The Last Assignment by Erika Robuck ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

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.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.  A free book was provided for an honest review.

August 2025; Sourcebooks Landmark; 978-1464238970
audio, ebook, print (448 pages); historical fiction

Erika Robuck is one of my 'must-read' authors because she does such a fantastic job with her WWII historical fiction.  (See Donna's recent review of Sisters of Night and Fog).  The Last Assignment wasn't about WWII, but it was a book that I couldn't put down, based on the life of photojournalist Dickey Chapelle, who was another brave and caring woman who made a big difference in our country that we never learned about in school.

The book started in 1954 when Dickey was floundering.  Her credentials had been revoked from the military because she disobeyed orders on Iwo Jima at the end of WWII.  Her marriage was crumbling, and none of the magazines were interested in giving her a job.  She finally got a job at the IRC (International Rescue Committee) that helped families in crisis in war-torn areas.  At first, she was writing press releases and gathering information for Congress.  In 1956, there was an uprising in Hungary, and she begged her boss to send her there to take photos to publicize what was really going on.  She ends up in deep trouble with the Hungarian government and is thrown in prison.  The description of her time in prison is heart-wrenching as the reader hopes she'll survive.  After her time in Hungary, she is no longer wanted at the IRC for disobeying orders.  She ends up being hired by Reader's Digest and sent to Cuba to report on the revolution being led by Fidel Castro against Batista.  After her initial belief in Castro, she soon realizes that he is turning anti-American, and she is no longer welcome in Cuba.  In 1961, she went to Laos to report on the fighting.  Her next assignment was Vietnam, where her heart went out to the soldiers who were fighting as well as the innocent Vietnamese families who were in constant danger.  

Dickey Chapelle was a true American hero.  She often put herself in danger to make sure that Americans could see what was going on in war zones.  Even though she could have been tough and uncaring, her heart went out to children and families that were affected by the wars - she often put herself in danger to help a family or a child.  She was discriminated against by the male photo journalists and often had to prove her worth to them when, in actuality, she was often braver and more tenacious than her male counterparts.  Her legacy 

lives on in the pictures that she left for us.

Once again, this author has given us a page-turning story about another brave woman who put herself in danger to help America.  This story is deeply researched and beautifully written.  If you're interested in reading more about this brave photojournalist, the author has a list of source books in her comments at the end of the book.

After I finished The Last Assignment, I spent a lot of time on Google, reading more about Dickey Chapelle and looking at the pictures that she took in various war areas.  She put herself in danger over and over with the hopes of showing Americans what war really looked like, so that maybe we could have peace in the world. 

Buy The Last Assignment at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

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