Witness to a Century: Encounters with the Noted, the Notorious, and the Three SOBs

by George Seldes

Analyzes the structure of families, examines the unexpressed rules used to raise children, and discusses family violence, child abuse, and dysfunctional families

Genres: History, Biography, Journalism, Memoir, Politics, American History, 20th Century

490 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Investigative reporter and muckraking journalist. Author of twenty-one books. Publisher of a political newsletter called "In Fact." Crusader for press freedom. Dissenter and freethinker. One of the first to expose the dangers of tobacco smoking. Born in New Jersey, died in Vermont.

Reviews

[Esther Pierce]

A brilliant book by a great gentleman who saw some amazing things during the 20th century and is not afraid to speak the truth about them.
If you want a sharp, sweeping overview of recent history, this is a great book.

[Harry Heitman]

Extraordinary. Seldes saw a broad sweep of world history during his lifetime and his descriptions of some world leaders are quite memorable and revealing. A great perspective on history. If you like history and haven't gotten around to this yet... check it out. I enjoyed it very much.

[Tbfrank]

I first came across George Seldes in 2007 when the local PBS station aired the 1996 documentary "Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press. Of all the fascinating observations and opinions and facts detailed in the film, the item that has stayed with me ever since was the discovery of the link between cigarettes, cancer, emphysema, and other diseases dated from studies available in the 1930's. The story was only one of the many Seldes noted as unreported (and misreported) by the US press through the "non-conspiracy" of suppression.

A year later I found this volume in a used bookstore and snapped it up. Though I've sampled portions of it since then, it has taken too many years to shift it to the top of my to-read list and read it cover to cover.
 
Seldes personal reminiscences have a bite that skewers many of history's notables, politicians, business moguls, religious figures, journalists, and publishers. The realization that fake news, suppression, and false (not merely inaccurate but outright lies) in news reporting as described by Seldes regarding not only international but national events is equally prevalent in the US today - made more so through broadcast media and the internet - is discouraging and frightening.

In fact (the name of his weekly newsletter on the state of  press) little seems different today than what he observed over the years from the 1920s through the 1950s. Seldes quotes Harold Ikes (FDR's Secretary of the Interior) who spoke at the 17th anniversary of the ACLU in 1937:

"...[I]t is the fascist-minded men of America who are the real enemies of our institutions. They have solidarity, a common interest in seizing more power and greater riches for themselves and ability and willingness to turn the concentrated wealth of America against the welfare of America."

In the final pages Seldes records a conversation with William Allen White, a Kansas Republican and Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper editor who referred to Abraham Lincoln's assertion that the country was safe when the people knew the facts, "the facts, fairly and honestly presented; the truth will take care of itself."

I wonder what these two gentlemen would make of today's state of affairs.

[Joe Schirtzinger]

George Seldes, in this book, finally gets to say exactly what he wants. After many years of being muzzled by the media as a reporter for various agencies, Seldes arrives(d) at a point where he can express the truth of many of the events in history for which he was immediately present. Seldes was lucky enough, or unfortunate enough, depending on how you see the matters he describes, to be present during many pivotal points in the 2oth century.

Since he was quite literally there, he reports the actual truth as he recollects it as opposed to the oft repeated stories we are told on everything from people who actually met Abraham Lincoln to the political contemporaries of JFK and beyond. Many of these facts are in stark contrast to narratives we hold to be true such that they may be shocking to students of history.

I enjoyed this book because it is rare to see someone remember and then say what they recollect throughout their life particularly about historical events where a sort of amnesia washes over people. I'd highly recommend it for students of history in specific as the original source material here is priceless.

[J Tea]

Read this book shortly after it was first published and it has stayed with me for 25 years although not physically. It is a book that got me to really pay attention to biographies and history. I now have a friend who is approaching 100 and I really want to get her story recorded. After reading this book all those years ago I often encourage people to pay closer attention to the stories their parents and other elders have tell and recording them for posterity and family history. I regret not doing so with my father in law. Seldes lived a very eventful life and was a gifted storyteller. It is part bio, part memoir, part history and pure entertainment. I look forward to finding another copy and reading it again soon.

[Evan]

Every once in awhile I come across Seldes' name sourced in various histories or biographies about the famous. Seldes was a chronicler of much of the 20th century, truly a witness to it. I don't remember a whole lot about the book, having heard it way back in the 1980s on public radio's Radio Reader show, as read by Dick Estell. I do remember more or less enjoying it at the time, though I found the stories a little more interesting than the bland writing.

[Gary Godefroy]

Seldes speaks from first hand observation of nearly 100 years, 75 as a journalist. He lived to be 104. The Spanish War, was a particularly hot topic. He refused to call it the Spanish Civil War. He took pride in being thrown out of William Jennings Bryan's hotel room, Lenin's Russia, and Mussolini's Italy. He was left of center and passionate, but had no more use for the Communists than he did the Fascists. An entertaining read, particularly for history buffs.

[RYD]

George Seldes is hardly a household name nowadays, and I hadn't heard of him until recently, when I saw one of this books for sale for a quarter in my public library. But he is an original in the model of I.F. Stone (whom Seldes proceeded), and he lived the kind of life that journalists once dreamed of. Paris. Spain. Picasso. Hemingway. War. Peace. He was one of those characters who managed to be in the right place at the right time throughout his era.

[Margaret]

This was excellent eyewitness history to some of the great events and people of the 20th Century, told by a progressive curmudgeon who told stories well. Really enjoyed it.

