By Robert Egan and Kurt Pitzer © 2010 St. Martin ' s Press
REVIEW
Eating with the Enemy
By Robert Egan and Kurt Pitzer © 2010 St. Martin ' s Press
Reviewed by
Arun K. Gadre, MD, FACS
The crisp cold air has settled over Prospect, Kentucky. I marvel at nature’ s chemistry as chlorophyll turns into different shades of yellow and ochre, and bright red, before turning brown. Some of the trees have dropped their leaves. The migrating birds have moved on, and the song-birds are largely silent. The 45 th President of the United States is on his first trip to Asia. The dictator of the People’ s Democratic Republic of North Korea has fired off missiles and is in the late stages of developing a system of delivering its lethal nuclear load onto United States territory. South Korea is understandably nervous, and like Japan, will protect itself by buying more armaments from the United States. The balance of trade promised during the elections may now actually become a reality. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia intercepted an incoming missile over Riyadh a few days ago, and several important people in the Kingdom have been placed under arrest at the Ritz on allegations of corruption. The Russia Investigation is ongoing. New allegations about women being sexually harassed by powerful men are appearing with sordid regularity. The massacre of innocent churchgoers in Sutherland Springs, Texas, is barely a day old. The tranquility of this Kentucky autumn evening is a poor indicator of the global turmoil that might eventually affect us all, but for now, I am enjoying a hot cup of tea, and watching the tranquil scenery that surrounds me. I have just completed reading Robert Egan and Kurt Pitzer’ s book Eating with the Enemy- How I Waged Peace with North Korea from My BBQ Shack in Hackensack( St Martin’ s Press, 2010). The book is an autobiographical account of one Robert“ Bobby” Egan whom I had never heard about. The coauthor, Kurt
Pitzer, was very kind to sign and give me a copy. He has connections to Louisville; Dr. and Mrs. Richard Levin are his in-laws.
Although the book was written in 2010, it is timely. The relationship between the United States and North Korea has stayed frigid and is perhaps worse now, with no thaw in sight. It draws the curious reader in. For one thing, it is about a part of the world about which most of us know very little. For another, it is an improbable tale of an audacious private citizen, with no experience in diplomacy or government, trying to mold United States foreign policy, from Cubby’ s BBQ shack in Hackensack, N. J.. Mr. Egan grew up in the tough neighborhood of Fairfield, N. J., where bare-fisted brawls appear to have been a mode of recreation, and knowing a Mafia boss a sign of prestige. His father was a Korean War veteran who vehemently hated Communists, and remained untrusting of his son’ s friendship with them. That friendship began quite innocently when Mr. Egan decided to help the United States by doing what he could to bring back POW / MIAs who had been unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. His first interaction appears to have been with a Vietnamese defector Le Quang Khai whom he hid in his own home from both the Vietnamese and the FBI.
In 1993, his connection with the Vietnamese resulted in contact with individuals from North Korea working at the United Nations. Mr. Egan appears to have developed an almost compulsive obsession to get U. S. servicemen out of North Korea. This evolved into several attempts to wage peace with North Korea by befriending its ambassador to the United Nations. For someone from a modest background who had no real knowledge of diplomacy, his work brought him to the attention of Ross Perot, Senator Stewart Greenleaf, the New York Giants, Christian evangelicals, and the FBI.
14 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE