Bonnie's review of Personal History
by Katharine Graham
I can’t even remember where I found this book. Was it in the used book section of the Brookline Public Library? Quite possibly. In any case, I was on a bio roll.
This book traces Katherine Graham’s life through many distinct stages: her childhood, her marriage to Phil Graham, her emergence as a powerful woman in a man’s world after her husband’s death, and the international persona she became (June 16, 1917 – July 17, 2001).
When I began reading, I knew only the sketchiest of details about Katharine Graham. Her story is told against the backdrop of the history of the time and of the Washington Post. I was particularly fascinated by her re-telling of the Nixon years, the Pentagon Papers, and Watergate. I was married on March 29, 1969; Richard Nixon’s inauguration was the previous January. It was a most bizarre time. I was so hazy about the events of those days that this section of the book served as a review primer for me. I find it extremely helpful to rea...more
This book traces Katherine Graham’s life through many distinct stages: her childhood, her marriage to Phil Graham, her emergence as a powerful woman in a man’s world after her husband’s death, and the international persona she became (June 16, 1917 – July 17, 2001).
When I began reading, I knew only the sketchiest of details about Katharine Graham. Her story is told against the backdrop of the history of the time and of the Washington Post. I was particularly fascinated by her re-telling of the Nixon years, the Pentagon Papers, and Watergate. I was married on March 29, 1969; Richard Nixon’s inauguration was the previous January. It was a most bizarre time. I was so hazy about the events of those days that this section of the book served as a review primer for me. I find it extremely helpful to rea...more
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Like you, I found the book to be a reprisal of all the things I cannot remember from my own history. I love to "learn" as I read and this book was full of tidbits to delight and inform.
I loved this book and for me the most fascinating part was her evolution as a woman who while from a rich and influential family grew up thinking her main role would be to be a hostess and help-mate. Her husband's mental illness and suicide changed all that and she stepped into role as publisher of the Post. I agree the last part got tedious.
