Edward Sheehan
Encyclopedia
Edward Richard Fulton Sheehan (c. 1930 - November 3, 2008) was an American
author and foreign correspondent who reported from the Middle East
, Africa
and Central America
as a freelance journalist in the pages of newspapers, magazines and the many books he authored.
, Sheehan attended the local parish school where he was the regular altar boy for the parish pastor, Bishop Richard Cushing, who was later elevated to become Archbishop of Boston and Cardinal
. Sheehan remained a conservative Roman Catholic throughout his life.
He attended Boston College High School
and moved on to Boston College
, where he participated on the school's newspaper and graduated in 1952.
He served in the United States Navy
after graduating from college. Sheehan was hired by the Boston Globe and was sent overseas to cover stories in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. He started work for the United States Department of State
in 1957, serving in the American embassies in Egypt
in 1957 to 1958 and in Lebanon
from 1959 to 1961.
, which tells the intrigues swirling around Mohammed VII, playboy king of the Middle Eastern country of Al Khadra. Most of Sheehan's reporting career was as a freelance journalist, whose articles appeared in a variety of publications, including Harper's Magazine
The New York Review of Books
and The New York Times
.
His contributions to The New York Times Magazine
in the 1960s and 1970s, included stories about travels on the Congo River
, the ascendancy of Milton Obote
as President of Uganda
, the Black September
hijackings and detonation of U.S. aircraft, the accession of Anwar Sadat
in Egypt and Libya
's Muammar al-Gaddafi
and its oil wealth.
Sheehan was known for coverage of the Arab–Israeli conflict
. Using his well placed sources, Sheehan was able to quote in a 1976 article of Foreign Policy
conversations that took place in 1974 between Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger and Mid-East leaders in which Nixon indicated his support for the return of all lands conquered by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War
. These excerpts were later expanded into his 1976 book The Arabs, Israelis and Kissinger. The State Department denied the claims and a hunt was made for the source of the leaks. Further details from these reliable Nixon Administration sources were included in The Arabs, Israelis and Kissinger about Kissinger's role as a shuttle diplomat trying to resolve the conflict between Syria
n leader Hafez Assad, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat
and Israel's Prime Minister Golda Meir
. Alfred Atherton
, a career foreign service officer, had taken detailed notes during the shuttle negotiations and was Sheehan's source. Atherton was given what Time
magazine described as a "serious reprimand" for his actions, though Kissinger himself appears to have authorized Atherton to share the information with Sheehan.
His 1989 book Agony in the Garden documented his travels to the war zones and trouble spots in Central America
, including his travels with the Contras
in Nicaragua
.
Sheehan died in Newton at age 78 on November 3, 2008 of an allergic reaction to medication.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author and foreign correspondent who reported from the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
as a freelance journalist in the pages of newspapers, magazines and the many books he authored.
Life and family
Growing up in Newton, MassachusettsNewton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
, Sheehan attended the local parish school where he was the regular altar boy for the parish pastor, Bishop Richard Cushing, who was later elevated to become Archbishop of Boston and Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
. Sheehan remained a conservative Roman Catholic throughout his life.
He attended Boston College High School
Boston College High School
Founded in 1863, Boston College High School is an all-male Jesuit Roman Catholic college preparatory secondary school with historical ties to Boston College. It has an enrollment in grades 7-12 of approximately 1,500 students and is located on a campus on Morrissey Boulevard in the Dorchester...
and moved on to Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
, where he participated on the school's newspaper and graduated in 1952.
He served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
after graduating from college. Sheehan was hired by the Boston Globe and was sent overseas to cover stories in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. He started work for the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
in 1957, serving in the American embassies in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
in 1957 to 1958 and in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
from 1959 to 1961.
Works
These experiences were the seeds of his 1964 debut novel, Kingdom of Illusion, published by Random HouseRandom House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, which tells the intrigues swirling around Mohammed VII, playboy king of the Middle Eastern country of Al Khadra. Most of Sheehan's reporting career was as a freelance journalist, whose articles appeared in a variety of publications, including Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
The New York Review of Books
The New York Review of Books
The New York Review of Books is a fortnightly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs. Published in New York City, it takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity...
and The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
His contributions to The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
in the 1960s and 1970s, included stories about travels on the Congo River
Congo River
The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
, the ascendancy of Milton Obote
Milton Obote
Apolo Milton Obote , Prime Minister of Uganda from 1962 to 1966 and President of Uganda from 1966 to 1971, then again from 1980 to 1985. He was a Ugandan political leader who led Uganda towards independence from the British colonial administration in 1962.He was overthrown by Idi Amin in 1971, but...
as President of Uganda
President of Uganda
-List of Presidents of Uganda:-Affiliations:-See also:*Uganda*Vice President of Uganda*Prime Minister of Uganda*Politics of Uganda*History of Uganda*Political parties of Uganda...
, the Black September
Black September in Jordan
September 1970 is known as the Black September in Arab history and sometimes is referred to as the "era of regrettable events." It was a month when Hashemite King Hussein of Jordan moved to quash the militancy of Palestinian organizations and restore his monarchy's rule over the country. The...
hijackings and detonation of U.S. aircraft, the accession of Anwar Sadat
Anwar Sadat
Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981...
in Egypt and Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
's Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
and its oil wealth.
Sheehan was known for coverage of the Arab–Israeli conflict
Arab–Israeli conflict
The Arab–Israeli conflict refers to political tensions and open hostilities between the Arab peoples and the Jewish community of the Middle East. The modern Arab-Israeli conflict began with the rise of Zionism and Arab Nationalism towards the end of the nineteenth century, and intensified with the...
. Using his well placed sources, Sheehan was able to quote in a 1976 article of Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel.Originally, the magazine was a quarterly...
conversations that took place in 1974 between Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger and Mid-East leaders in which Nixon indicated his support for the return of all lands conquered by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
. These excerpts were later expanded into his 1976 book The Arabs, Israelis and Kissinger. The State Department denied the claims and a hunt was made for the source of the leaks. Further details from these reliable Nixon Administration sources were included in The Arabs, Israelis and Kissinger about Kissinger's role as a shuttle diplomat trying to resolve the conflict between Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n leader Hafez Assad, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat
Anwar Sadat
Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981...
and Israel's Prime Minister Golda Meir
Golda Meir
Golda Meir ; May 3, 1898 – December 8, 1978) was a teacher, kibbutznik and politician who became the fourth Prime Minister of the State of Israel....
. Alfred Atherton
Alfred Atherton
Alfred Leroy "Roy" Atherton Jr. was a United States Foreign Service Officer and diplomat. He served as United States Ambassador to Egypt in 1979–1983.-Early life:...
, a career foreign service officer, had taken detailed notes during the shuttle negotiations and was Sheehan's source. Atherton was given what Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine described as a "serious reprimand" for his actions, though Kissinger himself appears to have authorized Atherton to share the information with Sheehan.
His 1989 book Agony in the Garden documented his travels to the war zones and trouble spots in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, including his travels with the Contras
Contras
The contras is a label given to the various rebel groups opposing Nicaragua's FSLN Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle's dictatorship...
in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
.
Sheehan died in Newton at age 78 on November 3, 2008 of an allergic reaction to medication.
External links
- Marquard, Bryan. "Edward R.F. Sheehan, 78, foreign correspondent, novelist", The Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
, November 12, 2008. Accessed November 24, 2008.