Reviews (1)

Powerful Memoir
Shirer's moving account of his formative years in Chicago, Cedar Rapids, and as a young reporter in Paris ranks as solid autobiographical writing. I like how this renowned journalist parallels history with a revealing narrative of his youthful yearnings, setbacks, and rebellious insights. Future historians will read this volume to feel the rhythms of everyday life from 1904-1930. Career, personality, and luck exposed young Shirer to many notables, and his portraits of acquaintances like Hemmingway, Sinclair Lewis, Isadora Duncan, and Eamon De Velera add spice to the narrative. Some academic historians jealously dismiss Shirer's best-selling books, but I find his eyewitness accounts illuminating and his prose superior. The first of three volumes, this memoir is more personally revealing than The Nightmare Years, Shirer's superb account of Nazi Germany and A Native's Return, his homecoming finale. Writes Shirer in the introduction, "...it is an interesting fate being an American in the Twentieth Century. I am glad it was mine." ... Read more

Book Description

Hemingway's great achievement was to free the novel from all the languid decoration and cozy indirectness that was its early twentieth-century inheritance. His terse prose taught the writer to engage life to the fullest in order to write about it, and his own life was the perfect demonstration of that principle. Reissued to coincide with the centenary of Hemingway's birth, Anthony Burgess's insightful biography traces the rapidly changing scene from a happy, complacent childhood to the grim reality of the First World War and the vulgar unreality of the Second; from the Paris of the 1920s to the Spain of Civil War and the excitements of African safari to the somber last years in Cuba. Hemingway was rich and successful from an early age, yet public acclaim and even the Nobel Prize could not disguise the fact that he was a moody, suffering, and sometimes vicious figure--a man who was finally unable to live with his own image. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

CREAM UPON CREAM
Burgess on Hemingway! The stylist and the lexicologist! The sensualist and the cynic! The adventurer and the academic! Could there be a more apt pairing in terms of literary exploration? Doubtful - and delightful. Anthony Burgess is, of course, in his own right a powerful pusher of boundaries, a lover of Joyce, of watershed origins, of deckle-edged literature - and a fine storyteller to boot. Who better to tell, dispassionately and meaningfully, the story of a writer whose literary luminance so often obliterates his humanness? This is a short book, really just a Hemingway primer - but one of the first order. It is crammed with eloquent understanding and gentle anecdote, a bedside companion for insomniacs, to propel them back to Carlos Baker (for detail) and Hotcher (for heart): and of course, most of all, back to those terrific humanistic tales that wriggle and strive for a secular code of meaning in an odd world. The book is doubly worthy: as introduction to Hem, and to Burgess. Those who are new to his acquaintanceship will relish a deep, joyful oeuvre.

The importance of knowing the author as a person....
Ernest Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast" allows the reader to experience life on the other side of the page, so to speak, the life of the authors. Recognizing the author as a person, as having gone through the human experience, is an important aspect of the reading experience. It removes the barrier between the reader and the author thus allowing a better communication between the text and the reader. The author no longer seems distant and extraordinary, so the reader is able to absorb the book on his own terms, as one discusses life with a respected friend. Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast" is particularly well-written, for Hemingway (as usual) does not talk down to the reader but rather includes the reader in his life as a matter of course. A truly remarkable bit of literature...

A thorough analysis in quick step
The book provides excellent insight into Hemingway's life without wasting a word. Every Hemingway fan should read it. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (11)

Terrific adventure story and moving personal memoir
Whether navigating the harrowing world of snipers and anti-snipers in war-torn Sarajevo, or the perilous world of his own psyche, John Falk writes with wit, humor, and insight.

Falk had the guts to walk away from a cushy upper-middle-class life and into the most dangerous place on the planet.Afflicted by depression, he subjected himself to a kind of shock-treatment by journeying to Sarajevo in the hopes of becoming a freelance journalist.Once he settled in, with a monster stash of Zoloft in his bindle, Falk became close with the family who took him in as a boarder.While managing to stay alive and sane in a truly hellish battle zone, Falk sussed out a war story worthy of Heller or Vonnegut and became a successful writer.More importantly, however, he dedicated himself to helping people who badly needed it, and this personal story is the heart of the book.

Two wars, Two victories.
This novel jumps from present day Sarajevo in 1993 to, in the next chapter, Long Island in the 1980's. In Sarajevo Falk fights to stay alive and find stories as an inexperienced and naive freelance reporter, back on Long Island he fights a long and horrible depression that started for no reason and for twelve long hard years showed no signs of ever ending. John is convinced that no one can help him and all he can do is try to hang on and hope everything goes back to the way it was.

Through the book we see all aspects of his life and get to know Falk better than most of our closest relatives. It made me wonder how many of my close friends are secretly battling depression. John eventually does see a psychiatrist, and after a few different medications finally finds relief. After college he sets off to find himself and ends up in Sarajevo alone again. But with the help of Zoloft he knows that nothing is hopeless.

As a depression survivor, I would recommend this to anyone that thinks that they are alone without hope or anyone that has ever been comforted, as Falk was at one point, by knowing that they can end their life anytime. I know I've made the book sound depressing but Falk is a wonderful writer and the novel has many funny and uplifting moments. The world would be a better place if more people were like John Falk.

A Memoir of Two Wars

John Falk takes the reader on the journey of his escape from depression.And while medicine plays a key part in his freedom, we also see how a brutal and bloody war also plays a role.

His description of his illness is juxtaposed nicely against teh atrocities of war and his insights into himself and the war are poingant.

A good read.

A book that you won't be able to put down
I listened to John Falk present the story of this book at a recent book signing.I started reading immediately after and could not put the book down.I never thought that it was possible to understand depression - how insidious it is, and how debilitating. For years Falk lived on the edge and did a masterful job of hiding it.In captivating, very funny detail, Falk describes the battles of his personal war, and then the sudden, uneventful exit from depression into a world that he had not felt a part of for over a decade.Determined to feel alive again, Falk chooses to again live on the edge in Bosnia where his life changes forever.A great book - a movie waiting to happen.

Great read, eye opening and informative
Tremendous story about an average kid growing up with an unbelievable challenge...chronic depression.I never really understood depression but after reading this book I now have a sense of what it must be like.How John delt with this very personal situation and went on to accomplish amazing things is an inspiration. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

In 1948, as civil war ravaged Greece, children were abducted and sent to communist "camps" inside the Iron Curtain. Eleni Gatzoyiannis, forty-one, defied the traditions of her small village and the terror of the communist insurgents to arrange for the escape of her three daughters and her son, Nicola. For that act, she was imprisoned, tortured, and executed in cold blood.

Nicholas Gage joined his father in Massachusetts at the age of nine and grew up to become a top New York Times investigative reporter, honing his skills with one thought in mind: to return to Greece and uncover the one story he cared about most: the story of his mother.

Eleni takes you into the heart a village destroyed in the name of ideals and into the soul of a truly heroic woman. ... Read more

Reviews (38)

Terrifying and Touching
Nicholas Gage (Nicola Gatzoyiannis)wrote a book that was both terrifying and touching. It was terrifying because it exposed the brutality of Communism and touching because it told of a woman's undying love for her children, especially the boy who would one day pay tribute to her. The descriptions of torture Eleni and fellow villagers endured at the hands of the ELAS/DAG were some of the most horrifying things I've ever read. The scene where Eleni tells her son, Nicola, to be brave and gives him a gift of a cross is one of the most touching scenes of family love I've ever read about. This story is a must-read for everyone. It is both instructive about the moral degradation caused by Communism and about the courage of a family. Also read Nicholas Gage's followup, "A Place for Us: Eleni's Children in America," which chronicles events leading up to Gage's life today. Excellent writer!

A Powerful Biography
Eleni is a gripping story of man's inhumanity to humans; in this case the Greek Communist's inhumane treatment of its own men, women and children during the Greek Civil War in the late 1940s. Although this book is a biography, Nicholas Gage's narrative prose reads like a powerful novel. Every aspect of the hard-working villagers' life is depicted, right down to the peasants' ignorance, their superstitions, and their cunning and cruel treatment to each other for survival in the hands of the communists. Above all, this story is about Gage's mother Eleni who sacrificed herself to save her children. If you can read beyond the killings, the cruelty, the starvation and torture, you will find it difficult to put down this 470 page masterpiece. For the weak-hearted, simply skip those parts, it's worth reading.

One of the most powerful books written
Mr.Gage spoke at my college graduation and spoke about his mother Eleni. I pick up the book and was moved to tears.

A Son's Journey of Redemption and Forgiveness
I remember being totally captivated and touched by Eleni, reading it few years back. Deciding to read it again now, my positive attitude has not been diminished, although I can now see some flaws that I did not pay attention to the first time.
As a son's personal journey, obsessed by the death of his mother, and his burning need to exact revenge on those who have denied her her most basic rights as a human being, Eleni works brilliantly.
It is written is such a way that will totally engage you, admiring the courage and strenght of character of this brave woman who has shown unwavering sense of duty,and unconditional love and dedication for her children, that resulted in the ultimate sacrifice.
There are two tones in Eleni.
The first and last chapters are very personal,and deal with Gage's emotional state, his still unexpressed grief for his mother, and his investigative work,trying to put names on the blurred faces of her executioners.
Yet in most of the other chapters, Gage takes the tone of an objective narrator (or as objective as he can be), describing in literary prose the story of Eleni,Greece during the war,the traditional village life in the mountains,the struggles of the peasants trying to make ends meet,their deep faith laced with centuries old superstitions and tradition, and subsequently the events that lead to his mother's death after the communist take over of the Mourgana mountains.
What is so striking about Eleni, is how Gage's sorrow, and anger is so believable and raw after all these years, yet how majestic is the power of forgiveness he was able to find within him!
I loved the fact that at the end, Gage was able to exorcise the demons that had haunted him since he was nine, and when finally he faces the judge that sent his mother to her death, he finds Justice and his peace of mind through forgiveness and not revenge.
Yet, the flaws that I found in Eleni and which I mentioned above were mainly because of the prejudiced overtones of the book:
On one hand it is understandable coming from a grieving son, less so coming from an investigative reporter.
Naturally the communists take the full brunt of his prejudice, and although atrocities were committed during the war in the name of many ideologies, from fascism to communism, you can feel that his anger, because of his mother's fate is solely directed towards the red guerrillas.
Moreover, the historic animosities between Greeks and Turks do resurface again in his book,and the minority Turks of Greece are portrayed as aliens,conniving, ungrateful,and allying with the axis powers against their 'Christian' countrymen...(however we all know that collaborators were of every ethnic group and faith).
Having said all that, Eleni is still a wonderful read,(if you can weed out these prejudices),if only to admire courage, unconditional love, sacrifice, a son's dedication to his mother's memory and his journey of redemption during which he found a wonderful power few of us possess: forgiveness!

A powerful and inspiring story
I would like readers to know what an inspiration Eleni was for me: it helped send me on a journey home to the Aegean islands to follow the story of another catastrophe, this one involving the Greek sponge divers of the Aegean. That catastrophe also involved family. My book, The Bellstone: The Greek Sponge Divers of the Aegean, Reading Line: One American's Journey Home, deals with an epic poem my grandfather wrote a century ago on the island of Rhodes -- and the death many young men of valor on the sponge-fishing islands. Eleni surely is an even more personal and a darker story; still I understand now the passion of a family story and the quest to know truth the past can reveal -- if you pursue it relentlessly. To tell the story of Eleni, Nick Gage uses the power of his investigative reporting skills, his grace with the English language, and the will that his courageous mother instilled in him. Eleni is, I believe, one of the most powerful stories written in the English language. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Biography of a Prophet
Sam Kinison's comedy was hard to understand -- if life had never kicked you in the crotch. I couldn't stand the guy, and I didn't think he was funny, until I myself hit some of the same lows he described in his over-the-top routines. This book evenhandedly describes the often sad, heartbreaking life of a very funny man. We miss ya, Sam.

This book is an absolute must-read to know the real Sam.
Reading this book written by one of the peple that knew Sam Kinison better than anyone else -his brother- shows a side of Sam that many of his devoted fans had only a faint idea existed. It brought home the great loss the world of comedy experienced by his passing and how much we wish he could still be aong us to comment on the things that are happening. A true literary jewel.

INSIGHTFUL LOOK INTO A COMIC GENIUSES WILD LIFE
Sam Kinison is a brilliant comidian that we will miss.This book brings back memories for all of us fans of his.Skillfully told by his own brother this is a true gem. ENJOY!

This biography of the Rock & Roll Comic *ROCKS!!*
As someone who owns all of Sam's albums, has a copy of all his video-taped stand-up shows and was an avid follower of his wild life, personal hijinks and scandalous ways, there were still questions that I asked which could never truthfully be answered--until I read this book. Bill Kinison offers insight about his brother that really opens your eyes to WHO Sam was and WHAT drove him. There are also several stories and valid reasons offered as to why Sam befriended certain celebrities, was at odds with some and literally *hated* others. All that was behind his relationships with Seka, Jessica Hawn and the lovely Malika--who would later become his wife--is explained in sharp, vivid detail. In this person's humble opinion, a MUST-READ! for anyone who considers themselves any kind of a Sam Kinison fan!

