Reviews
"Norman Corwin's One World Flight details just one chapter of a fascinating life and career that have spanned nearly a century of global upheaval and change. Norman saw it all and told the rest of us about it--a master storyteller who during the Golden Age of Radio rode high atop the airwaves, crafting skillfully woven tales of poetry and drama that entertained and rallied millions to the cause of freedom." -Bill Moyers, "What a treasure for posterity that Norman Corwin's One World Flight journal has been found and 21st Century readers will be able to share this journey with him. Shortly after WWII, Corwin traveled the globe and produced a remarkable documentary series for CBS Radio. His personal journal entries, however, offer an even deeper dimension of his wisdom and humanity. Corwin's eloquent prose is breathtakingly incisive. This wonderful work only bolsters Norman Corwin's already secure place in the pantheon of America's greatest writers and thinkers." -Walter Cronkite, "How wonderful this manuscript was found! I was captivated by every word of Norman Corwin's "One World Flight" broadcasts. Norman is my dearest friend and greatest teacher, and I love him dearly. I wrote the Martian Chronicles for him." -Ray Bradbury, &"It is often said that timelessness is a characteristic of good writing, that one can derive pleasure out of reading something many years after its creation with a degree of pleasure similar to that of contemporaneous readers. &"Norman Corwin's One World Flight&" passes that test with ease, which is exactly how he writes. Throughout the journal entries, Mr. Corwin's writing is fine, often beautiful and sometimes quite moving. (He later wrote several volumes of poetry.) And then there's his quiet sense of humor, which never fails him, even in the many adverse conditions he encountered on his whirlwind trip. &" 'The sun of Iraq,' he writes, 'struck not like a sword but a drop forge.' &" This is a book of many virtues, not the least of which is that it is such a pleasant way to study history. It also is sobering in that so many of the warnings and cautions Mr. Corwin receives on the trip from those less hopeful than he about the prospects of one worldism have turned out, sadly, to be true. Mr. Corwin admits this in the first of his 12 &"Conclusions&": In many ways, this is a very contemporary book. His description of New Zealand's excellent health care system, circa 1946, will bring most readers up short. It is also, as I have tried to say, a very readable book. I shall take it down and read it again on May 3, 2010, the day Norman Corwin, out in California, turns 100.&" -The Washington Times, &"[Corwin's] decade-long career with CBS marks an apogee of what radio could do with sound and good writing. The book offers a window to a unique and fleeting time when perhaps things might have turned in a different direction. Corwin's talks with leaders and regular folks provide a way of looking back more than six decades to a very different time.&" -Communication Booknotes Quarterly, &"The journal is particularly poignant for the historical period it frames. It was 1946, World War II has just ended, victory has been declared only a year earlier, VE-Day and VJ-Day speeches abound, post war confidence filled the airwaves and the political arena. In this context Corwin traveled to 17 different countries �England, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Warsaw, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Egypt, India, China, Japan, the Philippines, Australia, Hawaii, and home. The One World Flight radio documentary series, 13 programs in all, resulted from Corwin's travels, premiered January 24, 1947, on the CBS Radio Network. More than the personal journal of a writer in an epic time in our history, it gives today's reader a remarkable reflection in the study of international affairs that is still relevant.&" -Journal of Broadcasting && Electronic Media, "The journal is particularly poignant for the historical period it frames. It was 1946, World War II has just ended, victory has been declared only a year earlier, VE-Day and VJ-Day speeches abound, post war confidence filled the airwaves and the political arena. In this context Corwin traveled to 17 different countries "England, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Warsaw, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Egypt, India, China, Japan, the Philippines, Australia, Hawaii, and home. The One World Flight radio documentary series, 13 programs in all, resulted from Corwin's travels, premiered January 24, 1947, on the CBS Radio Network. More than the personal journal of a writer in an epic time in our history, it gives today's reader a remarkable reflection in the study of international affairs that is still relevant." -Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, "The multitude who admire Norman Corwin as the iconic figure of radio can only be thrilled that the journal of his global expedition has been rescued. He was a writer of conscience whose work reflects an abiding interest in the lives of all peoples and their quest for a durable peace." -Warren Christopher, former US Secretary of State, &"[This book] blazes new ground in historical documentary writing and preservation in our discipline." -Donald Godfrey, Doctoral Program Director, Professor, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, "[Corwin's] decade-long career with CBS marks an apogee of what radio could do with sound and good writing. The book offers a window to a unique and fleeting time when perhaps things might have turned in a different direction. Corwin's talks with leaders and regular folks provide a way of looking back more than six decades to a very different time." -Communication Booknotes Quarterly, &"There's nobody quite like Norman Corwin. Not only is he in love with the English language, but as a former reporter, he knows how to arrive at the 'who, what, where, and why.' Now meld that with the poet power of a great artist and you have an American icon of profound persuasion. So, behold this found gem! Fine wine, fine whiskey and fine wisdom are distilled. Dis still is the man!&" -William Shatner, Actor, &"The multitude who admire Norman Corwin as the iconic figure of radio can only be thrilled that the journal of his global expedition has been rescued. He was a writer of conscience whose work reflects an abiding interest in the lives of all peoples and their quest for a durable peace.&" -Warren Christopher, former US Secretary of State, "When radio was king, Norman Corwin was its prime minister. Treasures such as this book will last as long as there is the spoken word." -Larry King, "This cautionary and celebratory tome once again reflects Norman's stratospheric standard. With his idealism and not-for-profit patriotism, he is, beyond question and without challenger, the Bard of broadcasting." -Larry Gelbart, "There's nobody quite like Norman Corwin. Not only is he in love with the English language, but as a former reporter, he knows how to arrive at the 'who, what, where, and why.' Now meld that with the poet power of a great artist and you have an American icon of profound persuasion. So, behold this found gem! Fine wine, fine whiskey and fine wisdom are distilled. Dis still is the man!" -William Shatner, Actor, "[This book] blazes new ground in historical documentary writing and preservation in our discipline." -Donald Godfrey, Doctoral Program Director, Professor, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, "It is often said that timelessness is a characteristic of good writing, that one can derive pleasure out of reading something many years after its creation with a degree of pleasure similar to that of contemporaneous readers. "Norman Corwin's One World Flight" passes that test with ease, which is exactly how he writes. Throughout the journal entries, Mr. Corwin's writing is fine, often beautiful and sometimes quite moving. (He later wrote several volumes of poetry.) And then there's his quiet sense of humor, which never fails him, even in the many adverse conditions he encountered on his whirlwind trip. " 'The sun of Iraq,' he writes, 'struck not like a sword but a drop forge.' " This is a book of many virtues, not the least of which is that it is such a pleasant way to study history. It also is sobering in that so many of the warnings and cautions Mr. Corwin receives on the trip from those less hopeful than he about the prospects of one worldism have turned out, sadly, to be true. Mr. Corwin admits this in the first of his 12 "Conclusions": In many ways, this is a very contemporary book. His description of New Zealand's excellent health care system, circa 1946, will bring most readers up short. It is also, as I have tried to say, a very readable book. I shall take it down and read it again on May 3, 2010, the day Norman Corwin, out in California, turns 100." -The Washington Times
