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The Magical Stranger: A Son's Journey into His Father's Life – A Powerful Memoir and Reportage of Navy Sacrifice
The Magical Stranger is a moving story of love and sacrifice, fathers and sons, heroism and duty, soldiers and the families they leave behind. On November 28, 1979, squadron commander and Navy pilot Peter Rodrick died when his plane crashed in the Indian Ocean, leaving behind a devastated wife, two daughters, and a 13-year-old son.
In this powerful, beautifully written book, journalist Stephen Rodrick explores the life and death of the man who indelibly shaped his life, even as he remained a mystery. Through adolescence and into adulthood, Stephen Rodrick struggled to fully grasp the reality of his father’s death and its permanence. To better understand his father, Rodrick turned to members of his father’s former squadron, the "World-Famous Black Ravens." As he learns about his father, he uncovers the layers of these sailors’ lives: their loves, friendships, dreams, disappointments—and the consequences of their choices on those they leave behind. The journey doesn’t end until November 28, 2013, when Rodrick’s first son is born 34 years to the day after his father’s mishap. A penetrating, thoughtful blend of memoir and reportage, The Magical Stranger is a moving reflection on the meaning of military service and the power of a father’s legacy.
In this powerful, beautifully written book, journalist Stephen Rodrick explores the life and death of the man who indelibly shaped his life, even as he remained a mystery. Through adolescence and into adulthood, Stephen Rodrick struggled to fully grasp the reality of his father’s death and its permanence. To better understand his father, Rodrick turned to members of his father’s former squadron, the "World-Famous Black Ravens." As he learns about his father, he uncovers the layers of these sailors’ lives: their loves, friendships, dreams, disappointments—and the consequences of their choices on those they leave behind. The journey doesn’t end until November 28, 2013, when Rodrick’s first son is born 34 years to the day after his father’s mishap. A penetrating, thoughtful blend of memoir and reportage, The Magical Stranger is a moving reflection on the meaning of military service and the power of a father’s legacy.
- GenresNonfiction
416 pages, Paperback
First published April 9, 2013
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149 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 27, 2017
Steven Roderick wrote this book about his father Peter who was a Navy pilot who was killed when his Prowler Jet went down over the Indian Sea in 1979. He calls the book the mysterious stranger because he was 13 when he lost his dad but was determined to get to know about him better by speaking to members of his father's old regiment, in hopes of making him a less mysterious stranger through there time was cut short. A very easy read, I read it in two rainy afternoons on a cruise ship on the Baltic Sea. I got it from the ships library as I managed to leave books on almost every plane I took to Amsterdam. One in PDX Portland , one in London Heathrow , and one in Frankfort Germany. Hoping to find something good at Amsterdam Airport in a few days for my return flight.( that's not in Dutch) 3.5 stars
June 21, 2017
Full disclosure: I know many of the people mentioned in this book. It deals with an era of aviation history with which my father was intimately involved. In fact, he knew the author's father. That said, I can speak to the veracity of Rodrick's observations re: military life, especially with respect to the EA-6B Prowler community in and around Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in the 1970s.
The book is a towering achievement, written in blood it seems. Rodrick holds back nothing and some of the passages quite frankly left me reeling. A standout book in the canon of military family literature. If The Great Santini is the best novel of this type, The Magical Stranger might be the best memoir.
The book is a towering achievement, written in blood it seems. Rodrick holds back nothing and some of the passages quite frankly left me reeling. A standout book in the canon of military family literature. If The Great Santini is the best novel of this type, The Magical Stranger might be the best memoir.
November 28, 2013
I had been eyeing this book for a while. I am into military books, especially ones that are aviation related. So I finally decided to pick up a copy of this book and check it out. I thought that Mr. Rodrick did a nice job telling his story. As an outsider looking in, I did get a good sense of what life was like for him growing up without his father. What a sad thing to long for someone in your life that is no longer there.
If Mr. Rodrick had not decided to pursue the Black Ravens and find out about his father then, his father's death would have been a ghost haunting him forever, I believe. While I did feel like I got to know who the author's father was, I still felt like he was a stranger after finishing this book. To me it seemed like even when the parts would flash to Stephen's childhood, his father may have been there physically but that was it.
