Posted on 09/02/2003 7:42:46 AM PDT by kattracks
NEW YORK (AP) — Jessica Lynch, the former prisoner of war whose capture and rescue from an Iraqi hospital made her a national hero, has agreed to a $1 million book deal with publisher Alfred A. Knopf."Many folks have written, expressing their support for me and for the thousands of other soldiers who serve their country," Lynch said in a statement issued Tuesday by Knopf.
"I feel I owe them all this story, which will be about more than a girl going off to war and fighting alongside her fellow soldiers. It will be a story about growing up in America."
"I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story," co-written by Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Bragg, is scheduled to come out in mid-November with a first printing of around 500,000 copies, Knopf spokesman Paul Bogaards said.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but a source close to the negotiations said Lynch and Bragg will divide a $1 million advance. The source spoke on condition of anonymity.
"I feel a kinship with Jessica and her family, and am thrilled at the prospect of bringing this story to the wider world," Bragg said in the statement issued by Knopf. He has been granted exclusive access to Lynch and her family.
Lynch received a medical discharge last week from the Army, making her eligible to pursue book or movie deals.
Lynch, 20, suffered multiple broken bones and other injuries when her 507th Maintenance Company was ambushed in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah on March 23.
Her rescue on April 1 made her a celebrity. She joined the Army to get an education and become a kindergarten teacher.
She returned home to Palestine, W.Va., in July to a hero's welcome after a long stay at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
"I am feeling better every day, and all the good wishes of the many who have written have certainly kept my spirits up," Lynch said. "I am walking with crutches, but my doctors tell me that as I gain strength I will be able to walk on my own again soon. I am looking forward to those first steps."
Bragg has written several books, including the memoir "All Over but the Shoutin'," and won the feature-writing Pulitzer in 1996, two years after he began working for The New York Times. He resigned from the Times in May after the newspaper suspended him over a story that carried his byline but was reported largely by a freelancer.
You're going to be in Playboy? Congrats to you, but it's bit off-topic, no? I'm assuming you're refering to yourself, unless you happen to be Lynch's agent or an employee of Playboy.
Good, if things are off kilter here compared to what you saw in '67 and '68, that is as it should be. We can't go back and right the wrongs of that era, but we shouldn't treat this generation of soldiers the same way just to stay on the same disgraceful track. Lynch's own return home was more spectacular than what others returning will get, but just remember your hometown soldiers' homecomings and at least everyone will get a welcome and a thanks.
Why do you worry about it now when the Bronze Stars have been awarded in similar fashion since Vietnam?
I don't begrudge her what she has endured, I just don't know why she got medals and an early discharge for suffering less than what many WWII and Vietnam vets suffered.
So you think she can still serve with several broken vertebrae?
There have been so many conflicting stories about what happened that day. No one has verified whether she was tortured or raped in captivity. So, why the celebrity status? Did she save others? Did she risk her life to protect others? I just don't see a factual story on what happened. She was in a firefight. I don't know that she fired a shot.I don't know what she endured. Yet, she has been swept up in a cinderella type story about being a heroine, and I just am unable to recite the facts to back it up. Perhaps I am alone in thinking this way.No offense intended to any vets out there. I just would like to know what really happened.
She was the first POW rescued since WW2, that's what.
So it was her fault?
And how many Special Forces and Marine Corps personnel's lives were endangered rescuing her and her fellow unit members because of their screw up? Giving her a Bronze Star was laughable and an insult to all who have received the medal for their bravery in combat. She and her fellow unit members should have received a Bronze Dunce Cap!
Why are you upset about it now when it's been going on since Vietnam?
You're free to post articles about them. Have at it.
Oh my Gosh, she's going to have angry men like you harassing her for the rest of her life? She's going to need that money for security.
In my book this young woman has the best chance now to show she is a REAL AMERICAN HERO, not greedy.
So you agree with Democrats that there should be no profits? People shouldn't be allowed to tell their story in a book?
But if she just profiteers from it, selfishly, then I would say, she is no HERO in my book. I would still like to think the (former) Pvt. would take the Road Less Traveled.
Business is part of what makes America great. I hope she does well. She'll need it for medical costs.
So she's a liar?
Greed? Comrade? Donate all profits to the common good? You've been out of America too long.
I don't blame her for getting the undeserved Bronze Star but, instead, the person whoever awared it. Let's not forget Rumsfelt honored Michael Jordon. All this just makes us look ridiculous and dishonest.
And chosing Rick Bragg of all people to help write her book! There goes the credibility.
Selling out? Who's she selling out? Are you socialist? All money should be sent for the common good?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.