Wednesday, October 4, 2006

NO PRAWNS AT THIS FUNERAL! R.W. "Johnny" Apple Jr., the Times reporter so prolific and proficient as to be a master both of political journalism and food writing, has passed away.

There is so much one could say about him, and Calvin Trillin's wonderful 2003 New Yorker profile of him is a good place to start, but afterwards, you have to go to Apple's own words -- and wow, is TimesSelect helpful on some of these. But take your pick: a same-day take on September 11; an accounting of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' funeral just brimming with detail and meaning; quick reporting on the 1967 capture by the North Vietnamese of a Navy pilot named John Sydney McCain 3d; a 2003 survey of Philadelphia street food or the piece Apple wanted to have singled out -- his 1967 analysis of why Vietnam was reaching stalemate. There is much here to be remembered and appreciated.

No comments:

Post a Comment