Risks Worth Taking: The Odyssey of a Foreign Correspondent

by Bernard S. Redmont

This is an inspiring and thought-provoking inside story of a foreign correspondent's two adventurous careers, marked by personal crises, battles for principles and brushes with danger. It is also a candid observer's compassionate account of his role in war and peace, in the sweep of history, and is a thoughtful commentary on the urgent problems of journalism and communication today. PART Born with a Caul; The Education of a Journalist; Oaths of Devotion; Round Trip to War; Present at the Creation; Peron and Evita; PART Scoundrel Time; A Movable Feast; The Human Radar; Nothing But the Truffe; PART Reverence for Life; Swords and Ploughshares; Future The Vietnam Peace Story; the Unknown DeGaulle; Mission to Moscow; A Hero of Our Sakharov; Links and Chains; PART Return to America; A State of Mind; Academic Adventures; Afghanistan and Academia; PART Foreign Endangered Species?; Why Do They Hate Us?; Cherchez la Femme; The Spiritual Dimension.

264 pages, Paperback

First published August 24, 1992

Reviews

[David Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I read this book some years ago and do not recall it in detail, I wanted to memorialize this book for its value as a memoir of a friend. Bern Redmont was a well-regarded journalist, who worked for several news agencies and broadcast networks during his career, including CBS. In this book, he tells about the various agencies he worked for and the places he and his family lived during his career. Among his assignments were posts in Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Moscow and Paris, all of which produced a number of interesting anecdotes. When I first met him, he was a Professor of Journalism and later Dean of the College of Communication at Boston University.
One of the most vivid experiences he describes was a period in the 1950s when he fell victim to the McCarthy era of blacklisting people with even a whiff of association with those who dared to think differently. He lost his US passport for a time and lost his job as a result. At the time, Bern and his family were living in Paris while Bern served as a foreign correspondent. Unable to travel, not even to return home to the US, Bern eventually found other work and continued his distinguished career, becoming the bureau chief for CBS news, serving in both Moscow and Paris.
I met Bern and his wife when both were members of my Unitarian-Universalist congregation. Each gave a lay sermon about their experiences when Bern was black-listed. Over the years, Bern spoke on other topics as well, demonstrating an incisive and knowledgeable mind.
This book is somewhat rare and difficult to find but is a worthwhile read for anyone seriously interested in international journalism of the period from 1940-1980.
NB: Since I read this several years ago, I apologize for any inaccuracies in my comments.