OHHHHH....OOOOOOOHH REEEEEEAAAAAAD IIIIIIIITTTTTT !!!!!
He was/is the funniest most original comedian the world has or ever will see. He took chances,stepped on toes and took no prisoners.This book, by someone who was on the front line with him,his brother,lets us see behind the laughs.It shows us that things weren't always fun and girls.Sam lived life like we all should,like everyday could be our last.Sam's not in Hell,we are,'cause we're stuck here with Ellen Degeneres,Jerry Seinfeld,and that WAY over-rated goof Robin Williams. We miss you Sam! ... Read more

Book Description

Alexey Brodovitch (1898-1971) is a legend among graphic designers. A Russian who fled the Bolshevik Revolution and eventually settled in Paris and then New York, Brodovitch was one of the pioneers of graphic design in the twentieth century. He was the art director of Harper's Bazaar for two decades (1934-58); designed and produced several exquisite and highly collectable books with collaborators such as Richard Avedon and AndrÈ KertÈsz; was a talented photographer himself; and, through an informal class called the Design Lab in New York, trained a younger generation of photographers and designers who went on to become famous artists and art directors in their own right.This book is a comprehensive monograph on Brodovitch's life and work, drawing from interviews with a wide range of colleagues and collaborators, and never-before-published archival material to offer an analysis and appreciation of Brodovitch's unique and lasting contribution to the visual arts. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

In Need of Inspiration? Brodovitch is THE Fix
Alexy Brodovitch is one of the best art directors of the 20th Century. This book is worth every penny because it really allows you to see his work in the same scale that he created it at. Thus when you are looking at a magazine spread from the master, you are seeing it full size - and not as a little pretty icon that decorates too many design annuals. In addition there are examples of his raw layouts, which really let you see a genius at work. This book is a must for any fan of graphic design, photography and fashion.

Master of American Advertising Design
This book represents one of the very few studies of one of the masters of American advertising and graphic design. Brodovitch served as mentor to such photographic luminaries as Irving Penn and Richard Avedon, and his distinctive and very modernistic style of layout and use of the grid are exemplary. He was integral to magazine design in the middle of this century, and yet has fallen into relative unknown. Unreasonably so. Any student of graphic design, its design or current practice, would do well to own this book. In this age of busy, frantic graphic pages, Brodovitch's work reflects a serene, yet knife-edged clarity. ... Read more

Book Description

Business lessons from the leader in the multibilliondollar scrapbook industry

It’s a classic American success story: Cheryl Lightle, once an unemployed single mom, goes on to become the cofounder of one of the most successful direct selling companies in the United States. Creative Memories reveals the 10 guiding principles she used to create her scrapbooking empire, teaching readers how to use these principles to achieve success in their own lives. Through Lightle’s inspirational story, combined with her proven business strategies and leadership lessons, this motivational book gives readers the tools they need to:

• Maintain continual business and personal growth
• Preserve integrity and credibility
• Communicate clearly and concisely
• Define their own leadership style and direction
• Protect their relationships with their customers

Reviews (3)

One of the best books I've ever read
I rec'd this book in 1997 and have relished it ever since. It's a wonderful read and gives great insight into the last 80 or so years. Ellis died in 1998, but his books leave a lasting legacy.

Don't miss this book.
First rate. A good luck at the past century by a keen observer

Worthwhile but...
Edward Robb Ellis' "A Diary of the Century," a 578 page book collecting selections from diaries spanning 68 years, opens with a typically stylish introduction by Pete Hamill and closes with an index, the latter being the first place I looked after acquiring this mammoth volume. Searching for familiar names, I found Elvis Presley to whom Ellis refers on page 539 in an entry dated January 8, 1993, what would have been the King of Rock and Roll's 58th birthday: "Elvis Presley stamps went on sale today, much to my disgust. Years ago, when he was being discharged from the army, I was one of many reporters interviewing him. I remember asking him how he could justify his enormous wealth when school teachers were being underpaid. He gave me a non-answer with a smile and extreme politeness."

That little passage suggests that, though he may be an excellent diarist, Ellis must have been a lousy reporter, one completely lacking in the objectivity supposedly required by the

profession. If Elvis had had access to Ellis' diary, he might have answered Ellis' question with a question of his own: "How can YOU justify asking ME that question when you did not ask it of Grace Kelly, who not only acquired enormous wealth in her acting career, but married into more millions by bagging Prince Rainier of Monaco?"

Ellis interviewed Kelly in 1956, an experience detailed in his entry of January 11 that year. His questions to her are never more challenging than this one: "Will you see the prince today?" (p. 232) Ellis didn't ask Clark Gable's widow how her late husband justified the millions he made when school teachers were underpaid, nor did the reporter grill composer Irving Berlin on the matter either. Apparently it was alright for Kelly, Gable, and Berlin to make millions because Ellis appreciated their "talents," but Presley and rock and roll didn't pass muster with "America's Greatest Diarist," as Ellis is called on the jacket of his book, and, therefore, it was wrong for Presley to strike it rich. The question, if it was worthy of being asked at all, should have been directed at a society that values performers more than it does the teachers in whose hands our children's education is placed.

That being said, Ellis' book is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in fine writing and a purely subjective (and, as noted, sometimes hypocritical) account of life as it was lived and observed by Ellis in the 20th century. ... Read more

Book Description

Clutching her pink trunk filled with the relics of a lost childhood, twelve-year-old Jenny steps off a bus in Reno and into the wide-open future. Separated from her brother, Bryan, and passed from caretaker to caretaker, Jenny endures as she always has: by following the inner compass of the survivor. But when Bryan chooses a tragic destiny, Jenny must at last confront the secrets and lies that have held her prisoner for years. Embarking on a search for answers, the adult Jenny discovers that the past cannot be locked away -- even when unraveling one's own anger and pain seems impossible. Now, in the warmth of her marriage and in the eyes of her child, Jennifer finds her own miracles. A hardened heart learns to love. A damaged soul finds peace. And life, once merely a matter of survival, becomes rich with the joys of truly living. ... Read more

Reviews (34)

Beautifully written
This book, picks up where Blackbird left off, and follows Jennifer through the trials, and tribulations she endures, in a "home" with relatives who do not value children, or children that are not their "own". Ms. Lauck is a wonderful writer, and draws you into her story from the first page. Through it all, Jennifer Lauck shows the reader what a survivor she is, and makes you cry with her, hope with her and pray that she someday soon, gets herself out of her awful situation.I did not put "her" story down, and read until late into the morning hoping & praying that she would triumph, and come to know real love. She is not whiny or woe is me, despite reason to be, and I would recommend this book to those of us, that THINK we had it rough as a child.

