a Family: A Memoir - Hardcover

Darnton, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0307266176 ISBN 13: 9780307266170

Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc, 2011

Synopsis

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and best-selling author: a beautifully crafted memoir of his lifelong chase after his father’s shadow.

John was eleven months old when his father, Barney Darnton—a war correspondent for The New York Times—was killed in World War II, but his absence left a more profound imprint on the family than any living father could have. John’s mother, a well-known Times reporter and editor, tried to keep alive the dream of raising her two sons in ideal surroundings. When that proved impossible, she collapsed emotionally and physically. But along the way she created such a powerful myth of the father-hero who gave his life for his family, country, and the fourth estate that John followed his footsteps into the same newsroom.

Decades after his father’s death, John and his brother, the historian Robert Darnton, began digging into the past to uncover the truth about their parents. To discover who the real-life Barney Darnton was—and in part who he himself is—John delves into turn-of-the-century farm life in Michigan, the anything-goes Jazz Age in Greenwich Village, the lives of hard-drinking war correspondents in the Pacific theater, and the fearful loneliness of the McCarthy years in Washington, D.C. He ends his quest on a beach in Papua New Guinea, where he learns about his father’s last moments from an aged villager who never forgot what he saw sixty-five years earlier.

About this title

Review:

Praise for "ALMOST A FAMILY"
"Written with elegance, rigor and nostalgia, John Darnton's superb evocation of his father's death as war correspondent in the Pacific and his influence on his life as a foreign correspondent will move and enchant."
--Elie Wiesel, author of "Night
"
"A brave, heartbreaking and inspiring story of a son's search for the truth behind the myths he was reared with. It is proof that human beings can be scalded by life and yet come through strong, loving, talented and tough - and still know how to laugh."
--Gay Talese, author of "A Writer's Life
"
"What a book! After 40 years of newspapering - winning prizes as a reporter and foreign correspondent - John Darnton has written a warm personal account of how it all came to be."
--Ben Bradlee, author of "A Good Life"
"Here is that very rare species of American - the foreign correspondent - speaking from the heart. The result is exciting, magnetic, moving, and a damn go

"Wonderful. . . . John Darnton has taken [the memoir] to a new level. . . . Gripping, moving, and fascinating." --Susan Cheever, "The New York Times Book Review
"
"Inspiring. . . . Exciting, deeply felt, evocative of past worlds and times, and full of first-rate reporting. . . . [A] fine book." --Ian Frazier, "The New York Review of Books"
"Unusually absorbing. . . . Poignant. . . . Unfailingly tasteful and profoundly sympathetic, clear-eyed yet humane." -"San Francisco Chronicle"
" "
"Gripping. . . . Darnton writes with assurance, and the book is structured like a good novel, filled with unexpected twists and turns." --"The Washington Independent Review of Books"

"Old-school reporting skills and a newspaperman's sensibility are on ample display. [Darnton's] tool box includes spare prose hones under deadline pressure in city rooms and cop shops. At key moments of revelation he forces the reader to set the book down for a moment to absorb the shockers about his parents and their relationship. . . . [Darnton's] thoughtful memoir dives deeper." --"The New York Times"
" "
"A brave, heartbreaking and inspiring story of a son's search for the truth behind the myths he was reared with. It is proof that human beings can be scalded by life and yet come through strong, loving, talented and tough - and still know how to laugh." --Gay Talese, author of "A Writer's Life"
" "
"Exciting, magnetic, moving, and a damn good story." --Alan Furst, author of "Spies of the Balkans"
"A thorough investigative reporting job on [Darnton's] father's life. . . . His newspaper skills coupled with a strong, direct writing style draw the reader into Mr. Darnton's life in an intimate way that few contemporary memoirs can pull off." --"Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"
"Darnton uncovers a more complicated man as he debunks family-entrenched myths about his parents' marriage and the circumstances of his father's death. He writes tenderly about his mother's loneliness and her bouts with alcoholism." --"The New Yorker"
"Written with elegance, rigor and nostalgia, John Darnton's superb evocation of his father's death as war correspondent in the Pacific and his influence on his life as a foreign correspondent will move and enchant." --Elie Wiesel, author of "Night"
"Remarkable. . . . With immense tenacity he has followed every lead and answered every answerable question about his father, about his mother, about their relationship, and about the incident in New Guinea, while telling the story of his own stressful childhood and adolescence." --"Columbia Journalism Review"
"Bravo, John Darnton. . . . [A] crisp, literate, and terrifically frank examination into the nature of his own idetntity. . . . Read this book--and when you're done, give it to your children." --"Chronogram"
"Two haunting narratives, a sobering account of a fatherless childhood and of the relentless pursuit of evidence about a man [Darnton] longed to know." --"The Boston Globe"
"Mesmerizing... One of America's finest journalists embarks on a mission to separate truth from myth in the life and death of his father. A brilliant memoir with surprising twists and turns."
--Gene Roberts, author of "The Race Beat
"
"Compelling. . . . Darnton, author of several best-selling novels, deconstructs wartime and personal drama with the powerful combination of a seasoned journalist's instincts and an aching son's need to know. He's written a brave and beautiful book." --Julie Salamon, Salon