However I did feel like this book did give a real look into the life of military families. Not just the soldiers but the wives and the children. It is not often that the reader thinks about the wives and children when they think military. I know I don't. I am usually about the soldier and what they are doing.
The alternating chapters were fine but they did not flow as smoothly as I would have liked. Overall, a good book.
If Mr. Rodrick had not decided to pursue the Black Ravens and find out about his father then, his father's death would have been a ghost haunting him forever, I believe. While I did feel like I got to know who the author's father was, I still felt like he was a stranger after finishing this book. To me it seemed like even when the parts would flash to Stephen's childhood, his father may have been there physically but that was it.
However I did feel like this book did give a real look into the life of military families. Not just the soldiers but the wives and the children. It is not often that the reader thinks about the wives and children when they think military. I know I don't. I am usually about the soldier and what they are doing.
The alternating chapters were fine but they did not flow as smoothly as I would have liked. Overall, a good book.
June 24, 2013
This was an amazing book - I finished it in one sitting, starting in the afternoon on a Saturday until late into the evening. Being the child of an aviator, the wife of an aviator, and an aviator myself (a card carrying member of Tailhook! I think Steve Rodrick and I were at the same gathering), it was definitely a gut check. I relived being a school aged child and awaking to my dad's absence when a plane went down, and he was gone for weeks for an investigation. My husband is doing a staff tour now, which he hates, but I'm thankful that no one is shooting at him and that his plane isn't on fire, but I feel a little guilty for that relief. I really loved watching Rodrick's father go from a legend to a human with faults to finally Steve's dad over the span of decades, and Tupper going thru that same metamorphasis over the span of years.
June 11, 2013
Nice read. This story is about a son's search for the life his father lead prior to his tragic death in the military. I like his style of switching back and forth between the author's story - and his self-depreciating narrative - and the story of a current pilot who is/was following a similar career track as his father. Well-written in such a way that I am going to look for other work by this author.
June 29, 2013
A touching account that is part memoir, part adventure, and part mystery. Rodrick's writing is heartbreakingly personal and brutally honest. I highly recommend this.
October 8, 2023
Not sure what to think. As someone who never served but has family and friends in the NASWI Prowler community, the book felt to me like it pulled back the veil a little much. Specifics of who was a good/bad aviator, who was an a-hole, who f-d up, who had family issues, with real names and details, was uncomfortable to read. That said, the book dealt in raw and painful terms with the loss and pain our military deals to its families, and it rightly questions the validity of the purpose behind it all.
August 17, 2017
Rodrick is a talented writer...no doubt. All in all, though, the book felt a little clunky; and, to be honest pretty whine-y. As a proud military wife, I am not dismissing the author's loss, or the subsequent implosion of the family. At closer inspection though, the family had some issues before the death of his father. At the end of the day, the book felt forced overall.
March 31, 2013
*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review*
Author
Stephen Rodrick is a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine and is also a contributing editor at Men's Journal. His writing has been anthologizes in the Best American Sports Writing, The Best American Crime Reporting and the Best American Political Writing. He lives in Los Angeles.
Review
I am not a a big biography or non-fiction reader but sometimes a synopsis catches my eye and I feel I should give the story a chance. Same with this book. Though I do not have anything with the army or fighter jets or carriers. I see them on tv some times and obviously I saw top gun but more for the romance and not the planes. I got attracted due to another part that caught my eye. The dead of a father that is hardly know but still everywhere. I lost my father at young age and struggled with the same questions Stephen Rodrick struggled with and I was very curious how he got his answers and what that meant to him.
As soon as I had the book in my hands I started reading and though the awards Stephen Rodrick received for his writing should be a signal it was clear from the start that this would be a great read. Stephen Rodrick managed to make the pilot/navy gibberish understandable for everyone with a few extra words. The abbreviations are worked out in the text, explained and placed in context in one go making it easy to grasp the concept and not be disturbed when it comes back further in the story.
