author
Floyd Phillips Gibbons
1887–1939
A fast-talking war correspondent and early radio celebrity, he brought battlefield drama and adventure stories to a huge American audience. Best known for his reporting during World War I, he helped shape the public image of the modern foreign correspondent.
1 Audiobook
"And they thought we wouldn't fight"
by Floyd Phillips Gibbons
About the author
Born in Washington, D.C., in 1887, Floyd Phillips Gibbons built his reputation as a journalist with the Chicago Tribune. He became especially famous during World War I for vivid frontline reporting, including dispatches from Belleau Wood, where he was wounded and lost an eye.
Gibbons turned that hard-driving reporting style into a broader public career. He became one of the early stars of radio news and commentary, known for an energetic, rapid-fire delivery that made him instantly recognizable to listeners.
He also wrote books and adventure narratives, often drawing on war, travel, and popular history. By the time of his death in 1939, he was remembered not just as a reporter, but as one of the most colorful media personalities of his era.