Wonderful. . . . John Darnton has taken [the memoir] to a new level. . . . Gripping, moving, and fascinating. Susan Cheever, The New York Times Book Review

Inspiring. . . . Exciting, deeply felt, evocative of past worlds and times, and full of first-rate reporting. . . . [A] fine book. Ian Frazier, The New York Review of Books
Unusually absorbing. . . . Poignant. . . . Unfailingly tasteful and profoundly sympathetic, clear-eyed yet humane. San Francisco Chronicle

Gripping. . . . Darnton writes with assurance, and the book is structured like a good novel, filled with unexpected twists and turns. The Washington Independent Review of Books

Old-school reporting skills and a newspaperman s sensibility are on ample display. [Darnton s] tool box includes spare prose hones under deadline pressure in city rooms and cop shops. At key moments of revelation he forces the reader to set the book down for a moment to absorb the shockers about his parents and their relationship. . . . [Darnton s] thoughtful memoir dives deeper. The New York Times

A brave, heartbreaking and inspiring story of a son s search for the truth behind the myths he was reared with. It is proof that human beings can be scalded by life and yet come through strong, loving, talented and tough and still know how to laugh. Gay Talese, author of A Writer s Life

Exciting, magnetic, moving, and a damn good story. Alan Furst, author of Spies of the Balkans
A thorough investigative reporting job on [Darnton s] father s life. . . . His newspaper skills coupled with a strong, direct writing style draw the reader into Mr. Darnton s life in an intimate way that few contemporary memoirs can pull off. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Darnton uncovers a more complicated man as he debunks family-entrenched myths about his parents marriage and the circumstances of his father s death. He writes tenderly about his mother s loneliness and her bouts with alcoholism. The New Yorker
Written with elegance, rigor and nostalgia, John Darnton s superb evocation of his father s death as war correspondent in the Pacific and his influence on his life as a foreign correspondent will move and enchant. Elie Wiesel, author of Night
Remarkable. . . . With immense tenacity he has followed every lead and answered every answerable question about his father, about his mother, about their relationship, and about the incident in New Guinea, while telling the story of his own stressful childhood and adolescence. Columbia Journalism Review
Bravo, John Darnton. . . . [A] crisp, literate, and terrifically frank examination into the nature of his own idetntity. . . . Read this book and when you re done, give it to your children. Chronogram
Two haunting narratives, a sobering account of a fatherless childhood and of the relentless pursuit of evidence about a man [Darnton] longed to know. The Boston Globe
Mesmerizing... One of America s finest journalists embarks on a mission to separate truth from myth in the life and death of his father. A brilliant memoir with surprising twists and turns.
Gene Roberts, author of The Race Beat

"Compelling. . . . Darnton, author of several best-selling novels, deconstructs wartime and personal drama with the powerful combination of a seasoned journalist s instincts and an aching son s need to know. He s written a brave and beautiful book." --Julie Salamon, Salon

"

About the Author:

John Darnton has worked for The New York Times for forty years as a reporter, editor, and foreign correspondent. He is the recipient of two George Polk Awards and a Pulitzer Prize. He is also the author of five novels, including The Darwin Conspiracy and the best seller, Neanderthal. He lives in New York City.

About this edition

• Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0307266176
• ISBN 13: 9780307266170
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 347