No Closure
I read Blackbird, the first book by Jennifer Lauck, and I loved it. It was such a powerful story, written through the eyes of Jennifer as a child. It was heartbreaking, and I couldn't wait to read the sequel, which I bought as soon as I could. I almost didn't want to continue after the first chapter, I didn't think I could take anymore of what this child had to endure, but I perservered, and I'm glad I did, it was a wonderful book. Jennifer Lauck found love and peace, and I'm happy that she did. The only problem I had with the book is that I am left with so much anger towards the other people in Jennifer's family, and she doesn't seem to be. I think it is very normal for children who have lost parents to feel anger or a sense of abandonment, and after all that Jennifer went through, I think she must have. Perhaps she didn't, and that was what helped her cope, having the image of her loving parents somewhere inside her. But where is the rage against Deb, who's lie caused the separation of Jenny and Bryan which wreaked so much havoc in their lives? I think a large part of the book was about family secrets and the lack of honesty from the aunts, uncles, grandparents and parents and how it affected the lives of Jenny and Bryan. Did Jennifer feel this rage or anger toward these people? She doesn't tell us. What were their reactions to the first book? I feel like I know much of the story, but not enough for my own sense of closure.

Captivating
Just finished reading this, and I've got to say Lauck unblinkingly shares her life, and shows what an autobiography can be. I don't usually read autobiographies, but something about Lauck's story grabbed me. She shows true insight into herself and others. Occasionally I felt she (or her younger self) missed some possible insight, but that only served to emphasize that she reveals herself so clearly as to give readers a chance to truly know her, and thus reach their own conclusions. Is this great literature? No. Is this a great story? Absolutely. And that is what most readers want. I can hardly wait to "go back in time" and read "Blackbird" (her story of her younger life).

A Moving Account of a Difficult Life
I have "read" both Blackbird and Still Waters, but perhaps in a non-traditional way by listening as I endure my excrutiating drive to and from work throughout the week.

Blackbird moved me in ways no book I have read has done. Is that because I was listening to the author's voice - the person to whom these atrocities had been inflicted on was actually telling me about them, or would my reaction have been the same, had I read the accounts in the traditional "reading" method.
Personally, I think the audio rendition has had a more positive impact and let me explain. The book is written entirely from the perspective of the author's participation and some of the repetative phrases, such as "I say", when recounting conversation, I know would have driven me nuts if I were reading, but were totally natural in the "listening" version of reading. Does this make any sense?

Bottom line, Blackbird and Still Waters are the best books I've had the pleasure of reading in a very long time! I was totally engrossed in the story, involved with Jennifer, Bryan and their challenges in life, and I wish Jennifer all the best in everything to come in her life. She presents a role model for anyone who's had difficulties in their life - inspiration to uncover what the truth is, even after years of living perceived truth.

From Good to Tedious
I'd rate Blackbird with five stars and was anxious to read this sequel. It was wonderful how she picked up the story exactly where she left off in the last one. The first half of the book was absorbing, storywise. However, Ms. Lauck could trim numerous, endless details from her writing to keep the story tight and moving along. She gets into a car, she closes the door, the car starts, she looks at her hand on the seat, she looks out the window... Hit the accelerator, so to speak! I found myself skimming the last 50 or so pages, just wanting to see the final pieces put in place, bored by the minutely detailed descriptions of each and every place and person she visits. And here's a nitpick: every few pages, she or someone else is "rolling their lips together." Not only do I not know what that means, it seems to be the main expression for people throughout the book. ... Read more

Book Description

The journalist Walter Lippmann (1889-1974) was a magisterial figure who relished his role as an insider, an adviser to presidents, a shaper and sometime purveyor of government policy. Drawing on conversations with Lippmann and exclusive access to his private papers, Ronald Steel documents the broad flow of Lippmann's career from his brilliant Harvard days and his role in helping formulate Wilson's Fourteen Points in World War I to his bitter break with Lyndon Johnson over Vietnam. Written with clarity and objectivity, this definitive biography presents a commanding portrait of a complicated man and "guides its reader through the first three-quarters of this American century" (The New Yorker). ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Titan of American Political Journalism
Ronald Steele's Walter Lippmann and the American Century is everything an historical biography should be and much more because it is also a valuable study in political science that takes the reader deep into the character, thought and impact of perhaps the finest political journalist in American history.

When he was 25, Walter Lippmann was described by Teddy Roosevelt as "the most brilliant young man of his age in all the United States."He built his global, popular reputation for 36 years in his column, "Today and Tomorrow" written from 1931 to 1962 for the New York Herald Tribune and from 1963 to 1967 for the Washington Post and their respective international syndicates.Lippmann was one of the founders of the New Republic, a columnist for Vanity Fair, editor of Joseph Pulitzer's New York World, the voice of early 20th century America's liberal conscience, and a correspondent for the Manchester Guardian.Millions of Americans didn't decide what to think about an issue until Walter Lippmann published his opinion on it. Steele says he was read not for solutions but for his dispassionate analysis, an intellect of the sort rarely attracted to journalism.English contemporary Van Wyck Brooks said Lippmann's career was the most brilliant ever devoted to political writing in America.

Lippmann was born in 1889 in New York City, the only child of well-to-do Jewish parents of German heritage. They had inherited wealth from Lippmann's grandparents, especially from his maternal grandfather who had invested wisely in New York real estate.An exceptionally bright youngster, he was practically ignored by his mother, superficially acknowledged by his father and coddled by his maternal grandmother whom he loved dearly.Lippmann was educated in the demanding curriculum of a prestigious New York City secular Jewish school and spent his summers touring Europe and its museums with his parents.He pursued university studies in philosophy at Harvard where he learned to think under the personal tutelage of William James and George Santayana and to write from the irascible Charles Copeland.Steele says "Copey" shouted blunt criticism at Lippmann and his fellow students while they read their papers aloud in his office.Describing his experience learning to write under Copeland, Lippmann said "you began to feel that out of the darkness all around you long fingers were searching through the layers of fat and fluff to find your bones and muscles."

His first job of note out of Harvard was as assistant to the muckraking journalist, Lincoln Steffens, "...looking not for the evils of Big Business, but for its anatomy."Lippmann helped Steffens with a thoroughly researched report showing the secret arrangements between New York banks and the major financial houses on Wall Street.The material Steffens and the young Lippmann dug up helped trigger the Pujo Committee's investigations that attempted to regulate America's big banks through the Federal Reserve Act of 1913.Lippmann's time with Steffens was formative; he acquired Steffens' belief that corruption was an inherent part of the system, his skepticism about the inherent goodness of the average man, his insistence on uncluttered writing, his admiration for strong leaders and his faith in science.

