The Last Assignment - by Erika Robuck

About the Book

"Fall, 1956. Award-winning but often-maligned combat photojournalist Georgette "Dickey" Chapelle works press for the International Rescue Committee (IRC)-started by Albert Einstein during the Second World War-to bring the plight of the world's war refugees to the American people for their support. Still grieving the death of her mother, just two years after the death of her father, and in the midst of a prolonged and painful separation from her philandering husband, Dickey identifies deeply with displaced people-particularly women, children, and orphans-and longs to help them however she can. After a refugee rescue goes wrong, Dickey finds herself imprisoned in a Soviet camp, and it's there that a flame is lit deep inside her - to be the one of the front lines showing the world what war really means. Her journey will take her all over the world, and in the most perilous of dangers, Dickey will realize that in trying to galvanize the American people to save the oppressed peoples of the world, that she is saving herself"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

From bestselling author Erika Robuck comes the perilous and awe-inspiring true story of award-winning photojournalist Dickey Chapelle as she risks everything to show the American people the price of war through the lens of her camera.

Manhattan, 1956.

Since her arrest for disobeying orders and going ashore at Iwo Jima almost a decade earlier, combat correspondent Georgette "Dickey" Chapelle has been unmoored. Her military accreditation revoked, her marriage failing, and her savings dwindling, Dickey jumps at an opportunity to work with an international refugee association--one with intelligence ties. In the aftermath of a refugee rescue that goes wrong, a flame is lit deep inside Dickey-- to survive in order to be the world's witness to war from the front lines.

Never content to report on battles unless her own boots are on the ground, Dickey and her camera journey with American and international soldiers from frozen wastelands, to raging seas, to luscious jungles, covering the plight of those suffering from humanity's endless cycle of violence. Told in an alternating prose and epistolary format, The Last Assignment takes readers along on Dickey's missions to the Hungarian Revolution, the Cuban Revolution, and the earliest days of the war in Vietnam, revealing one woman's extraordinary courage and tenacity in the face of discrimination and danger.

And it's along the way, in Dickey's desire to save the world, she realizes she might also be saving herself.

Review Quotes

"The Last Assignment exquisitely captures the daring exploits and risks of real-life combat correspondent Georgette "Dickey" Chapelle in a way that is relatable, heartfelt, and impactful. Erika Robuck is a master of her craft in detailing the lives of real women who have left their mark on history and this book is no different. Brilliantly researched and written with incredible skill and heart, this story is a testament to the power of Dickey's determination to share the suffering of those in need with the world." -- Madeline Martin, New York Times and International Bestselling Author of The Booklover's Library

"Compelling and exhilarating, Erika Robuck's The Last Assignment brings to life the extraordinary story of one of war journalism's most daring figures, Georgette "Dickey" Chapelle, a trailblazing photojournalist whose determination to bear witness to the brutal realities of war left us with a deeper understanding of the human cost of conflict. I loved learning about this incredible woman." -- Whitney Scharer, bestselling author of The Age of Light

"Dickey Chapelle covered the Cold War like no other--risking her life and sacrificing her safety to tell the stories of those fighting for freedom on the front lines. Robuck's sweeping prose gives new depth to this larger-than-life figure, whose legacy deserves a place in the pantheon of American heroes. From start to finish, The Last Assignment pulls readers into Dickey's heart-pounding narrative of war and peace. " -- Lorissa Rinehart, Historian and critically acclaimed author of First to the Front: The Untold Story of Dickey Chapelle, Trailblazing Female War Correspondent

"Full of passion, courage, and surprises, Dickey Chapelle is a firecracker of a main character! The Last Assignment takes us on a wild ride around the globe with one of the twentieth century's most fascinating photojournalists. I couldn't put this book down. " -- Elise Hooper, author of The Library of Lost Dollhouses

"In The Last Assignment, Erika Robuck brings to life Georgette 'Dickey' Chapelle, a fiercely daring photographer who dedicated her life to capturing history through her lens. In an era when female photographers were often overlooked, Dickey took extraordinary risks--crossing borders in Hungary, confronting communists in Cuba, parachuting into Laos--all in pursuit of one goal: to tell the truth to the American public. Vivid and compelling, rich with historical significance and sharp-edged like Dickey's own haunting snapshots, The Last Assignment offers not only a gripping account of the tumultuous events of the 1960s, but also serves as an elegiac anthem for a woman who lived boldly on her own terms, and lives on as a legend." -- Weina Dai Randel, the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Last Rose of Shanghai and The Master Jeweler