Bill Lascher 7/27/16 Bill Lascher 7/27/16

Before and After. Wartime Chongqing as Captured by Melville Jacoby's Lens.

After spending four years with the research, writing and re-writing that shaped Eve of a Hundred Midnights, I feel sometimes as if I've lived in Melville Jacoby's shoes. At least, I feel as if I've seen the world through his eyes. As you can see in the following photos, Chongqing was a place of extensive striving and, after years and years of bombing — during his stints there in 1940 and 1941 Mel experienced 168 air raids — deeply scarred yet incredibly resilient.

Perhaps no place was more important to Melville Jacoby than the city of Chongqing, China (then known to westerners as Chungking). After Japan conquered China's coast and major cities such as Nanjing, Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan, the Chinese government was forced to flee up the Yangtze river to Chongqing, where it transformed what had been something of a backwater into China's wartime capital. As I wrote in Eve of a Hundred Midnights, which was published last month, Chongqing was "simultaneously brand-new and decrepit. Fast becoming the 'most bombed' city in the world, it was also the epicenter of the country for any serious journalist." It was squalid, dangerous and extremely uncomfortable, yet, somehow, irresistible, as Mel attested:

“Few foreigners desert Chungking without wanting to return," Mel wrote. “The set formula is to tell friends in Hong Kong what a hell-hole they are missing, and then to rush right back on the next plane loaded with only thirty pounds of clothes and bare essentials.”

As you can see in the following photos, Chongqing was a place of extensive striving and, after years and years of bombing — during his stints there in 1940 and 1941 Mel experienced 168 air raids — deeply scarred yet incredibly resilient. I recently browsed Mel's photos again to share at my book readings (please get in touch if you'd like to host me in your community) that he saw these characteristics in Chongqing, and I've chosen the following photos to illustrate some of the contrasts of life in the city that Mel documented:

Click Thumbnails For Larger Images

Crowds at bottomo of steps in Chungking.jpg

Huge Clouds of Smoke From Chungking Bombing Across River.jpg

Dousing flames on Chungking building facade.jpg

Collapsed Chungking Building after bombing With Crowd Scene and Hoses.jpg

Man on Donkey on Chungking steps [very good image].jpg

Man With Shirt Open as people scour through rubble.jpg

Boy looking at camera while other plays-2.jpg

Breastfeeding mother on Chungking Street Large Print.jpg

After spending four years with the research, writing and re-writing that shaped this book, I feel sometimes as if I've lived in Melville Jacoby's shoes. At least, I feel as if I've seen the world through his eyes. His letters describe what he witnessed and experienced in China and the Philippines in such depth that as I read them, I feel my legs straining up and down Chongqing's steep hills, that I hear the thud of bombs raining upon an air raid shelter, and that my heart beats in anticipation as my fiancée lands in the Manila Bay barely a week before Pearl Harbor.

Beyond these letters, though, Mel took hundreds, if not thousands, of photographs, most of which have ended up in my hands. Unfortunately, I was only able to include a handful in my book. While I chose compelling photos, they were mostly limited to photos that portrayed Mel, Annalee and the people they knew. However, I knew readers who enjoy the book would also want to see more of the world and the era Mel did.

If you like these photos, please keep on eye on this web site and let me know what you think. I'm going to continue to share glimpses of what Mel saw here. Unless otherwise noted, the photos you will see in this series were all shot by Melville Jacoby and provided courtesy of Peggy Stern Cole, Mel's cousin and my grandmother.

Meanwhile, if you haven't already, please head to one of the booksellers listed here or your favorite bookstore to pick up Eve of a Hundred Midnights. If you like it, would you rate it on Goodreads, Amazon, Powell's, or wherever you purchased it? Customer reviews will make the difference in ensuring the book is seen by as many people as possible.

