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Edstivus
ADVICE ON HOLIDAY BOOK-BUYING FOR THE REST OF US
By Ed Tanl news@flagpole.com
December is here, and the holidays are
near. Reading can be a restful respite from
tension any time, and books are thoughtful
gifts to give or receive during the holidays.
Here are some books that I recommend for
your reading and gift-giving pleasure.
Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom by
Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein is
an appealing new memoir by the journalist
who, alongside colleague Bob Woodward,
broke the story of the Watergate scandal
that toppled the presidency of Richard
Nixon. In Chasing History, Bernstein
doesn’t mention Watergate. Instead he
takes readers back to his days as a teenaged
copyboy at The Washington Star. Bernstein
writes that he was hooked
on the “glorious chaos”
and “purposeful commo
tion” of the newsroom. The
self-described “kid in the
newsroom” did indeed chase
history as a young rookie
reporter who covered such
early-1960s stories as the
civil rights movement, the
space race, the Supreme
Court and the funeral of the
assassinated president John
E Kennedy. News junkies
and history buffs will enjoy
Bernstein’s latest book.
Closer to home, Atlanta
writer Celestine Sibley
is remembered fondly as a
longtime columnist for the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
where her writings were
published for more than
55 years until her death in
1999. The Celestine Sibley
Sampler is a compendium of
Sibley’s writings, along with
photographs and written
tributes to the journalist,
edited by Sibley’s grand
daughter, Sibley Fleming.
The late, beloved Athens
author Terry Kay contrib
uted a touching and self-effacing tribute to
Sibley for this anthology.
Jack Nelson was a young reporter
who exposed crime and corruption here in
Athens and in other Georgia cities during
his years as an Atlanta newspaperman. His
Scoop: The Evolution of a Southern Reporter is
the memoir of a journalist who, along with
Atlanta Journal-Constitution colleagues like
Sibley and charismatic editor/publisher
Ralph McGill, added passion and conscience
to the paper. Nelson won a Pulitzer Prize
in 1960 and covered the civil rights move
ment in its early years. In these times of
moribund newspapers with dwindling read
ership, Scoop is a reminder of why we need
watchful print media now more than ever.
News is history as it happens, and the
best historians write with the immediacy of
news reporters. Historian David Pietrusza
brings the past to life with his readable and
relevant works that take readers inside the
machinations of those who make history.
His latest book, Roosevelt Sweeps Nation:
FDR’s 1936 Election and the Triumph of the
Liberal Ideal, revisits a time when Americans
mired in the Great Depression reelected the
man who promised to bring them out of it.
It is appropriate that the cover of Roosevelt
Sweeps Nation resembles a newspaper’s
front page since the author makes past his
tory crackle with the timeliness of today’s
news. Pietrusza’s other books include 1920:
The Year of the Six Presidents and 1948:
Harry Truman’s Improbable Victory and the
Year That Transformed America. Though
sometimes called a conservative historian,
Pietrusza writes revealing and entertaining
histories that can be enjoyed by those on
any part of the political spectrum.
Another historian who writes with a
screenwriter’s touch is Candace Millard.
Her book Destiny of the Republic: A Tale
of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a
President tells the story of the life and tragic
death of James Garfield—a young, dynamic
president shot by an assassin in 1881,
early in his first term. For two months the
president fought for his life against a bullet
wound and the incessant probing of his
doctors, which hastened his demise. His
death was mourned by millions, and church
bells pealed across this nation as the chief
executive was laid to rest, but today more
Americans know about Garfield the cat than
Garfield the president. Readers of Destiny
of the Republic will discover an American
hero whose senseless murder was a national
tragedy.
During the holidays or during any time,
books show us the connection between our
lives today and our history yesterday. As
astronomer Carl Sagan wrote, “To read is to
voyage through time.” ©
CARL
Chasing History
A KID IN THE NEWSROOM
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DECEMBER 7, 2022- FLAGPOLE.COM
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