[Ray LaManna]

An interesting memoir of a reporter who met and interacted with all the major players in the world from 1910 to the 1980s...

[Peter McGinn]

Overall I really liked this book. It is written in a straightforward style (well, he was a reporter, after all) and he doesn't go on and on - which is good since he writes about so many people and events. If the book were full of gossip and insults, I might have dismissed it as a name-dropping sensationalized take on a career, but this is a thinking man's take on history as he experienced it, and is filled with corrections of news that was reported incorrectly, suppressed or ignored. But did I nod off somewhere in there or was there not very much about World War II?

I have to say that I ended up with the large print version, and though it is easier on my old eyes, the print being bigger made the paragraphs seem very long at times, and sometimes caused me to want to take a break from reading. I have noticed with most large print books that they look awkward with the text so close to the edges of the pages.

You may never read a memoir of a non--celebrity who has met as many famous people as he did. But to paraphrase an excellent but obscure movie call Finnegan Begin Again, the reporter played by Robert Preston says of a picture taken with a president, "He doesn't have that picture on his wall." Most of the time Seldes doesn't seem caught up in his own ego.

[Mike Stewart]

George Seldes wrote this memoir - it’s really not an autobiography- in 1986 when he was 96 years old. He was a journalist whose career began in 1909 and was one of the first, if not the first press critic. In some ways it reads as if written by a ninety-six year old. It’s full of allusions to people of whom many of his readers would have no knowledge and usually without any background. His descriptions of the famous and infamous he encountered in his long and illustrious career are usually flat and often devoid of the illuminating detail one would expect of such an experienced journalist. He also has many axes to grind, many justifiably so. Fifty years later he was still outraged by the press’ coverage of the Spanish Civil War and the lack of response from the Western democracies. His biggest concern- he built his career around it -was the ongoing suppression of certain news stories by the mainstream media due to either the politics of its owners and/or the undue influence of advertisers on newspaper content. An admirable career, certainly in his own mind, but a less than stellar book.

[Ken Baker]

Witness to a Century by George Seldes:
A fascinating 1987 first published book by George Seldes, noted newspaper person and author of many books relating the sins of journalism starting in the early 1900s up to is death in 1995 at age of 104. As the subtitle states "Encounters With the Noted, the Notorious, and the Three SOBs."

The book relates his experiences over many years, along with his brother, starting in the early 1900s, over how journalism has been and always will be ruled by the owners of media not necessarily the journalists (writers, authors). Of particular note of a particular SOB Robert McCormick, owner of the Chicago Tribune, whom George worked for as a journalist mostly in Europe pre WW I and WW II.

Interesting book, some folks might find it a bit dry, but if interested in the concept of the Free Press, a reader will find George's personal insights and personal experiences telling us, even through to today, "don't believe everything one might read or hear via news print, TV, radio, social networks."

[Barbara]

My dad gave me this book, and I intended to speed-read through its lengthy history and political stories. But each one was so compelling that I finished it and ended up researching several of the people and incidents. Considering the book was written in 1987 and he died in 1995 (at age 105!), its message of the power of journalism - when practiced with integrity - is still relevant today. Seldes called out business leaders, government officials, politicians, clergy, movie stars and anyone else who lied to cover up truths that impacted people. If he was alive today, he would not be surprised at the coverups and lies that continue.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...

[Esteban Stipnieks]

In its own perverse way it is enlightening....on the one hand abhorring prohibition on the other almost calling for a ban of Tabacco products. While high body Hitler's body count it portrays the security state Lenin set up in a way that almost justifies it. It completely ignores Stalin's imperialism and high body count. Does it mention Woodrow Wilson was a supporter of the Klan and in fact most monuments lionizing the Confederacy were built during Woodrow Wilson's presidency no. He gives a pass to Brazen racism of Wilson and neglects the fact FDR's actions worsened the Depression.

[Christopher Keller]

Fascinating history and representative of 1920s American bohemian and liberal, socialist, culture (think John Reed as a contemporary); you get a good view of America and the press, as it functions within, through this perspective.

The tidbit about Otto Van Bismarck is insane if true.

[Harold Norman]

Down to earth, pithy recollections of people and events that shaped the world in the 20th Century. George Seldes made a great contribution to history with this book.

[Dale Stonehouse]

With the perspective of over 75 years observing the world, Seldes' newspaper career brought him into contact with most western and some Communist and Fascist leaders during the 20th century. Some of his stories are more interesting than others, but he covers a lot of ground. He points out some blatant falsehoods of history like the Atlantic being crossed by plane in 1919 by two Brits. Having lived there, his version of the 1936-37 Spanish "civil war" is much different from what is taught in America and elsewhere. Recommended for history buffs in particular.

[John]

A very unusual read from a man who met and interacted with so many powerful folks from 1910 through 1980s or so. Many of the people I never heard of but that only made the book more interesting in respect to pointing out how little we know of history. Quite a bit of coverage of the Spanish (not Civil) War. If he is right, a little more intervention would have headed off Hitler at the get-go. And so on. Its a long book, but stuck with it. This guy training his memory and it is amazing.

[Carl]

At the time and still to this day one of the best books I have ever read! I know I have a lot of top-ten, blah blah blah, but this book is truly worthy of the term great. An amazing man and an amazing life.

[Kate]

What a great book! I love history told from an intimate personal perspective. This book more than fills the bill and is never boring.

[Madeleine]

Thanks for the rec, NPR: http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/201...