The Times of My Life and My Life with The Times

by Max Frankel

Since 1949, when Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Max Frankel began to write for The New York Times, readers have looked to his work as a lens through which they could witness America's role in a rapidly changing world. In this vivid and unforgettable memoir, Frankel chronicles the times of his extraordinary life as he experienced them...within the context of the news stories that defined an era.

A quintessentially American story, The Times of My Life traces Frankel's riveting personal relationship with history...his harrowing escape from Nazi Germany...his life as an immigrant on the streets of New York...and his extraordinary half-century-long career at The Times. In a rich first-person account that moves from Hitler's Berlin to Cold War Moscow, from Castro's Havana to the newsroom of America's most influential newspaper, this powerful, compelling work interweaves Frankel's personal and professional lives with the era's greatest stories, from Sputnik to the Pentagon Papers to the collapse of the Berlin Wall. And it reveals Frankel's fascinating off-the-record encounters with Nikita Khrushchev, Henry Kissinger, John Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and a host of other history-makers who shaped their times--and ours.


Guiding readers through Hitler's Berlin, Khrushchev's Moscow, Castro's Havana, and the Washington of Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, THE TIMES OF MY LIFE reevaluates the Cold War, and interweaves Frankel's personal and professional life with the greatest stories of the era. -->

Genres: Journalism, Memoir, Nonfiction, History, Autobiography

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Max Frankel was an American journalist who was executive editor of The New York Times from 1986 to 1994.

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

In reality, 3.5 stars. More enjoyable than I might have imagined. Frankel, no surprise, is an excellent writer, and his story of flight from Hitler and Stalin to success in America is great stuff. Best of all, he covers lots of territory without getting too detailed about arcane events. Drawback (minor): three self-justifying chapters about how he dealt with the challenges (problems? issues?) of adding gays, blacks, and women to the NY Times workforce.

Very interesting insights on Khruschev, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, and others. Liberal without being unbalanced. Critical when necessary, but in a civilized and restrained manner. Nice mix of personal with the historic. Heck, maybe it's 4 stars after all!

[Friedenbergmichael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written biography detailing his escape from Nazi Germany and his life in journalism at the New York Times. I highly recommend this book.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. A very enjoyable read of my own history along with a newspaper publishing story.

[Pabloslist]

Frankel's NY Times life in 60s-90s, from reporter to Exec Ed. Off-record encounters with history makers

[Mary Diegert]

I have to confess that I didn't finish this book - I liked it but I lost track of it. I may try again later. I read about his early years and his and his mother's harrowing escape from Nazi Europe, leaving his father behind, but I didn't get to the years of his success at the Times.