Along with thousands of articles, columns and lectures, Lippmann wrote more than a dozen major books.He demonstrated his powerful intellect with his very first, A Preface to History, published in 1913 when he was only 23.Lippmann had worried throughout his studies at Harvard that something was wrong with the way people were taught to think about politics.When he was introduced by a friend to Sigmund Freud's theories of personality, he saw them immediately as a new analytical tool for political science.A Preface to History was acclaimed by critics for being the first link between psychology and politics.In the book, Lippmann explained what he called the obvious:politics as a system of social interaction had to be governed by the same forces that governed other social behavior.Freud himself was impressed with the young Lippmann; a few years after the book was published, he invited Lippmann to a Vienna meeting of the Psychoanalytic Society and introduced him to Adler and Jung.

Lippmann's genius was developed on both sides of the journalism - government fault line.He assisted a Schenectady, New York socialist mayor, albeit for only four months before he lost his appetite for petty local politics.He drafted a position paper on labor and management for Teddy Roosevelt.He wrote speeches for President Wilson and led the four-man effort to help draft Wilson's Fourteen Points for peace in post-World War I Europe. The first five and the 14th were the President's; the other eight essentially were Lippmann's.He even served as a Captain in the U.S. Army for six months as the American representative to the Inter-Allied Propaganda Board in London.With Wilson's peace plan in mind, Lippmann approached this work as "getting away from propaganda in the sinister sense, and substituting for it a frank campaign of education addressed to the German and Austrian troops, explaining as simply and persuasively as possible the unselfish character of the war, the generosity of our aims and the great hope of mankind which we are trying to realize."

In 1922, Alfred Harcourt published Lippmann's most enduring book, Public Opinion.Considered a classic today, it went far beyond the mechanics of political science to scrutinize the democratic process and the citizen whose mind is full of distorted, suppressed facts jumbled together by emotions, habits and prejudices.He said people see and define things according to stereotypes, prejudice and propaganda.What we know as facts are really judgments.While men are willing to admit there are two sides to a question, Lippmann says they do not believe there are two sides to what they regard as a fact. He said this poses a critical political drama for classic democracy "because the pictures inside people's heads do not automatically correspond with the world outside."The result, says Lippmann, is erosion of the foundation of popular government.

Lippmann said the press cannot provide the answer because truth and the news are not the same.He says men "cannot govern society by episodes, incidents and eruptions."What would he say today about the American news media's slavish stream of engineered political photo ops, media events and sound bites? Might he have agreed it's not what we don't know that's dangerous, it's what we know that's wrong?

Although he never became a sycophant, Lippmann was a high level political insider most of his life.He was always cautious about President Franklin Roosevelt, forming his opinion in 1931 when he wrote, "I am now satisfied that he just doesn't happen to have a very good mind, that he never really comes to grips with a problem which has any large dimensions and that above all the controlling element in almost every case is political advantage."Steele says Lippmann thought Truman was an insecure man given to hasty decisions and false bravado to cover his anxieties and called publicly for his resignation.Lippmann was an admirer of President Kennedy while finding fault with several of his administration's decisions, including those on Cuba, Laos and Vietnam."I don't agree with the people who think that we have to go out and shed a little blood to prove we're virile men ... And then behind that all lies a very personal and human feeling - that I don't think old men ought to promote wars for young men to fight.I don't like warlike old men."

One of Lippmann's journalistic rules stipulated one should not strike the king unless s(he) strikes to kill.He had been a Johnson administration insider, never wavering in his support of President Johnson's domestic programs.His foreign policy was another matter.Frustrated his advice was being ignored regarding the Vietnam War, Lippmann implicitly relinquished his role as an administration confidant in the spring of 1966, denouncing Johnson over Vietnam.Later that year, he wrote, "There is a growing belief that Johnson's America is no longer the historic America, that it is a bastard empire which relies on superior force to achieve its purposes, and is no longer an example of the wisdom and humanity of a free society ... It is a feeling that the American promise has been betrayed and abandoned." Fighting back, Johnson rarely missed an opportunity to attack Lippmann as traitorous, irrational or senile. Steele says Lippmann's break with Johnson and opposition to the Vietnam War was his finest hour.

Lippmann's last literary effort was a book he wanted to write on how mankind would govern itself in the future."The absolutely revolutionary invention of our time is the invention of invention itself.It's also the reason for the moral and psychological difficulties of our time. The supreme question before mankind is how men will be able to make themselves willing and able to save themselves."Steele reports he was too tired, too weak to do it.Lippmann published his last article in January, 1971, while his final comments flowed to America through interviews as the elder statesman of American political journalism.One comment was predictive but less than optimistic."Anything that makes the world more humane and more rational is progress; that's the only measuring stick we can apply to it.But I don't wish to imply that I think this (the 20th century) is a great progressive age.I don't.I think it's going to be a minor Dark Age."Lippmann died at age 85 on Dec. 14, 1974.

Thoughtful debate leading to enlightened political compromise seems today to have been replaced in America by simplistic poll-driven talking points emanating from mean-spirited, doctrinaire partisanship.Ronald Steele's outstanding historical biography, doing double duty as a valuable study in political science, shows how Walter Lippmann would suggest Americans might find their way back from that swamp. "When men are brought face to face with their opponents, forced to listen and learn and mend their ideas, they cease to be children and savages and begin to live like civilized men. Then only is freedom a reality, when men may voice their opinions because they must examine their opinions ... Where all think alike, no one thinks very much."

absolutely first rate biography and history
This is an absolutely wonderful book. Walter Lippman was the first modern journalist of the US: in a time of parochialism, self-congratulatory muckraking, and yellow journalism, he had an internationalist perspective and strove to introduce the American people to new ideas. At the same time, he was deeply interested in the currents of virtually all major political movements in America, and he studied and then participated in them as an opinion maker. What is truly remarkable about the book is the way that Steel recounts the elements of these movements - encapsulates them in brilliant and stimulating descriptions - in paragrpah after paragraph on the development of Lippman's restless and omnivorous mind. He starts with the muckrakers and Lincoln Steffens as well as Wilson's ideas on the League of nations, moved through the implications of Freud for public policy, to the New Deal (and the ideas of Keynes), the Cold War, and his last great battle on the Vietnam War. But as Lippman looks at each of these problems, he also critiques them, probing for their limitations before moving on to the next great movement. The result is an absolutely first-rate intellectual history of about the first 70 years of the 20C, which in my opinion were far more interesting than the remaining 30. With each movement, at least for me, I wanted to learn more, to go back to the sources and other histories and biographies. Finally, there are also fascinating anecdotes of his intereactions with the great politicos of his time, from his dismissal of FDR as a mediocre thinker to a screaming argument at a party with Dean Acheson over the COld War - "it was two titans facing off" - to the bitter obsession that LBJ developed about him in the 1960s.

