Former Emmy Award-Winning MSNBC News Producer Gregg Cockrell's Entire Memoir, "Draft Dodger" Available for Free Exclusively on The Travel Tribune
PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Each week, The Travel Tribune (https://www.thetraveltribune.com/) is publishing a new chapter from Gregg Cockrell's "Draft Dodger: How Far I Traveled to Avoid the Vietnam War." The book is a personal narrative telling how Cockrell traveled the world for a year during which he experienced one life-changing adventure after another — some good, some bad.
"Although a myriad of books have been written about the Vietnam War, there are few detailed reports by Americans who dodged the draft," says Larry Schwarz, editor of The Travel Tribune. "While most draft dodgers fled to Canada, Cockrell, chose to take off for Europe and then Africa."
Set in the early 1970s, "Draft Dodger" is a bold account of one young man's coming-of-age adventure. The book is more than simply a story about avoiding military service; it's the story of a man standing by his convictions. Indeed, Cockrell didn't fit the mold of most draft dodgers. Convinced that the war was a tragic mistake, he did not burn his draft card or go to jail. Instead, he took the "escape hatch" of leaving the country once he realized that being drafted was inevitable.
After landing in Luxembourg without a distinct plan, Cockrell's first European destination was Paris. He spent a few months exploring such cities as London, Barcelona, and Amsterdam before moving on to the vast continent of Africa, which he would call home for many months.
More important than the places were the people Cockrell met along the way, and the misadventures he found himself caught up in — from partying on top of one of the Great Pyramids to crossing paths with the dictator Idi Amin's Secret Police.
Because Cockrell traveled overseas rather than north of the border, he didn't encounter a community of Americans like himself. But he did find many welcoming locals who shared his spirit of adventure. Once his globetrotting ended, Cockrell returned home and pursued a career in broadcasting. For 18 years, he worked side by side with many of MSNBC's on-air personalities including Joe Scarborough, Keith Olbermann, Brian Williams, Ed Schultz, and Chris Hayes. In 2015, he won an Emmy for his work at MSNBC.
The first eight chapters of "Draft Dodger" are now available on The Travel Tribune website. A new chapter will be published each week. Schwarz anticipates that the entire book will be online by June 2017.
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