First to the Front

I will now officially try anything Lorissa Rinehart puts out. Her fantastic writing does Dickey's awe-inspiring journey so much justice. Very glad to have read this.

I just finished First to the Front : The Untold Story of Dickey Chapelle, Trailblazing Female War Correspondent by Lorissa Rinehart



The first authoritative biography of pioneering photojournalist Dickey Chapelle, who from World War II through the early days of Vietnam got her story by any means necessary as one of the first female war correspondents.

“I side with prisoners against guards, enlisted men against officers, weakness against power.”

Dickey Chapelle was a legend! She took the photo assignments her male counterparts wouldn't take on. She pioneered and paved the way for women to do jobs originally earmarked for men.

She was the first reporter accredited with the Algerian National Liberation Front, and survived torture in a communist Hungarian prison. She dove out of planes, faked her own kidnapping, and endured the mockery of male associates, before ultimately dying on assignment in Vietnam with the Marines in 1965, the first American female journalist killed while covering combat.

This woman was a total bad@ss. I had no idea she had accomplished so much during her time. She is the kind of woman I want my girls to look up to. I really enjoyed reading all about her and her accomplishments. She was a humanitarian and a role model.

Thank you so much for my gifted copy @stmartinspress for this wonderful book

5 stars