The book is build up in two stories. The one is of Stephen Rodrick and how he grew up with his dad and how the family experienced it and what happened to him and the rest after his father died. The other story is that of James Hunter "Tupper" Ware a Prowler pilot and skipper who is introduced to Stephen and explains to him throughout the book how the life is experienced from his point of view. What really made this a very strong story is that Tupper is at that point in his life where Pete Rodrick was when he died. Just a bit older but the same plane, same role and a family at home. You get a lot of background information on Tupper too, like how he was in school and his career making it look as if he and Pete Rodrick are total opposites but during the investigation the question arises if that is really so. What was strong in this story too was the part where Stephen Rodrick tells the home front story while Tupper tells the at sea mission part giving space to all the emotion from both sides.
I did recognize a lot of the questions Stephen Rodrick had and the struggle he felt with parts of his life where he was in need of his father. Though as a daughter I was obviously aiming for different advices and experiences the main feeling is the same as is described at some turning point in the story by Stephen Rodrick as "I faced some of the hardest decisions of my life. As usual, I felt unprepared and alone". There are more comments and questions I could relate to and I will admit I did spend parts of the book crying.
Though this book is clearly about the search for the myth that his father became in his head I think The Magical Stranger also serves as a great view into the army life and how the missions have impact on the whole family and I very much enjoyed the whole ride.
Author
Stephen Rodrick is a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine and is also a contributing editor at Men's Journal. His writing has been anthologizes in the Best American Sports Writing, The Best American Crime Reporting and the Best American Political Writing. He lives in Los Angeles.
Review
I am not a a big biography or non-fiction reader but sometimes a synopsis catches my eye and I feel I should give the story a chance. Same with this book. Though I do not have anything with the army or fighter jets or carriers. I see them on tv some times and obviously I saw top gun but more for the romance and not the planes. I got attracted due to another part that caught my eye. The dead of a father that is hardly know but still everywhere. I lost my father at young age and struggled with the same questions Stephen Rodrick struggled with and I was very curious how he got his answers and what that meant to him.
As soon as I had the book in my hands I started reading and though the awards Stephen Rodrick received for his writing should be a signal it was clear from the start that this would be a great read. Stephen Rodrick managed to make the pilot/navy gibberish understandable for everyone with a few extra words. The abbreviations are worked out in the text, explained and placed in context in one go making it easy to grasp the concept and not be disturbed when it comes back further in the story.
The book is build up in two stories. The one is of Stephen Rodrick and how he grew up with his dad and how the family experienced it and what happened to him and the rest after his father died. The other story is that of James Hunter "Tupper" Ware a Prowler pilot and skipper who is introduced to Stephen and explains to him throughout the book how the life is experienced from his point of view. What really made this a very strong story is that Tupper is at that point in his life where Pete Rodrick was when he died. Just a bit older but the same plane, same role and a family at home. You get a lot of background information on Tupper too, like how he was in school and his career making it look as if he and Pete Rodrick are total opposites but during the investigation the question arises if that is really so. What was strong in this story too was the part where Stephen Rodrick tells the home front story while Tupper tells the at sea mission part giving space to all the emotion from both sides.
I did recognize a lot of the questions Stephen Rodrick had and the struggle he felt with parts of his life where he was in need of his father. Though as a daughter I was obviously aiming for different advices and experiences the main feeling is the same as is described at some turning point in the story by Stephen Rodrick as "I faced some of the hardest decisions of my life. As usual, I felt unprepared and alone". There are more comments and questions I could relate to and I will admit I did spend parts of the book crying.
Though this book is clearly about the search for the myth that his father became in his head I think The Magical Stranger also serves as a great view into the army life and how the missions have impact on the whole family and I very much enjoyed the whole ride.
July 12, 2013
In this memoir, Stephen Rodrick tries to make sense of the death of his father, a Navy pilot who died in a plane crash when the author was a young teen. Through his quest, he hopes to learn more about the father he barely knew, as he was gone more than he was home with his family.
The chapters alternate between Mr. Rodrick's personal story and that of the 18 months he spends with his father's former squadron, the Black Ravens. The memoir chapters held my interest; the squadron chapters did not. I quickly settled into the author's childhood story only to be jerked over to the present-day story, with its dense thicket of names whose place in the story I couldn't determine and military jargon that made my eyes glaze over. I don't like going back and forth between stories. It never works for me. So, I skipped chapters, following the story I was interested in.
