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Personal History: A Memoir Kindle Edition
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In this widely acclaimed memoir ("Riveting, moving...a wonderful book" The New York Times Book Review), Katharine Graham tells her story—one that is extraordinary both for the events it encompasses and for the courage, candor, and dignity of its telling.
Here is the awkward child who grew up amid material wealth and emotional isolation; the young bride who watched her brilliant, charismatic husband—a confidant to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson—plunge into the mental illness that would culminate in his suicide. And here is the widow who shook off her grief and insecurity to take on a president and a pressman’s union as she entered the profane boys’ club of the newspaper business.
As timely now as ever, Personal History is an exemplary record of our history and of the woman who played such a shaping role within them, discovering her own strength and sense of self as she confronted—and mastered—the personal and professional crises of her fascinating life.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherVintage
- Publication dateFebruary 9, 2011
- File size2648 KB
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
From Library Journal
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
From Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Disarmingly candid and immensely readable." --Time
"Captivating . . . distinguished by a level of
introspection that ought to be, but rarely is, the touchstone of autobiography." --Newsday
From the Publisher
-Carrie, Random House AudioBooks Publicity
From the Inside Flap
An extraordinarily frank, honest, and generous book by one of America's most famous and admired women, Personal History is, as its title suggests, a book composed of both personal memoir and history.
It is the story of Graham's parents: the multimillionaire father who left private business and government service to buy and restore the down-and-out Washington Post, and the formidable, self-absorbed mother who was more interested in her political and charity work, and her passionate friendships with men like Thomas Mann and Adlai Stevenson, than in her children.
It is the story of how The Washington Post struggled to succeed -- a fascinating and instructive business history as told from the inside (the paper has been run by Graham herself, her father, her husband, and now her son).
It is the story of Phil Graham -- Kay's brilliant, charismatic husband (he clerked for two Supreme Court justices) -- whose plunge into manic-depression, betrayal, and eventual suicide is movingly and charitably recounted.
Best of all, it is the story of Kay Graham herself. She was brought up in a family of great wealth, yet she learned and understood nothing about money. She is half-Jewish, yet -- incredibly -- remained unaware of it for many years.She describes herself as having been naive and awkward, yet intelligent and energetic. She married a man she worshipped, and he fascinated and educated her, and then, in his illness, turned from her and abused her. This destruction of her confidence and happiness is a drama in itself, followed by the even more intense drama of her new life as the head of a great newspaper and a great company, a famous (and even feared) woman in her own right. Hers is a life that came into its own with a vengeance -- a success story on every level.
Graham's book is populated with a cast of fascinating characters, from fifty years of presidents (and their wives), to Steichen, Brancusi, Felix Frankfurter, Warren Buffett (her great advisor and protector), Robert McNamara, George Schultz (her regular tennis partner), and, of course, the great names from the Post: Woodward, Bernstein, and Graham's editorpartner, Ben Bradlee. She writes of them, and of the most dramatic moments of her stewardship of the Post (including the Pentagon Papers, Watergate, and the pressmen's strike), with acuity, humor, and good judgment. Her book is about learning by doing, about growing and growing up, about Washington, and about a woman liberated by both circumstance and her own great strengths.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
From the Back Cover
"Riveting, moving . . . a wonderful book." --Nora Ephron, The New York Times Book Review
"Disarmingly candid and immensely readable . . . an invaluable inside glimpse of the most critical turning points in American journalism." --Time
About the Author
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
My parents' paths first crossed in a museum on 23rd Street in New York. It was Lincoln's Birthday, 1908. Eugene Meyer, who was thirty-two years old, had been in business for himself for only a few years, but had already made several million dollars. Agnes Ernst, just twenty-one and a recent graduate of Barnard, was strikingly beautiful. She was earning her own living and helping to support her family as well by her free-lance work for a newspaper, the old New York Sun. She was also interested in the art world, which was what brought her to the exhibit of Japanese prints. Both her interests and her work were unusual for a woman in those days.
On his way down to Wall Street, my father, who was driving a Stanley Steamer, one of the earliest automobiles, noticed an acquaintance whom he didn't especially like. But Edgar Kohler looked frail and dejected and my father felt sorry for him, so he offered him a ride, mentioning that he was going to stop off at a Japanese-print exhibit. Kohler decided to accompany him.
