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Past to Present: A Reporter's Story of War, Spies, People and Politics
William Stevenson may be best known for his friendship with and books about another William Stephenson, otherwise known as Intrepid, whose spy network and secret diplomacy changed the course of history.
Originally published in 1976, Stevenson's book A Man Called Intrepid sold over 2 million copies and quickly became a New York Times bestseller.
However, readers will be just as fascinated by his life’s story and adventures. Stevenson chronicles the major events of his life, beginning with his daring and dangerous time as a naval pilot during WWII flying a multitude of new aircraft —Stringbag, Tiger Moth, Seafire, Hellcats — and learning various maneuvers in the skies over England, Canada, Scotland, and the Pacific.
After the war, still yearning for adventure, he returns to Canada to write for The Toronto Daily Star, where he first meets William Stephenson (aka Intrepid) on assignment and develops a lifelong friendship. Stevenson travels the globe, visiting Hong Kong, Delhi, Kashmir, Kenya, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow, Thailand, and many other exotic locals, where he meets iconic figures, such as Ian Fleming, Prime Minister Nehru, Ho Chi Minh, Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Tse-tung, Zhou Enlai, Tito, Khrushchev, and the King of Thailand among others. Privy to confidential information, full of international intrigue, Stevenson is a living embodiment of Twentieth Century history.
Past to Present, with story after amazing story to tell, will leave the reader breathless.
Originally published in 1976, Stevenson's book A Man Called Intrepid sold over 2 million copies and quickly became a New York Times bestseller.
However, readers will be just as fascinated by his life’s story and adventures. Stevenson chronicles the major events of his life, beginning with his daring and dangerous time as a naval pilot during WWII flying a multitude of new aircraft —Stringbag, Tiger Moth, Seafire, Hellcats — and learning various maneuvers in the skies over England, Canada, Scotland, and the Pacific.
After the war, still yearning for adventure, he returns to Canada to write for The Toronto Daily Star, where he first meets William Stephenson (aka Intrepid) on assignment and develops a lifelong friendship. Stevenson travels the globe, visiting Hong Kong, Delhi, Kashmir, Kenya, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow, Thailand, and many other exotic locals, where he meets iconic figures, such as Ian Fleming, Prime Minister Nehru, Ho Chi Minh, Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Tse-tung, Zhou Enlai, Tito, Khrushchev, and the King of Thailand among others. Privy to confidential information, full of international intrigue, Stevenson is a living embodiment of Twentieth Century history.
Past to Present, with story after amazing story to tell, will leave the reader breathless.
- GenresHistory
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
32 people want to read
About the author
William Stevenson
193 books72 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
William Stevenson was a British-born Canadian author and journalist. His 1976 book "A Man Called Intrepid" was about William Stephenson (no relation) and was a best-seller. It was made into a 1979 mini-series starring David Niven and Stevenson followed it up with a 1983 book titled "Intrepid's Last Case."
Stevenson set a record with another 1976 book, "90 Minutes at Entebbe." The book was about Operation Entebbe, an operation where Israeli commandos secretly landed at night at Entebbe Airport in Uganda and succeeded in rescuing the passengers of an airliner hi-jacked by Palestinian militants, while incurring very few casualties. The remarkable record in that pre-internet age is that Stevenson's "instant book" was written, edited, printed and available for sale within weeks of the event it described.
William Stevenson was a British-born Canadian author and journalist. His 1976 book "A Man Called Intrepid" was about William Stephenson (no relation) and was a best-seller. It was made into a 1979 mini-series starring David Niven and Stevenson followed it up with a 1983 book titled "Intrepid's Last Case."
Stevenson set a record with another 1976 book, "90 Minutes at Entebbe." The book was about Operation Entebbe, an operation where Israeli commandos secretly landed at night at Entebbe Airport in Uganda and succeeded in rescuing the passengers of an airliner hi-jacked by Palestinian militants, while incurring very few casualties. The remarkable record in that pre-internet age is that Stevenson's "instant book" was written, edited, printed and available for sale within weeks of the event it described.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 3, 2019
A little too much name-dropping for me, and I totally was lost in the donkey metaphor. But I enjoyed his adventures in history.
Displaying 1 of 1 review