‘I always wondered when and how it was going to end’

A few months ago, I received an email from Philip L. Fradkin, who was alerting his friends and colleagues to the diagnosis of a fatal disease that seemed likely to end his life.  Like everything Philip has written — as a war correspondent, investigative journalist, environmental reporter, literary biographer, and historian — the prose in his email was lucid, impactful, elegant and even noble, all qualities that I associate with the man himself.

“I always wondered when and how it was going to end,” wrote Philip. “Now there is no more suspense. I am hoping there will be a relatively pain-free way to gracefully leave life. Until then, most of my time will be taken up with doctors, hospitals, medicines, friends, family, and eking a few more moments of joy from life, like getting out in the western landscapes that have always revived me.”

Today I read Philip’s obituary by Elaine Woo in the