Tad Szulc
Tadeusz Witold Szulc (July 25, 1926 – May 21, 2001) was an author and foreign correspondent for The New York Times from 1953 to 1972.[1] Szulc is credited with breaking the story of the Bay of Pigs invasion.[2]
Early life
Szulc was born in Warsaw, Poland, the son of Seweryn and Janina Baruch Szulc.[1] He attended Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland.[1] In 1940 he emigrated from Poland to join his family in Brazil; it had left Poland in the mid-1930s.
In Brazil, he studied at the University of Brazil, but in 1945, he abandoned his studies to work as a reporter for the Associated Press in Rio de Janeiro.
Early career
In 1947 he moved from Brazil to New York City, and in 1954, he became a US citizen.[2] His emigration had been sponsored by United States Ambassador John Cooper Wiley, who was married to his aunt.[1]
New York Times
From 1953 to 1972, Szulc was a foreign correspondent for The New York Times.[1]
On April 6, 1961, nine days before the CIA-supported Bay of Pigs invasion, Szulc wrote a Times article stating that an invasion of Cuba was "imminent." W Joseph Campell has disproved the legend that the Times killed the story after President John F. Kennedy personally telephoned publisher Orvil Dryfoos, asking him to do so.[3] The Times actually reduced the coverage in prominence and detail, but the article was still on the front page.
Szulc's interest in Cuba continued over time, and he published an in-depth biography of Fidel Castro.[4]
In 1968, Szulc was a reporter in Czechoslovakia during the Soviet invasion against the Prague Spring.
Szulc has also written articles regarding Latin America for several other publications, including The New Yorker, Esquire, Penthouse, National Geographic, and The Progressive.[5]
Death and legacy
In 2001, Szulc died of cancer at his home, in Washington, D.C.[2] He was survived by his wife and his two children.[2]
He was a Knight of the French Légion d'honneur.
Books
- Pope John Paul II: The Biography (ISBN 0-671-00047-0)
- Chopin in Paris: The Life and Times of the Romantic Composer, Scribner, 1998 (ISBN 0-306-80933-8)
- The Secret Alliance: The Extraordinary Story of the Rescue of the Jews Since World War II (ISBN 0-374-24946-6)
- Fidel: A Critical Portrait (ISBN 0-688-04645-2)
- To Kill The Pope : An Ecclesiastical Thriller (ISBN 0-684-83781-1)
- Twilight of the Tyrants
- The Cuban Invasion
- The Winds of Resolution
- Dominican Diary
- Latin America (ISBN 0-689-10266-6)
- The Bombs of Palomares
- Portrait of Spain (ISBN 0-07-062654-5)
- Czechoslovakia Since World War II
- Innocents at Home (ISBN 0-670-39843-8)
- Compulsive Spy: The Strange Career of E. Howard Hunt (ISBN 0-670-23546-6)
- The Illusion of Peace: Foreign Policy in the Nixon Years, Viking, 1978
- Then and Now: How the World Has Changed Since WW II (ISBN 0-688-07558-4)
References
- Lewis, Daniel (May 22, 2001). "Tad Szulc, 74, Dies; Times Correspondent Who Uncovered Bay of Pigs Imbroglio". The New York Times. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
- Oliver, Myrna (May 22, 2001). "Tad Szulc; Foreign Correspondent Broke Bay of Pigs Invasion Story". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
- Shafer, Jack (May 21, 2010). "W. Joseph Campbell corrects the record on 10 important misreported stories". Slate. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
- (in Italian) Cuba: vade retro perestojka Avanti! 24 maggio 1989.
- "Collection". Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
External links
- Tad Szulc Collection of Interview Transcripts with Fidel Castro and other government officials in Cuba and with Cuban exiles in Miami, Florida, from 1984 to 1985, Cuban Heritage Collection of the University of Miami Libraries
- Appearances on C-SPAN