Of course, Lippman had a charmed career and sprung from an elite background. This made him somewhat insensitive or disinterested in some developments that hurt people, from the Ku Klux Klan to the McCarthy era. Nonetheless, as Steel points out, in his conservatism he also reflected the most popular opinions of his time, which is the reason he was so relevant.

Steel also gives us a portrait of the man, and it is charming and admiring. His father was a slum lord, of whom he was ashamed and Steel speculates that Lippman's life was a search for a better father figure in American politicians. He also had an empty first marriage, which he abandoned when he fell in love with his best friend's wife, renewing his life in middle age and breaking a number of 1950s taboos. THe portrait is quite moving.

This is a truly great book, and I hope that it will be viewed as a classic someday. I learned an immense amount and felt hungry for more, which is my principal criterion for true excellence in writing.

Highest recommendation.

Dean of American Journalism
This book is excellent. The 20th Century has often been described as the "American Century" and this book surveys the major part of that era from the vantage point of the life and work of one of America's leading intellectuals, journalists and pundits. Lippmann began his intellectual career as a young follower and aide to Theodore Roosevelt while a student at Harvard, moving quickly thereafter into the leading milieu around Woodrow Wilson for whom he authored the famous "14 Points" upon which the vison of the League of Nations and America's ostensible goal of promoting world democracy was based. Prior to that time he played a leading role in the formation of the still influential liberal magazine, "The New Republic" in 1915. After the First World War he became the editor of the New York World, a prominent New York City daily newspaper founded by Joseph Pulitzer, a demanding position, but one that did not prevent him from acting, as he did throughout much of his life from then on, as an unofficial ambassador and troubleshooter for the U.S. government and leading American business interests, first in Mexico in 1927 and later in Italy, Germany and elsewhere.

In the wake of the bankruptcy of the New York World, Lippmann became one of America's most prominent newspaper columnists and opinion leaders and in fact wrote a seminal work "Public Opinion" dealing with the interaction of mass culture and politics. Lippmann continued and grew in this role as an ideologue and high priest for the New Deal, the Allied cause in World War 2 and more generally for America's leading role in world affairs until 1971 when his last column was published, three years before his death at the age of 85. By the time of the Kennedy/Johnson administration, Lippmann had solidified his reputation as, if not the Dean, certainly the grand old man of American journalism whose life had embodied and reflected all the great events and issues of American and world history through Vietnam which he came to view with skepticism and regret, a view presaged by some reservations he had held, notwithstanding his anti-communism, towards the "Truman Doctrine" and the Cold War. ... Read more

Amazon.com

If you're looking for something in between Charles Dickens and James Thurber, try Walter Cronkite'sA Reporter's Life. This humble but very exciting autobiography is full of interesting characters andlightly told anecdotes. (Early on in the narrative, young Cronkite recalls running from a cigar store, wherehe has surreptitiously memorized box scores, down the street to the radio station where he can report themover his daily news broadcast.) The full, even tones of Cronkite's voice rise to describe the best fight he'dever seen on a movie screen and fall to recall the day John Kennedy died. A hundred years of Americanhistory are offered with refreshing color and candor, a tale many may only know as a semester-long dronein high school. The audio version of A Reporter's Life has the advantage of Cronkite's famouslyunassuming voice, perfectly suited to the weight and manner of prose that delights with understatement.Cronkite's affections, both for his wife and for his own success, are tempered with charming modesty. Hedelivers keen and respectful observations of U.S. presidents and other heads of state that he has workedwith, as though they were simply colleagues he has known through the years. For example, when WalterCronkite returned from Vietnam after the Tet Offensive, he announced on national television that hedeemed the war to be a stalemate, after which President Johnson is said to have turned off the set and said,"Well, we've lost middle America." ... Read more

Reviews (40)

You'd think the guy could write
This is a surprisingly bad book, written essentially as a string of anecdotes on interesting things that happened to Walter Cronkite in his years as a newsman. For a guy who used to complain that a half-hour newscast wasn't long enough to adequately convey news, it's disappointing to see so many interesting moments in time (Walter's role in covering the Apollo 11 moon landing is a good example) get such short shrift.

This book reads like it was dictated into a tape recorder. There's a continual "then there was the time I..." approach to introducing the various anecodtes, and while I suppose a straight chronological approach might not have worked, it's jarring to read about LBJ's reaction to the Kennedy assassination several chapters BEFORE Cronkite recalls the assassination itself.

It'll be up to someone else to do the definitive Cronkite biography.

Good, light read.
I've always regarded Walter Cronkite simply a news-writer/wire service reporter/voice-over narrater/anchorman-presenter. I think he purposely reflects this same idea in his title, A REPORTER'S LIFE -- nothing more, nothing less. His memoir is written similiary in a frank, concise, matter-of-fact style, and is unpretentious (most mercifully). A blue-collar reporter; I was born, went to school here, got a job at the local paper there, went overseas and covered the war, did some radio work, went to TV, retired, and here's what I think of network news today... (That's all). Don't look for any insights or deep introspections. For instance; I was truly interested to know his thoughts, feelings, and dealings with Ed Murrow and The Boys, and how he won CBS news from them. Walt only devoted 2 short paragraphs bascially saying: They were editorialists, and I was more front page news. (That's it?) How about working with Eric Severide? A sentence here, another one there. (Yep, that's it).

The first half of the book is devoted to Walt growing up, working in newspapers, becoming a wire service reporter, and covering the war in Europe. This is some good stuff. Again, nothing intensive, but interesting. The second half of the book is about his television career with CBS. If you grew up watching Walt during this time, well -- there's not many surprises. He repeats how he choked up announcing JFK's death, calling the Vietnam War to be a lost cause, learning of LBJ's death with a phone call live on the air, watching Dan Rather getting slugged (woohoo!) at the Democratic Convention, etc. In the last chapter Walt gives his views on the state of network news and how it can be improved. To me, it was kind of sad. He doesn't fully appreciate or understand that it's dead. Yes, he gives some credit to the alternative news sources and how they're contributing to the demise of network news; but with all the 24 hour cable news channels, satellite TV, 2 channels of CSPAN; and the NY Times, Washington Post, BBC, foreign newspapers, and wire services on the Internet -- why would anyone want to suffer under the 3 network Ted Baxters we have now?

All in all, it is a light, entertaining, and enjoyable read. It's like sitting with a favorite, jovial uncle at the dinner table, while he recounts his life's adventures.

The Man Who Killed American Soldiers
General Weyand presented this speech at the GEORGE CATLETT MARSHALL MEMORIAL RECEPTION AND DINNER for the Association of the United States Army Convention, held in Washington, DC on October 18, 2000 GEORGE CATLETT MARSHALL MEMORIAL RECEPTION AND DINNER Association of the United States Army Convention
Washington, DC October 18, 2000
"After Tet, General Westmoreland sent Walter Cronkite out to interview me. I was in Command of the Forces in the South around Saigon and below and I was proud of what we'd done. We had done a good job there. So, Walter came down and he spent about an hour and a half interviewing me. And when we got done, he said, "well you've got a fine story. But I'm not going to use any of it because I've been up to Hue. I've seen the thousands of bodies up there in mass graves and I'm determined to do all in my power to bring this war to an end as soon as possible." It didn't seem to matter that those thousands of bodies were of South Vietnamese citizens who had been killed by the Hanoi soldiers and Walter wasn't alone in this because I think many in the media mirrored his view. It was a far different situation for me than when I was in Korea with my Battalion. I had a fellow named John Randolph who was an Associated Press Correspondent. He literally lived with our Battalion and he wrote about the men in a way that was good for them. It raised their morale. He never undercut their effort nor maligned the cause for which they fought. He became like one of them. He was awarded the Silver Star for Valor for helping them retrieve wounded and dead from the field of battle under fire. When I was in Paris at the Peace Talks, it was the most frustrating assignment I think I ever had. Sitting in that conference, week after week listening to the Hanoi negotiators, Le Duc Tho and his friends lecture us. Reading from the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Herald Tribune, the Atlanta Constitution, NBC, CBS, you name it. Their message was always the same. "Hey, read your newspapers, listen to your TV. The American people want you out of Vietnam. Now, why don't you just go ahead and get out?" So finally a Peace Agreement was signed that everyone knew would be violated and with no recourse or hope of enforcement on our part.

Walter Cronkite, the 'Reporter's Life' is a fraud, weak in story and rambles on and on about his sailing boat. In his first ever, televised editorial about the evnst of Tet 1968 barely offer a page in his book. He was not balanced or based on any facts whatsoever his fact-finding few days to Vietna during Tet 1968. It was his "personal opinion" telling his audience and or our government what he thought about foreign affairs. Sounds a lot like what is going on today with the media being more entertainment than news? It's like actors today criticizing American soldiers and Marines in Iraq. The massive numbers of dead were South Vietnamese that were murdered by the Viet Cong terrorists meant nothing to these liberal evil do-gooders like Cronkite, John Kerry and Hanoi Fonda. The "Killing Fields of Cambodian" mean nothing to these liberal holier-than-thou, know-it-alls. People who worshiped Mr. Cronkite as a so-called "fatherly figure" jumped on his bandwagon like Jane Fonda and college hippies. Walter had a new following of young minded zombies for peace.

As Richard Rowere wrote in his book, WAIST DEEP IN THE BIG MUDDY, "This is the first war of the century of which it is true that opposition to it is not only widespread but fashionable."

Sleep well Walter and that's the rest of the story he omitted in a 'Reporter's Spoiled Life.'

Nothing new
I enjoyed the book. But I felt the book lacked any new insights into all of the history this author lived through. While the book gave some interesting background on the author's family, the rest of it was like watching reruns of the 6:30 news.

It left me wanting more of what wasn't there.

A good book by the best news man ever!
I've always been a big fan of Walter Cronkite (I even got to meet and interview him while I was in college), but I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I was not disappointed. Cronkite takes the reader through his start in journalism and through all of the important events that he reported on while serving as managing editor of the CBS Evening News. He does jump around a little bit, but that is a very, very minor complaint.

What I like most about the book is that Cronkite is honestly and genuinely modest. If there ever was a news man that would have cause to brag and take stock in his accomplishments in a high-handed manner, it's Cronkite, but he does not at all. Uncle Walter writes his book like he conducted his broadcasts - he just tells it like it is. This is a wonderful book not only for newshounds and journalism aficionados, but also for anyone who would like to read about a figure of Americana. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Book Description

Warning: No celeb was spared during the writing of this tongue-in-cheek stroll down the red carpet of fashion, fame, ego, and blinding glitter. Written by the man who isn’t afraid to tell Christina Aguilers her hairdo is a disaster, Red Carpet Diaries could make you feel you know more about Hollywood shtick than Nicole Kidman’s stylist. If you begin to get too much pleasure from Cojocaru’s lizard-skin-jumpsuited journey from ridiculed misfit to #2 on Cynthia Rowley’s speed dial, put the book down and turn on an episode of Antiques Roadshow to calm your heart rate. Also: do not try to operate heavy machinery while reading this book.

Indications: For relief of boredom, wistfulness, insecurity, and bad hair days.

Directions: Read the incredible story of Cojocaru’s rise from schoolyard joke to one-man celebrity status meter. Laugh, cry, lather, rinse, and repeat.

Active ingredient: Unadulterated fashion, style, and wit.

Imbued with style that is pure Steven, and packed with insider gossip from a man who spends his days chatting with Tom Hanks, Charlize Theron, or Sarah Jessica Parker, this irresistible memoir is a peek behind the glamorous façade to the real deal—the dirt beneath the red carpet. ... Read more

Reviews (23)

Waiting for his next book
I love celebrities and their clothes and their makeup and reading about them, so I enjoyed this book. My only complaint was that I wanted more backstage dish. Steven's section in People magazine is second only to the celebrity clothes pictures. I loved Melissa Rivers comment on Elizabeth Taylor. More pictures and dish in your next book, Steven!

2 Thumbs Up!!
Finally!! I've been anxiously awaiting for someone to put what all of us (non-celebrities) have been suspecting for years! Steven truly is the Howard Stern of fashion. Once I started to read this book I couldn't put it down. Each page is filled with humor, heart and intelligence. I truly felt as though I was with Steven during all of his journeys, including the "Red Carpet." Never before has there been such a well written fun book by someone who has the guts, brains and experience to back it all up!! Kudos to Cojo for a job well done!! My only question is when is the next book being released?

As Hollywood Inside Info Goes ...
I love Hollywood gossip books. This was the biggest waste of paper ever (and mind you, without the added highlighted quotes taking up most of the page ...) Really no inside scoop on anyone or anything, much less the author himself. A series of "aren't I cute" quotes that made me feel quite empty at the end. One of the most shallow people I have ever read about, used to like his appearances, now he makes my skin crawl.

Perfect dish.
I love Cojo's sassy commentary on tv and in People. This book lives up to his honesty on the red carpet. He always tells it like it is and this book is no exception. It's not brain science, but it's fun and fluffy, and he never claims to be doing much more than having a good time. I spent a very satisfying afternoon immersed in the glam world of celebrities and Cojo.

It's just a book
I have been reading the other reviews and every one who disliked the book needs to relax. If you didn't like it, you didn't like... that's what makes horse racing. I however, was entertained and found the book quite funny, perfectly matching COJO's television personality. It's an easy read that I really enjoyed. It's cute and funny and does not deserve the harsh response it has received on amazon.com. Great beach reading...nice job Cojo. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A Frank Look at a Fascinating Life
Janet Langhart Cohen's book is illuminating both for its commentary about American society and its changes, as well as her reflections upon her life and circumstances surrounding that life. I was enormously impressed by her work with the military and their families when her husband was Secretary of Defense. She has taken all times of her life, both good and bad, learned from them and made the best of life. She's an impressive person, with depth and compassion.

From Rage to Disgust
This is the story of a poor African-American girl whose Caucasian features, physical beauty and mindless ambition allowed her to escape her social class and race to become a weather-girl in Chicago, runway model, successful celebrity hob-nobber, wife to corrupt Secretary of Defense William Cohen (her third husband), and a member of the power-elite...with whom she shares a complete lack of concern for the plight of the oppressed. She seems thrilled that she is now one of "them". The real woman behind the text, who alleges outrage at the way blacks are treated in this country and recounts her struggles with racism until she finally became white, is an Ivana Trump clone with some pseudo-leftist political rhetoric thrown on top. She is a plastic non-person who uses the power she acquired from her sheepish husband to engage in fits of self-aggrandizing onanism. But other than that, it's not a bad book.

A Dream Fulfilled
Janet Langhart Cohen's story is the story of one woman's successful struggle to overcome the racial divide that has separated America into two nations. She was born at the "right time" and came of age as the Civil Rights Movement was beginning to make its demands and have its voices heard. She was not handed success on a silver platter. Her rage, albeit tempered by age, experience and success, is never far from her heart or mind, nor should it be.

Yet Mrs Cohen's story is much more than the fulfillment of one person's dream - it represents a significant step in fulfilling Dr. King's dream for all Americans which he articulated from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in August 1963. We have a long way to go, but Janet Cohen's story, and the fact it was achieved - and is being lived -- largely under the radar screen, itself sends a message of hope and encouragement that we are making progress in achieving the Constitution's mission of forming "a more perfect union."

inspiring
As a minority woman I was enaged and inspired by this book. No one is defined by one thing and she manages to show many of the different aspects and difficulites that one must go through. She is not always happy, but she is always truthful to herself and the ideals her mother set forth.
She and this story are a true testmement to the American dream and how if you always try to see the good in others they can never hold you down.

A Moving First Hand Account on Race and Social Movement
Janet Langhart Cohen's life has taken her from the projects in Indianapolis to Pentagon in Washington DC, with stops along the way that will keep you riveted to your seat. This book offers an interesting look into various social movements in this country, as well as a different take on the importance of America's military. With recent news regarding Emmett Till and military abuses in Iraq, this book is an important piece of history that should be read by all Americans of every color. ... Read more

Amazon.com

No TV news blond has more steel than 60 Minutes' Lesley Stahl, whose Reporting Live is one impressively substantive celebrity memoir. As a rookie in the CBS Washington, D.C., bureau in 1972, she got an assignment too grubby and unpromising for the big reporters: Watergate. She didn't just date Bob Woodward, she vied with him for scoops. For a quarter century, workaholic Stahl saw more of presidents and fellow bulldog newshound Sam Donaldson than her own daughter and husband, Urban Cowboy writer Aaron Latham.

Stahl's book belongs on any political-history shelf. Besides a briskly readable account of epochal events witnessed up close, she offers canny insights into what broke Nixon, backs up Tom Shales's opinion of Carter as "a combination Mr. Rogers and John the Baptist," assesses Reagan's mysteriously fogbank-like mind, and paints a startlingly warm portrait of George Bush (though not Barbara). Not only can Stahl fire fierce questions at world leaders against hair-raising deadlines, she can analyze trends with cool detachment, sometimes busting her profession or herself as guilty parties. She laments the "moral McCarthyism" of our times and compares her profession to a pack of wild dogs she'd encountered on an African safari.

What did it mean to be a woman in a man's world? Menachem Begin sexually harassed her, but her experience with teenage girls proved useful in understanding Reagan's bitchy, backstabbing male staff. Stahl sketches her personal life (and Latham's near-fatal depression), but her stuff on media and politics is the real news here. --Tim Appelo ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Interesting Read - But Reliable?
I am sure she is preaching to the choir about her self-important life, but take it all with a grain of salt from the woman who still cannot undertand us 'normal' folk."I predict historians are going to be totally baffled by how the American people fell in love with [Ronald Reagan] and followed him the way we did." - CBS News reporter Lesley Stahl, Jan. 11, 1989

An Exceptional Memoir!
What an interesting read!While most bios take you from birth through an unremarkable (and lengthy) adolescence, Stahl starts the book (and her life, by her own declaration) at age 30.Then - boom! - we're immediately thrust into Watergate (she was dating Bob Woodward at the time), where Stahl was the only TV newsperson covering the initial - and seemingly un-newsworthy - burglary.

From there, we're taken into each subsequent presidency - from Nixon to Bush Sr. - and shown how personnel, presidents, their staffs, and technology shaped TV news coverage of historical events.

The product of CBS news' affirmative action plan (along with Bernie Shaw and Connie Chung that year), Stahl was promoted in the early '70s to the Washington bureau.We are treated to an indepth account of her professional and personal triumphs.Of course, she occasionally goofed, which she comically relays, as well.

With each chapter titled for a president and first lady - Reagan gets two! - Stahl gives us the stories-behind-the-stories: correspondents outwitting each other for the scoop; Barbara Bush's surprisingly icy remarks and actions; Stahl's assessment of unsuccessful presidents; one White House staff that was hell-bent on getting rid of Dan Rather; the point when CNN emerged as the true news leader.That we get all this juicy, inside stuff is a testimony to the author.Only someone as busy as Stahl could supply it - she and her teased and hairsprayed "helmet" of a hairdo wore many hats: Chief White House Correspondent, Face the Nation host and America Tonight co-host during the Gulf War - at one point, all three at the same time!

If you wonder why George Bush's presidency is the last chapter of the book - how could she resist Clinton's escapades? - it is because her memoir is meant only to tell the story of her most well-known beat:the White House.Believe me, you get a lot!And after years of hard work at CBS in Washington, Stahl at long last - after years of waiting and, I think, unfairly having to audition - earned the 60 Minutes gig and relocated to New York.

If you enjoy books of a political nature, but told in an easy-to-understand manner, you'll find Stahl's respect and humility toward world news - and life - a pleasure to read.I highly recommend it.

An "insider's" view of Washington
Lesley Stahl does a very good job of combining her remembrances of the men who occupied the White House and her own care