After leaving the BBC, Byford pursued a fresh path as a writer of non-fiction. His first book, "A Name On A Wall: Two Men, Two Wars, Two Destinies" was published by Mainstream in 2013. It tells the contrasting stories of an American soldier, Larry Byford, killed in the Vietnam War in 1967 and his own father, Lawry Byford, who served alongside the Americans in the Second World War. Jan C. Scruggs, the President and Founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, described it as "an amazing journey that unfolded as a mission. An extraordinary experience like nothing ever done before in America. It's important. It matters." Julian Pettifer, the BAFTA award-winning Vietnam War reporter, wrote "This tale should be compulsory reading for MPs and military leaders and anyone else who might lead us into armed conflict. An absorbing and meticulously researched work."