Going into the gallery, they met two friends coming out, who assessed the exhibition this way: "There's a girl walking around who's better-looking than anything on the walls." Once inside, Kohler and my father immediately spotted her -- a tall young woman with fair hair and blue eyes, clearly strong, dynamic, and self-assured. My mother always remembered what she was wearing that day, because she felt that her "costume," as she called it, had played a part in her destiny. She must have been quite a sight m her gray tweed suit and small squirrel cap adorned with an eagle feather. My father, on seeing her, said to Kohler, "That's the girl I'm going to marry."
Are you serious?" Kohler asked, to which my father responded, "I was never more serious in my whole life." Kohler, supposing that they'd never run into her :again, suggested that my father speak to her. "No. That would offend her and spoil everything," my father replied. The two men then agreed that whoever subsequently might meet her first would introduce her to the other.
Just a week later, Kohler called my father and said, "Guess what happened?" "You met the girl," was the ready answer. "Damn you, I did," Kohler responded. He had been to a party at the home of one of Agnes's Barnard classmates, where they were giving an amateur performance of The Merry Wido7v in which my mother was playing Count Danilo. When she appeared after the performance out of costume, Kohler realized that she was the girl from the art show. He introduced himself, told her about the pact with my father, and arranged a lunch for the three of them.
My father's friend had fulfilled his pledge by introducing Eugene and Agnes to each other. On Lincoln's Birthday in 1910, two years to the day after Eugene had first seen Agnes in the gallery, they were married. When I look back over my long life, if there is one thing that leaps out at me it is the role of luck and chance in our lives. From this particular string of accidental happenings all the rest followed.
My father came from a distinguished Jewish family with roots going back many generations in Alsace-Lorraine, France. It was a family that numbered many rabbis and civic leaders. Jacob Meyer, my great-greatgrandfather, who was awarded the Legion of Honor, had actually been a member of the Sanhedrin, the college of Jewish notables called by Napoleon I in connection with recognizing the rights of Jews as citizens.
My paternal grandfather, named Marc Eugene Meyer, but always called Eugene, was born in 1842 in Strasbourg, the youngest of four children by his father's second wife. When his father died, his mother was left penniless, and Eugene could stay in school only until the age of fourteen; then, as his siblings had already done, he went to work to help support the family. He first worked for two Blum brothers who owned one store in Alsace and another -- improbably -- in Donaldsonville, Mississippi, and when one of young Eugene's bosses said he was going to America, my grandfather decided to go with him. In Paris, on the way, he was introduced by Blum to Alexandre Lazard of the firm of Lazard Freres, who gave him an introduction to their San Francisco partner. Eugene traveled to New York on the fastest boat going, a side-wheeler, for a third-class fare of $110, leaving Europe in September 1859. From New York he took a steamship to Panama, crossed the Isthmus by rail, and then caught another steamer to San Francisco, at that time a city of fifty thousand or so people. He spent two years there, learning English and saving a little money from his job at an auction house, until in 1861 he moved to Los Angeles, where a cousin of the Lazards' was said to need a clerk for his store. As described by Eugene himself, the town was made up of only three or four thousand inhabitants, mostly foreigners. There were four brick houses -- the rest were adobe with roofs that cracked. There were no paved streets or sewers. The water for both drinking and irrigation came from ditches. My grandfather stayed in Los Angeles for the next twenty-two years.
He started as clerk and bookkeeper, living in the general store's back room. Sometimes he slept on the counter with his gun, to protect the merchandise. As his reputation for reliability and sobriety spread, some of his new friends began leaving money with him, for there were no banks. Within three years, he became a general partner in the store, which came to be known as "The City of Paris." Within ten years, he and his brother Constant had taken it over. He also started lending money, became director of a bank and organizer of the Los Angeles Social Club, and helped maintain law and order as a member of the Vigilance Committee. He was an incorporator of the city water system, involved in real estate and mining investments, and doubled as the French consular agent. In 1867, he married the sixteen-year-old Harriet Newmark, whose father, a rabbi, performed the ceremony, following which a sumptuous dinner was served at the couple's new home -- complete with ice cream, something new to Los Angeles.
My father, named Eugene Isaac Meyer after his father and grandfather, was born in 1875, the first boy in the family after three girls, Rosalie, Elise, and Florence. Four more children followed: two daughters, Ruth and Aline; and two sons, Walter and the youngest child, Edgar. Harriet, not as strong as her husband, became a more or less permanent invalid -- whether from having eight children by the age of thirty-two under pioneering medical conditions or because there was some depression involved, or both. As a result, my father's mother-figure in his youth was his sister Rosalie, six years older than he, who left school to help raise her siblings.
These early circumstances help me understand my father's personality. His father was very strict and not particularly loving, as far as I can tell, and the only real mother-figure was a near-contemporary, sweet and sensitive but overwhelmed by being thrust into a position of authority well before she was ready for it. There couldn't have been much parental love for all those children, with the father ambitious and driven and no real mother. My father himself was never very good at personal relations of the intimate kind; the feelings were there, but they went unexpressed.
Early in 1884, my father moved with his family back to San Francisco, a city by then of 225,000 with much better educational and medical facilities than Los Angeles could offer the large Meyer family. It was also safer. I remember my father saying of his early days in Los Angeles that everyone carried a Derringer and almost every night someone was shot. But though my grandfather may have been pleased with the move, my father, a young boy of eight, immediately became embattled. He was a loner and a fighter, forced by his family to wear clothes -- including a white starched Eton collar -- that made him look "different." Older boys at school would put the younger ones in a circle, pitting them against each other. The fights would stop only when someone had a nosebleed, and this was usually my poor father. Nonetheless, he was forced to learn to fight to defend himself, all the while receiving severe reprimands from his father for his rough behavior. These encounters toughened him to the point where, when the family moved to Alameda, to improve his mother's health by removing her from San Francisco's fog, young Eugene outfought the local bully, who had previously ruled the playground. This victory had the dubious effect of making him the top troublemaker, both at school and at home. He led the younger
children in rebellion against the housekeeper, generally made mischief, and teased the girls, especially harassing poor Rosalie.
Alameda had done my grandmother no good, and it proved too remote to be practical for my grandfather, so after a short time the family moved back to San Francisco. It was the third change of school for my father. After getting hit in the eye by a baseball, he was forbidden to play, on the grounds that it would worry his mother. Football and sailing on a nearby lake had also been forbidden. He was, however, allowed to take fencing lessons, and boxing lessons from Gentleman Jim Corbett, later heavyweight champion of the world, but these too were stopped when a picture appeared in the paper of the lesson with Corbett, who was seeking publicity. He went on having a difficult time in school, and endured being called a sheeny, along with others who were called wops, micks, and chinks.
The family belonged to a Reformed Jewish congregation, and Eugene was instructed in Jewish history, Hebrew, and the meaning of religion, but when it came time for his bar mitzvah, he declined. Asked to declare "perfect faith," he said, "I believe some of these things, but I don't believe them all with perfect faith." He was never overtly religious, yet was later involved in Jewish charities, c...
From AudioFile
Product details
- ASIN : B004FYZ3P4
- Publisher : Vintage (February 9, 2011)
- Publication date : February 9, 2011
- Language : English
- File size : 2648 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 912 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #229,744 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #36 in Book Publishing Industry
- #72 in Biographies of Journalists
- #240 in Journalism Writing Reference (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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Customers find the book easy to read and engaging with its vivid descriptions. They appreciate the author's insights into history, politics, media, and human relationships. The author is described as a remarkable woman who lives a memorable life. Readers praise the honesty and candor of the autobiography.
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Customers find the memoirs well-written and easy to read. They appreciate the elegant use of English language and the inclusion of dialogue from old letters. The book explores the history of a great newspaper in detail and is described as a period piece about a woman leader in a man's field.
"...In fact, she often goes into elaborate detail and includes dialogue from old letters, etc...." Read more
"...She was obviously a brilliant writer and a superior intellect, but there is just so much I can read about her enjoyment of the benefits of her..." Read more
"...I thoroughly enjoyed this well-written and engaging memoir for its historical perspective, its insight into privilege and its trajectory of a very..." Read more
"...and not so famous friends throughout the book, its a long but great read." Read more
Customers enjoy the captivating story with vivid descriptions of events and emotional experiences. They find the account of a significant time in history fascinating from the author's unique perspective. The book provides a good overall recap of the author's life, with detailed content and an entertaining narrative.
