Fall from Glory
 Published in 1997, Fall from Glory was picked by Proceedings magazine as a notable book of the year. The book explores the Navy's historical problems—scandals, corruption, and avoidable deaths to the suicide of the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Boorda—that have blackened its reputation. In a searing look at the cadre of autocratic, secretive admirals and the secretaries of the Navy who implicitly supported them, Vistica provides the details behind the succession of scandalous "incidents."
Fall From Glory can be purchased online from Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.
"His first account broke the story in the fall of 1991 and his 70 follows in the next year—some reporting on the aftershocks, others setting off new ones—helped make "Tailhook" almost as recognizable a code word as Watergate or Teapot Dome...."
—Jurors' comments from the George Polk Awards citation
No medal, just terrific reporting
Winner of the 1992 George Polk Award for National Reporting
 Seventeen months after Gregory Vistica broke the Tailhook scandal—triggered by the 1991 convention where sexual misbehavior was rampant and nearly 50 women allegedly were assaulted by drunken military officers—the reverberations are still being felt not just in the military, but throughout the public consciousness.
Tailhook has become a flashpoint for change. It has forced a fresh national look at the role of women in society and raised new questions about sexual harassment.
For the military, Vistica's stories in The San Diego Union-Tribune brought dramatic change and unexpected cultural reform: The Secretary of the Navy was forced to resign, eight top admirals and other senior officers were dismissed, replaced or retired, the Navy's two investigative agencies were overhauled and the Navy and other services promised more opportunities for women troops.
Vistica's work has earned him the 1992 George Polk Award for National Reporting. We join with Polk jurors, who said, "We are not authorized to present him with the naval medal he surely deserves," in congratulating him for this prestigious honor. |
