"Reporter is just wonderful. Truly a great life, and what shines out of the book, amid the low cunning and tireless legwork, is Hersh's warmth and humanity. This book is essential reading for every journalist and aspiring journalist the world over." —John le Carré
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning, best-selling author and preeminent investigative journalist of our time—a heartfelt, hugely revealing memoir of a decades-long career breaking some of the most impactful stories of the last half-century, from Washington to Vietnam to the Middle East.
Seymour Hersh's fearless reporting has earned him fame, front-page bylines in virtually every major newspaper in the free world, honors galore, and no small amount of controversy. Now in this memoir he describes what drove him and how he worked as an independent outsider, even at the nation's most prestigious publications. He tells the stories behind the stories—riveting in their own right—as he chases leads, cultivates sources, and grapples with the weight of what he uncovers, daring to challenge official narratives handed down from the powers that be. In telling these stories, Hersh divulges previously unreported information about some of his biggest scoops, including the My Lai massacre and the horrors at Abu Ghraib. There are also illuminating recollections of some of the giants of American politics and journalism: Ben Bradlee, A. M. Rosenthal, David Remnick, and Henry Kissinger among them. This is essential reading on the power of the printed word at a time when good journalism is under fire as never before.
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"Candid and revelatory . . . Compared to the contemporary field of blogs, bots, and opinion-driven reportage, the last half of the twentieth-century can look like the heyday of honest and critical journalism. But even now, Hersh remains at the vanguard of tenacious and purposeful writers who speak truth to power, and surely he’s inspiring the best at work now. Journalism junkies will devour this insider’s account of a distinguished career."
— Booklist (starred review)
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2018 | A Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year
What a story. What a life. It’s hard to read this book without a tinge of envy and a lot of admiration.
— Charles Glass, Times Literary SupplementA master class in the craft of reporting.
— Alan Rusbridger, The New York Times Book ReviewReporter is a miracle. . . The stories brim with humor, wit, poignancy, pointillist portraits of brilliant color—above all, [Hersh's] own voice.
— Andrew Meier, BookforumOne of the most compelling and significant books ever written about American journalism.
— Jon Schwarz, The Intercept"Intimate without ever turning to confession . . . Like all good memoirs, this one shows more than it says, and is a work of conscience as well as memory.
— David Bromwich, Times Literary Supplement “Books of the Year”[Hersh] is a classic American archetype—the lone warrior on a quest for truth and justice . . . good books about the making of journalism are few and far between, and Hersh’s memoir is a welcome addition.
— Glenn Frankel, The Washington PostCinematically-detailed and warmly human storytelling that's at once reminiscent of vintage Hersh and also tonally unlike anything else he's ever written . . . Ultimately the book yields up a warts-and-all picture not just of Hersh but of an entire era of journalism.
— Steve Donoghue, Christian Science MonitorRiveting.
— James Bovard, American ConservativeWhen it comes time for the next generation of journalists to re-discover what this job is supposed to be about, they can at least read Reporter. It's all in here.
— Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone“Hersh has been one of America’s premier investigative journalist . . . an untethered operator whose scoops have resulted from veering from the pack. Reporter offers a best-practices guide to journalism as well as an implicit critique of the way it’s practiced today.
— Michael Massing, The NationThe experience of reading Hersh’s memoir is like visiting a lost world . . . To put it in a callow way, this stuff is cool.
— Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic“In Reporter, even the footnotes are priceless . . . [the book] has more juicy background, action-packed storytelling and name-drops per page than any book in recent memory, all told in straightforward style. At its center is a profane, dogged, passionate, tireless, old-fashioned reporter who brought to light schisms, coverups and outrages that informed the world.
— Claude Peck, Minneapolis Star TribuneReading Reporter is to be reminded of the true power of journalism.
— Lorraine Berry, SignatureReporter is just wonderful. Truly a great life, and what shines out of the book, amid the low cunning and tireless legwork, is Hersh's warmth and humanity. This book is essential reading for every journalist and aspiring journalist the world over.
— John le CarréOnce he catches the spoor of a My Lai, Hersh’s tracking is a model of craft and control. He bargains with sources, gains knowledge by pretending to have it, or not have it, already; sneaks around; tricks, cajoles, plays his subjects; and engages in a one-man guerrilla war against an embarrassed U.S. government. He is calculating, cold-blooded, well-behaved, and professional.
— Graeme Wood, The American ScholarOften reads like a case study in how to write a political thriller . . . A fascinating look at an era when quality reporting was the result of will and determination (and knowing the right contacts). An excellent choice for readers interested in late 20th-century politics.
— Library JournalReporter is a captivating memoir that could inspire a new generation of journalists.
— Robert Weibezahl, BookPageThere’s gripping journalistic intrigue aplenty as [Hersh] susses out sources and documents, fences with officials, and fields death threats. . . . Hersh himself is brash and direct, but never cynical, and his memoir is as riveting as the great journalistic exposés he produced.
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)Outstanding . . . Rarely has a journalist's memoir come together so well, with admirable measures of self-deprecation, transparent pride, readable prose style, and honesty.
— Kirkus (starred review)“The investigative reporter’s journalistic writing style is straightforward, easy to follow, and eminently suited to audio. Topping that off is the narration of Arthur Morey, who adopts a conversational tone exactly suited to the material…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFileBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Seymour M. Hersch is one of America’s premier investigative reporters. In 1969 he wrote the first account of the My Lai massacre in South Vietnam. In the 1970s he worked at the New York Times in Washington and New York. He has won more than a dozen major journalism prizes, including the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting and four George Polk Awards.
Arthur Morey has won three AudioFile Magazine “Best Of” Awards, and his work has garnered numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and placed him as a finalist for two Audie Awards. He has acted in a number of productions, both off Broadway in New York and off Loop in Chicago. He graduated from Harvard and did graduate work at the University of Chicago. He has won awards for his fiction and drama, worked as an editor with several book publishers, and taught literature and writing at Northwestern University. His plays and songs have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Milan, where he has also performed.