The other thing that made me almost put the book down was the cruelty of Mr. Rodrick's mother. In her grief (and likely her resentment of the military life) and disappointed by her son's behavior and lackluster academic performance, she can barely stand the sight of him. When one of his teachers beats him with a paddle and the school sends home a note, she says, "Good for them." At his high school graduation, she tells him, "The vice principal told me you were the student who had the most potential but did the least with it." As the book wraps up, Mr. Rodrick and his mother finally hash it out, but it was too late for me. I'm sorry that was his reality. I truly hope writing this book was cathartic for him.
The chapters alternate between Mr. Rodrick's personal story and that of the 18 months he spends with his father's former squadron, the Black Ravens. The memoir chapters held my interest; the squadron chapters did not. I quickly settled into the author's childhood story only to be jerked over to the present-day story, with its dense thicket of names whose place in the story I couldn't determine and military jargon that made my eyes glaze over. I don't like going back and forth between stories. It never works for me. So, I skipped chapters, following the story I was interested in.
The other thing that made me almost put the book down was the cruelty of Mr. Rodrick's mother. In her grief (and likely her resentment of the military life) and disappointed by her son's behavior and lackluster academic performance, she can barely stand the sight of him. When one of his teachers beats him with a paddle and the school sends home a note, she says, "Good for them." At his high school graduation, she tells him, "The vice principal told me you were the student who had the most potential but did the least with it." As the book wraps up, Mr. Rodrick and his mother finally hash it out, but it was too late for me. I'm sorry that was his reality. I truly hope writing this book was cathartic for him.
February 7, 2016
Author Stephen Rodrick's father, Pete Rodrick crashed his carrier-based Prowler, and killed himself and 3 crew members on November 29, 1979. Stephen was 13 at the time.
In 2010 or so, the author decided to get to know the father he never knew. He did a great job. He met sailors from his dad's high school graduating class, his dad's Naval Academy graduating class, his flight classes, his squadrons and this generation's version of the same people, surprisingly still flying the same planes. (You thought it was only American Airlines that kept the same planes in the air for 50 years!)
This is an awesomely candid and informative book. Anyone with even a modest interest in modern warfare, US foreign policy, the navy, flying or family life after the loss of a parent should read this book.
Thanks Stephen.
In 2010 or so, the author decided to get to know the father he never knew. He did a great job. He met sailors from his dad's high school graduating class, his dad's Naval Academy graduating class, his flight classes, his squadrons and this generation's version of the same people, surprisingly still flying the same planes. (You thought it was only American Airlines that kept the same planes in the air for 50 years!)
This is an awesomely candid and informative book. Anyone with even a modest interest in modern warfare, US foreign policy, the navy, flying or family life after the loss of a parent should read this book.
Thanks Stephen.
August 23, 2013
Great story that was well told. Exciting, dramatic, and emotional saga of families and Naval Aviation sea service. I served with the author's father on the Nimitz in 1976, although we never met. Only disappointment by an otherwise well researched and well written book was the repeated incorrect use of the term "Seamen and Seaman" when referring to Enlisted personnel instead of Airman or Petty Officer.
October 22, 2013
How difficult would it be to find out about a man you hardly knew?
What if that man were your father?
Loved this book for so many reasons. It was real, it was honest, it was raw....and it's steeped in military duty and the struggle between the calling to one's country vs. the calling to one's family.
Two thumbs up.
What if that man were your father?
Loved this book for so many reasons. It was real, it was honest, it was raw....and it's steeped in military duty and the struggle between the calling to one's country vs. the calling to one's family.
Two thumbs up.
June 26, 2013
I just couldn't get into this book. And after all this research, for some reason I was annoyed when he said "Doogie Howswer, MD" was on NBC when it was on ABC. If that little thing was incorrect, how much other stuff was not researched properly? I felt like it was a boring book.
October 11, 2015
This book was interesting at times and very odd at times. I found myself interested and at other times kind of bored by what was going on. Not sure who I'd necessarily recommend this to, but an interesting story of discovery.
August 6, 2013
A combination of heart wrenching angst at the author's loss and thorough research into Navy life.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews