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A Reporter's Life
"IMMEDIATELY ENGROSSING . . . [A] SPLENDID MEMOIR."
--The Wall Street Journal
"Run, don't walk to the nearest bookstore and treat yourself to the most heartwarming, nostalgia-producing book you will have read in many a year."
--Ann Landers
"Entertaining . . . The story of a modest man who succeeded extravagantly by remaining mostly himself. . . . His memoir is a short course o...more
--The Wall Street Journal
"Run, don't walk to the nearest bookstore and treat yourself to the most heartwarming, nostalgia-producing book you will have read in many a year."
--Ann Landers
"Entertaining . . . The story of a modest man who succeeded extravagantly by remaining mostly himself. . . . His memoir is a short course o...more
Paperback, 400 pages
Published
October 28th 1997
by Ballantine
(first published 1996)
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A good autobiography on what is now an extinct breed: The great professional journalist. No longer will anyone in journalism have the reputation or credibility that Cronkite had during his prime. What replaces him these days cannot even compare. It is amazing to read how Cronkite saw the world, being a direct observer to some of the greatest events of the 20th century. Now, was Cronkite perfect...no. His commentary on Vietnam has been decried by several in the military and he made no secret of h...more
The other day, I picked up this book in the Charleston airport. It was a choice between that and Dreams from my Father. I hope to get to the other one later. In the meantime, this is something of a disappointment. I'll slog through to the end, but it will definitely be a slog. I wouldn't be reading this at all if Cronkite hadn't just died. So reading this is really an act of homage to a great man. And he was a great man. He just isn't much of a writer. Or at least, his writing in this book is a ...more
An icon of the news industry wrote this book in 1996, over a decade after retiring from his anchor desk on CBS. This autobiography takes you on a trip through Cronkites life, how he got there and the interesting things he seen along the way.
But this story is told through his eyes, and at times his vision is boring. This book was one of the hardest I have ever read. While there were parts that made me want to finish, these nuggets were few and far between, in my opinion. Being a fan of Cronkite, ...more
But this story is told through his eyes, and at times his vision is boring. This book was one of the hardest I have ever read. While there were parts that made me want to finish, these nuggets were few and far between, in my opinion. Being a fan of Cronkite, ...more
Walter Cronkite reports many of the salient details from his life, from childhood, his marriage, to his career in newspapers and television. Chock full of memories recounted in sharp focus, Cronkite tells of his apprenticeship in news; experiencing several wars; meeting various heads of state and several U.S. Presidents; and numerous life experiences that would each qualify as "once in a lifetime".
I thoroughly enjoyed almost the entire book, the entire portion that read as a ...more
I thoroughly enjoyed almost the entire book, the entire portion that read as a ...more
Man, Walter's vocabulary is intense!!! It took me forever to get through this book but I wanted to read his views on all of the historical events he was able to report on. I think he had a lot of journalistic integrity but that he was a bit pompous as well. I prob would be too in that elevated position. The end was terrible as I really don't care about the procedure of behind the scenes production of a newscast and the "business" behind it all. 3/4 of the book was pretty interesting. ...more
Cheryl
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone interested in our Presidents
Shelves:
memoir-biography,
non-fiction
Upon hearing of the death of Walter, I remembered I'd read his wonderful book. It is chock full of presidential anecdotes because he knew every president of his time quite well. He said Jimmy Carter was by far the smartest president, Nixon was strange in that at a state dinner he started counting ceiling tiles and that JFK was spoiled at first but then under pressure of the Cuban Missile crisis came into his own and Walter believes he would have been one of our greatest presidents. He loved Bi...more
I happened upon a museum exhibit of Walter Cronkite, and it made me want to know a little more about him. Also, I realized that his career spanned my life, and I might get a good history lesson that would educate me about things I often ignore in the newspaper.
No fault to Mr. Cronkite, but I guess reading someone's autobiography hoping to become educated in recent world history was kind of a stretch, and unfair to the author. As he described his young life, I found myself not too int...more
No fault to Mr. Cronkite, but I guess reading someone's autobiography hoping to become educated in recent world history was kind of a stretch, and unfair to the author. As he described his young life, I found myself not too int...more
I enjoyed this book for several reasons. First, Cronkite's observations on the historical events of the mid- and late 20th century are so interesting--he was an eyewitness to WWII in Europe, the Nuremburg trials, Cold War Moscow, the Vietnam War, the Watergate crisis, and the administrations of every American president since FDR. His account of his ascent from cub reporter at the Daily Texan to being anchorman of the most watched news program on TV is filled with witty anecdotes and keen obser...more
Theresa
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Every American
Shelves:
glad-i-read-it
A truly uplifting book--as strange as that may sound. Walter Cronkite has seen everything, done everything, been everywhere, and lived to report about it; but, despite his harrowing experiences in multiple wars, firsthand observations of Communist-Russia, and front row seats to numerous White House scandals, Cronkite remains positive about America's, and the world's, potential. His observations are honest and refreshing without being preachy or overly self-important.
But, don't think ...more
But, don't think ...more
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It may be noteworthy - in all that was said and written about Walter Cronkite after his death last month, there was almost no mention of his book, "A Reporter's Life." Cronkite chose a conversational style. The book flows. Certainly Cronkite's experiences sometimes are extraordinary experiences. He talked with and interviewed some of the great figures of the 20th Century. Spark eluded Cronkite however. His accounts of events and persons never have been widely repeated or quoted.
This book was an AWESOME read! Kronkite is so humble when speaking about the people he's interviewed including Kennedy, Meier and the Clintons. Everything from when he was first born to what we now know was the twilight of his life was highly-interesting - particularly his time as a war correspondent when he was able to converse with Gen Patton! All in all, this was a five-star read suitable for anyone who loves history and has a high regard for the field of journalism.
I saw Walter Cronkite speak at a high school newspaper convention at Columbia University and was fascinated and in awe. Growing up with him on the evening news, he was the voice of reason, authority, and trust. So I went into this with unrealistically high expectations. This was a good story, the WWII stuff clearly heroic, and enjoyable. My expectations were not realistic, this really is a good book, a good story.
Walter Cronkite was one of the world's finest newsmen and a profoundly good person. In this 1996 autobiography, Cronkite gives us a cross section of his most interesting, eventful, and sometimes amazing life. From his early days as a newspaper stringer and radio sports announcer to his marathon at the Anchor Desk of CBS News, Cronkite's dedication to the story and not the talking points and his unimpeachable reputation for reporting only the unvarnished facts, made Uncle Walter a fixture in Amer...more
I LOVED this book! Cronkite had an amazingly interesting life that is a great review of US and world events. It's so interesting that you won't realize you're getting a great history refresher. Since I have a degree in journalism I thought it was especially interesting to read the story of how he became a journalist and how journalism has changed though the years. I would recommend this one to everyone.
Avuncular. Like having your Uncle read to you. After the rotund delivery, despite myself, it has a certain charm. A few episodes corrected my own memory of events. For example, the Entebbe Raid was around July 4th,1976. And on that day I was on a little boat between Paros and Mykonos dead in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Since I heard of the raid only back in Athens or Marseiile,(a month later) I did not link the two events. Very droll.
An autobiography published in 1996, this book chronicles Cronkite's life from the early days of radio. His self-deprecation rings a bit false at times, but how much humility can you expect from a man who participated in the greatest events of my lifetime? The mini-series based on it was better, though--it was often word-for-word from the book but accompanied by photos and video.
Basically a history of the 20th Century through the eyes of a guy that lived it and reported on it. Walter Cronkite was loved and trusted as a journalist for a reason, he can tell a good story. His own was absolutely fantastic. If you like biographies or American history, and I happen to be into both, you'll love this.
If I were to pick one word to describe this book, I would have to say interesting. Walter Cronkite jumbled all his memories together in non sequential order and told about them. He talked about everything from how he was a newspaper boy saving up for a pony when he was a child to how hairy and flabby Lyndon Johnson's upper torso was. It's really funny, too.
Wonderful insight into the early days of television and radio news reporting. The episodic nature of the book made it a little hard to read, and the treatment of more recent events becomes more opinionated and critical of the current status of news reporting. He does, however, make some very good comments.
I found this to be an exceptional book (and I read a lot of books). Beautifully written prose by someone who was at the front lines of some of the most interesting and seminal events of the 20th century. There is nothing not to love about this book.
It took me 2-3 chapters to get Andy Rooney's voice out of my head. :) While I know who Walter Cronkite is, I never watched him on tv and didn't hear his voice until the 60 minutes, or some other program's, salute to him after he died.
The book was great. I really liked the way he described his life as a reporter. He gave a great behind the scenes look. Mostly, he was really great at simply telling a story. Turns out he's also funny. :) While reading, I felt like a grandchild sitting o...more
The book was great. I really liked the way he described his life as a reporter. He gave a great behind the scenes look. Mostly, he was really great at simply telling a story. Turns out he's also funny. :) While reading, I felt like a grandchild sitting o...more
Some parts were very boring but there were some very interesting parts to make it worth reading. I enjoyed a view into the politics and making of the TV news industry and his personal experiences through interviews with noteables.
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Walter Cronkite tells his life story, from roots in Kansas City and later Houston, through days as a sports announcer, from newspapers to radio to television. It is an interesting but not compelling read from an American institution. He holds some rather progressive notions concerning war and peace, yet talks about how appalled he was at the clothing his daughter wore in the 1960’s. He is most entertaining when writing about his experiences as a reporter in Moscow, when telling about Mayor Dale...more
After his passing I looked up this book again and reread it again. It was a great reminder of a fascinating man who marked the 20th Century with his special brand of reporting.
I grew up listening to Cronkite report the news and have such a vivid memory of his voice cracking when he told us JFK was dead. He was an exceptional journalist.
I admit... I have only read the first 100 pages and I just can't get in to this book. This is a book club choice so I probably will just move on to the next book.
Walter Cronkite lived and reported on some of the most exciting times of the 20th century. They do not make reporters like him anymore. Case in poinr FOX news.
Walter Cronkite died July 17, 2009. He narrates a favorite Christmas book, "Silent Night, Holy Night" the story of the Christmas truce. I would like to read his story.
Nothing less than a first-person account of the major events of the 20th century, with lots of interesting anecdotes that make history more relatable.
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Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an iconic American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for The CBS Evening News for 19 years (1962–81). During the heyday of CBS News in the 1970s and 1980s he was often cited in viewer opinion polls as "the most trusted man in America," because of his professional experience and avuncular demeanor. Cronkite died on July 17, 2009, at the age of ...more
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