Larry Matthews

I read this book mostly because its author is a fellow ASA veteran. But this story of Paul Brite is a fictionalized version of his father's life - a career soldier and combat veteran of the Second World War, Korea and Vietnam, with some cloak and dagger work in Germany during the Cold War thrown in, all of it pretty gripping stuff, thanks to Matthews' writing skill. Also extremely interesting was the account of Brite's early life, spent in grinding poverty in the South during the Great Depression. Raised by his grandmother, he left Alabama at 14 to ride the rails, do some cowboying and even was a whorehouse bouncer in Oregon. A hard life. He joined the Army in 1940, went off to war a couple years later, and found a home in the military. He married a French-Canadian girl from Lowell, Massachusetts, and they had a son, Buddy - the author's fictional alter ego. Some of the training bases - Devens, Holabird and Edgewood Arsenal - rang true, as well as military family life in Germany. I could easily relate. I liked and enjoyed most of the book. Only the title, TAKE A RIFLE FROM A DEAD MAN, struck me as just, well, awkward. It's explained in the text, but still ... The end of Brite's life, post-retirement from the Army, was especially sad, yet utterly believable. Military careers in the ranks have produced plenty of alcoholics. I met a few myself.

Good book, Larry. Veterans will easily relate. Very highly recommended.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the Cold War memoir, SOLDIER BOY: AT PLAY IN THE ASA… (lisätietoja)

First things first: I LOVED THIS BOOK! There. Now if I could only explain why. I only ran across it because author Larry Matthews is, like me, a veteran of the Army Security Agency (ASA), a now long-defunct, secret branch of the military, which is barely mentioned in I USED TO BE IN RADIO, a memoir of his mostly successful, peripatetic path in broadcast news and the radio business.

Bored with college, following his discharge from the Army in 1964, Matthews drifted into radio work, beginning with small, pissant AM stations in Virginia, doing the news, advertisements and DJ-ing. FM radio was still new then. In fact car radios seldom had FM. From Virginia, he moved on to bigger and better things, as a reporter and news director for various stations in Washington, DC, Cleveland, San Antonio, Detroit and back to the DC area in an illustrious, award-winning career that spanned more than thirty years. Then it all came crashing down when Matthews ran afoul of the FBI while researching a story about child porn on the internet, and was himself accused and indicted of trafficking in child pornography, a landmark case testing the rights of journalists and the First Amendment. After months of delays and appeals, Matthews' second marriage ended in divorce and he was sentenced to eighteen months in a Federal prison camp in the remote mountains of Pennsylvania. (His first marriage fell victim to too many uprootings and moves as he pursued his career.) Matthews then offers a detailed look at life inside the walls of a prison and the strange characters he interacts with there, as he is sustained by the letters and frequent visits of a new woman friend, who is there to meet him upon his release.

In an Epilogue, Matthews makes an effective case about the injustice of his conviction and incarceration and bad precedent it set regarding journalists, free speech and the press.

I especially enjoyed Matthews' style. He writes in an easy, direct, conversational manner that comes across like a close friend, sitting across the table, telling you about his life. Did I say I loved this book? Well, I did. Absolutely loved it. Maybe I'll call him. We'll swap war stories about our ASA days. My very highest recommendation.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the Cold War memoir, SOLDIER BOY: AT PLAY IN THE ASA… (lisätietoja)

Larry Matthew's once again shows his versatility as a writer in this gripping an emotional tale about the true cost of war. The emotional toll our wars exact on a soldier and his family. He takes us on a very colorful journey through the life of one very special American soldier and patriot, his father. In Take A Rifle From A Dead Man, Matthew's weaves a rich tale about his fathers meager beginnings in rural Alabama, to life as a cowboy, a bouncer, then soldier. His fathers mastery in combat and weapons ultimately leads him into a career in military intelligence. Matthew's skillfully walks us through World War 11, Korea, the cold war, and finally Vietnam, giving us a unique glimpse, that few see, let alone experience.

I fittingly finished this book on Memorial Day, realizing the freedoms we enjoy in this country came at a terrible price. I highly recommend this book to everyone, and especially those who have served in our country's military.

After reading this book, I am thankful that I never had to say to my child "Son, do you know what it's like to take a rifle from a dead man"? Thanks Mr Matthew's for what I am sure was a very difficult story to write, and for your dedication in following in your father's footsteps.… (lisätietoja)