In the Trenches

About the Book

It is the summer of 1939 in England when soldiers start digging trenches in a local park. Suddenly, seven-year-old John Adams is forced to face a new reality. He and his school are abruptly evacuated to an unknown destination. Two days later, war is declared. As the sky lights up with searchlights and German bombing raids increase, Adams’ natural instincts to dig for the real story kick in—beginning what would eventually become a remarkable journey as a journalist.

By fourteen, Adams had published his first article in a major national paper, Britain’s Daily Mirror. At nineteen, he was fighting in the Korean War. He became a military reporter for London’s Daily Telegraph and battled against communist propaganda during the Cold War as a correspondent and news director of Radio Free Europe. He offers an unforgettable glimpse into the fascinating world of news , including insights into what it was like to interact with such disparate public figures as the Duke of Wellington, Otto von Habsburg, Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite.

In the Trenches explores one man’s experiences, perspectives, and memories as he witnesses extraordinary times in history through the ever-curious eyes of a reporter.

“Adams saw it all with his own eyes, heard it with his own ears. He lived it.”
—Andrew Alexander, former Ombudsman, the Washington Post, and Washington bureau chief, Cox Newspapers

About the Author

JOHN ADAMS is a combat veteran of the Korean War and former military reporter for the London Daily Telegraph. He was a news director at Radio Free Europe, worked with top broadcasters at ABC and CBS News, served as director of public affairs at the White House, and founded a successful public affairs firm in the nation’s capital. He currently lives in Washington, DC.