"...In fact, she often goes into elaborate detail and includes dialogue from old letters, etc...." Read more
"Great woman, great leader, great story, informative" Read more
"This well-told story mirrors the evolution of women's role in society during the 20th century through the first person experiences of one remarkable..." Read more
"...In her memoir is a compelling story of a woman persisting in a man's world, relying upon her sensibilities and succeeding despite her propensity to..." Read more
Customers find the book insightful and informative. They appreciate the author's personal revelations and insights into history, politics, media, and human relationships. The detailed personal details and facts about the times in which the author lived provide valuable context. Readers also mention that the experience comes from a very human psyche.
"...or five different lives, and she goes into the major events with enormous detail...." Read more
"...She was obviously a brilliant writer and a superior intellect, but there is just so much I can read about her enjoyment of the benefits of her..." Read more
"...found two important take-aways from reading this entertaining and informative book: The importance of a free press in keeping those in power in check..." Read more
"...and engaging memoir for its historical perspective, its insight into privilege and its trajectory of a very impressive person who was also a woman...." Read more
Customers find the book engaging and interesting. They appreciate Katharine Graham's life story as a remarkable woman, with her early life providing an excellent introduction to her future life. The book makes readers want to meet and get to know the author, who is described as intelligent, capable, and a role model for young women.
"Great woman, great leader, great story, informative" Read more
"...in society during the 20th century through the first person experiences of one remarkable woman...." Read more
"...perspective, its insight into privilege and its trajectory of a very impressive person who was also a woman...." Read more
"...on the role of women over time, and how this intelligent and capable woman came to find her own strength...." Read more
Customers find the autobiography engaging and well-written. They appreciate the author's personal history and commentary on 60-70 years of history. The book provides an eloquent account of Graham's life and times, putting her personal insights into a strong historical context.
"...An excellent autobiography." Read more
"A very candid account of her life, packed with details of a different time to more current day issues...." Read more
"Wow! Personal History is exceptionally well-written and the voice is authentic...." Read more
"...It is well documented and beautifully written - without the aid of a ghostwriter...." Read more
Customers find the author honest and candid in her autobiography. They appreciate her candor and humility in describing her own failings. The author's clear assessment of herself, family members, and others makes the story interesting and believable.
"...to run a company and help it grow both from a journalistic viewpoint of absolute integrity and a corporate viewpoint of maintaining profitability...." Read more
"...She is very frank about her insecurities and the help she received and took advantage of after the death of her husband, who is a whole story on his..." Read more
"...it makes her strengths and successes all the more interesting and believable. Here we leArn the history of an amazing frankly and a great newspaper." Read more
"...It is a wonderful biography. Very honest and interesting. Makes you want to meet and get to know the woman...." Read more
Customers find the book too long and exhausting.
"Katherine Graham's Autobiography is long and exhausting - she unsparingly discusses all aspects of her life...." Read more
"...This book may be long, but life’s journey is long if we are so lucky and you will come to the end as a much wiser person." Read more
"I agree with many other reviewers: this book was too long and could have used more judicious editing, especially in the first half...." Read more
"While it is very long, it was even more interesting than I expected...." Read more
Customers find the book's pacing slow and drawn-out. They struggle to read some sections due to the flat writing style. The first half is considered dull and slow, with parts being a little drawn-out.
"...While I found some of the chapters very dry, it was fascinating to learn of her very upper class and rather odd childhood...." Read more
"...It took me a long time to get through this book because of the dull first half, but I resolved to finish it on a long flight...." Read more
"...A few parts were a little drawn out, like the paper’s labor issues, but still interesting...." Read more
"Arrived on time. Great read." Read more
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Graham led a productive, meaningful, and impactful life
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- Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2010I must have read this book ten times by now but find myself returning to it constantly. Here is a woman who was born into such privilege and wealth that she could have led a perfectly meaningless life. Yet her parents had solid values, she married an ambitious, smart man, and when he died, she oversaw the Washington Post through its most interesting period, the sixties through the eighties. