Dirty Secrets, Dirty War The Exile of Editor Robert J. Cox
Review by: Brendan Driscoll, Booklist
David Cox is the son of Robert J. Cox, former editor of the Buenos Aires Herald and one of the few journalists courageous enough to report on the many “disappearances” and horrific violence that took place during Argentina’s guerra sucia. David, 13 years old when his father and the rest of the family finally fled Argentina after years of close scrapes, here presents the memoir his father, writing in the foreword, admits that he still finds too painful to author himself. Punctuating his historical narrative of the escalating conflict with affectionate anecdotes about his large, tight-knit, and literary family, Cox the son wavers between nostalgia for the Buenos Aires of his childhood and flashbacks of the terrifying episodes that ultimately pressed the family to leave. But this book’s true focus is Cox the father, who emerges as an emblem of journalistic courage, suffering anxiety and asthma with silent tenacity while reporting on human-rights violations (and in some cases, causing the “disappeared” to be freed). An important primary source for Latin American history collections, this account is also sure to inspire budding journalists.