Bill Lascher 5/29/13 Bill Lascher 5/29/13

Portfolio Pick: Books Remain on My Brain

Yesterday, I shared a picture from my portfolio of the Seattle Public Library. I'm still thinking about books today, and I'm often thinking about Los Angeles. So why not share another of my favorite pictures? This time, enjoy a glimpse of the Rotunda at the Los Angeles Central Library. Isn't it interesting that two of my favorite shots in my portfolio are of libraries? Like this image? Though I’m first and foremost a writer, I do shoot pictures when I can. You can see some of my favorite shots and even order prints if you like by visiting my Photoshelter portfolio.

Like this image? Though I’m first and foremost a writer, I do shoot pictures when I can. You can see some of my favorite shots and even order prints if you like by visiting my Photoshelter portfolio.

Bill Lascher 5/28/13 Bill Lascher 5/28/13

Portfolio Pick: Books on The Brain and The Seattle Public Library

Because I spent most of my weekend reading (or, rather, re-reading) Paul French's mesmerizing "Midnight in Peking"), because publishing houses are currently evaluating my own book proposal, because my twitter stream is full of tweets from Book Expo America, and because books are amazing any time, today's portfolio pick comes from the astounding Seattle Public Library.

Seattle Public Library. Copyright Bill Lascher

Like this image? Though I'm first and foremost a writer, I do shoot pictures when I can. You can see some of my favorite shots and even order prints if you like by visiting my Photoshelter portfolio.

Bill Lascher 10/13/10 Bill Lascher 10/13/10

A few thousand words on the road

I've been driving and fighting off a cold while traveling to the 2010 Society of Environmental Journalists Conference. Now I'm here and diving right into the event. For now here are a few thousand words -- in the form of a few dozen photos -- describing what I saw.

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[shashin type="photo" id="614,615,616,617,618,619,620,621,622,623,624,625,626,627,628,629,631,632,633,634,635,636,637,638,639,640,641,642,643,644,645,646" size="medium" columns="2" order="user" position="center"]

Bill Lascher 5/11/10 Bill Lascher 5/11/10

Sights seen while not writing

As I noted last week, I don't just write: [shashin type="photo" id="279,867,863,865,976,963,941,848" size="medium" columns="2" order="user" position="center"]

Bill Lascher 3/17/09 Bill Lascher 3/17/09

Seen This Week Gets PDX'ed.

I've been in Portland (the Oregon edition) since March 13 for what could easily be the last Spring Break of my life (and for some personal business). So I have a handful of shots I took from here and there around and above Portland (actually, my aerial photography took place a bit south of Portland).

While I put off thinking of a snappier title for my weekly collections of images seen out and about, I thought I'd post a few images from quite a distance out (at least compared to my day to day around L.A.). I've been in Portland (the Oregon edition) since March 13 for what could easily be the last Spring Break of my life (and for some personal business). So I have a handful of shots I took from here and there around and above Portland (actually, my aerial photography took place a bit south of Portland). Still, they certainly represent a little slice of what I've seen on this journey. In addition to the view from an Alaskan Airlines flight from LAX to PDX, I've also included shots of an off-season rose garden and a glance at the wicked cool interior of my hotel room at the Kennedy School. More reflections on my new encounters with this lovely burg are likely soon.

Now, here are the photos!

Bill Lascher 3/2/09 Bill Lascher 3/2/09

Seen This Week: Feb. 23 - Mar 2

It has been a bit of one of those weekends for me — not to complain to strangers, though ‚ I'll let the images speak for themselves. Highlights include an afternoon on campus at USC, a Saturday afternoon visit to the Bicycle district at Heliotrope and Melrose, and a quick jaunt up the coast to the Red Brick Gallery for Fashion Week Ventura, an event benefiting AIDS Project Ventura.

It has been a bit of one of those weekends for me — not to complain to strangers, though‚ so I'll let the images speak for themselves — Highlights include an afternoon on campus at USC, a Saturday afternoon visit to the Bicycle district at Heliotrope and Melrose, and a quick jaunt up the coast to the Red Brick Gallery for Fashion Week Ventura, an event benefiting AIDS Project Ventura.