The Journalism Shelf

Beacons in the Darkness
Dave Hoekstra
Agate Publishing
1328 Greenleaf Street, Evanston, IL 60202
www.agatepublishing.com
9781572843165, $18.99, PB, 298pp

https://www.amazon.com/Beacons-Darkness-Transformation-Community-Newspapers= /dp/1572843160

Synopsis: With the publication of "Beacons in the Darkness: Hope and Transf= ormation Among America's Community Newspapers", professional journalist Dav=
e Hoekstra interviews the people trying to keep the lights on at community = newspapers across the country amid buyouts, declining revenues, fake news, = and a pandemic. But "Beacons in the Darkness" is not just another account o=
f the death of local journalism -- but rather a celebration of the communit=
y ties, perseverance, and empathy that's demonstrated in community newsroom=
s from Hillsboro, Illinois, to Charleston, South Carolina, to Marfa, Texas.

Hoekstra recounts the sometimes-scandalous but always-industrious stories o=
f the families who built these newspapers and passed them down through gene= rations. Modern publishers and owners describe in their own words their str= uggles and experiments to stay alive in the digital age, not just for their=
businesses and their families but also for the communities they serve and = the neighbors whose stories they tell in their reporting.

Of special note is that "Beacons in the Darkness" provides an intimate view=
inside the organizations that still publish photos of the local bowling le= ague and the outlandishly large mushrooms on the edge of town, leaving you = with a rekindled fondness for your own community paper and a renewed apprec= iation of what we all stand to lose without one.

Critique: Simply stated, anyone who aspires to be a journalist or who recog= nizes the role local journalism plays as a supporting pillar of our democra=
cy on a community basis, must read "Beacons in the Darkness: Hope and Trans= formation Among America's Community Newspapers". Exceptionally well written=
, organized and presented (as expected by a journalist of Dave Hoekstra's e= xperience and expertise), "Beacons in the Darkness" is a vital and unreserv= edly recommended addition to community and academic library American Journa= lism collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be no= ted for journalism students, academia, and non-specialist general readers w= ith an interest in the subject that "Beacons in the Darkness" is also readi=
ly available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: Dave Hoekstra (https://www.davehoekstra.com/about-me) is a = Chicago author-journalist. From 1985 through 2014, he was a columnist-criti=
c at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he won the 2013 Studs Terkel Community Me= dia Award. He has contributed pieces to Chicago Magazine, the Chicago Reade=
r, New City, and Raw Vision. He has written several books, including The Su= pper Club Book (A Celebration of a Midwest Tradition), The People's Place (= Soul Food Restaurants and Reminiscences from The Civil Rights Era to Today)=
, and The Camper Book (Celebration of a Moveable American Dream).

Finding Fang Dazeng
Xuesong Feng, author
Long River Press
c/o China Books & Periodicals, Inc.
360 Swift Avenue, Suite #48, South San Francisco, CA 94080
www.chinabooks.com
9781592652471, $24.95, PB, 314pp

https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Fang-Dazeng-Correspondents-language/dp/15926= 52476

Synopsis: By the mid 1930s, photographer and journalist Fang Dazeng was wel=
l known within Chinese press circles. Born in 1912, he was considered by ma=
ny to be the "Robert Capa of China" for his pioneering work in photojournal= ism. Fang was also one of the most active correspondents in the early stage=
of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

His reports and photographs were published in Shun Pao, Young Companion, Wo= rld Pictorial, and Ta Kung Pao in China, and in Time in the U.S. and the Il= lustrated London News in the United Kingdom, among others. After witnessing=
and reporting on the Marco Polo Bridge Incident (Lugouqiao) on the outskir=
ts of Beijing in July, 1937, which led to full scale invasion by Japan into=
China, Fang continued to send dispatches from the main areas of conflict w= ithin until he vanished without a trace in September, 1937.

Fang never returned home and his fate remains unknown to this day. But his = story was far from finished. In 1999, author and editor for CCTV, Feng Xues= ong, began work on a comprehensive series of documentaries on Fang Dazeng. = His discoveries led to meetings with Fang's surviving family members and a = cache of Fang's personal belongings including numerous rolls of undeveloped=
film taken before his disappearance.

As a result of Feng Xuesong's tireless work to reappraise and treasure Fang=
Dazeng's contribution to modern Chinese history, as well as Fang's own sel= fless actions and perhaps his making the ultimate sacrifice, Fang Dazeng is=
now widely considered to be the forefather of photojournalism in China. Th= ese remarkable series of discoveries form the core of this book, featuring = many of Fang's photographs being published for the first time. Fang Dazeng'=
s contribution to our better understanding of modern Chinese history is of = inestimable value to future scholars and those interested in some of China'=
s most tumultuous years.

Critique: "Finding Fang Dazeng: A War Correspondent's Stories" by Xuesong F= eng is a large sized (8.25 x 0.79 x 10.25 inches, 1.81 pounds) paperback co= mpendium of historic black/white captioned photographs that provide a kind =
of 'window through time' to pictorially reveal China in a time of war. This=
English language edition from Long River Press and distributed by China Bo= oks & Periodicals is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, = professional, community, and academic library 19th Century Journalism, Phot= ography, and Chinese History collections and supplemental curriculum studie=
s lists.

Chasing Catastrophe
Rick Leventhal
Post Hill Press
www.posthillpress.com
9781637584941, $28.00, HC, 400pp

https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Catastrophe-Covering-Hurricanes-Breaking/dp/= 1637584946

Synopsis: Part memoir and part leadership manifesto, with the publication o=
f "Chasing Catastrophe: My 35 Years Covering Wars, Hurricanes, Terror Attac= ks, and Other Breaking News", veteran journalist Rick Leventhal empowers th= ose aspiring reporters and journalists who are ready to work hard to overco=
me adversity and achieve their goals. In the pages of "Chasing Catastrophe"=
, Rick shares some incredible highlights and some of the most challenging m= oments of a career in journalism spanning some thirty-five years.

Rick also shares what it was like to sleep in the dirt in the Iraqi desert;=
to stand at the base of the Twin Towers in flames and run from the smoke c= loud when they fell; to face a Category 5 hurricane; to be on scene when on=
e of America's most cheered and respected race car drivers crashed and died=
; to hurry to the frozen Hudson River from Midtown after Captain Sully land=
ed his plane on its icy surface; to separate fact from fiction on the fly a=
nd figure out what could be reported -- and what couldn't; and to be in awe=
meeting some of the most famous people in America, only to learn they were=
fans of his work.

Critique: Especially recommended reading for anyone curious about what its = like to have a career as a journalist in some of the most dangerous places =
at home and abroad, "Chasing Catastrophe: My 35 Years Covering Wars, Hurric= anes, Terror Attacks, and Other Breaking News" is an extraordinary and unre= servedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and aca= demic library American Biography/Memoir and Contemporary Journalism collect= ions. It should be noted for journalism students, academicians, and non-spe= cialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Chasing Catas= trophe" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).

Editorial Note: Rick Leventhal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Leventha=
l) is a veteran journalist who spent thirty-five years covering wars, hurri= canes, terror attacks, and other major breaking news stories across the cou= ntry and around the world. After ten years at local affiliates, Rick quickl=
y rose to Senior Correspondent at Fox News Channel where he was assigned to=
many of the biggest stories of the past twenty-five years. He ran from the=
dust cloud when both towers fell on 9/11, embedded with Marines in Iraq an=
d Afghanistan, spent weeks in Libya covering the fall of Mu'ammar Al-Qadhdh= afi, chased countless storms and other breaking news, and remained rock sol=
id on air through all of it.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

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Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review

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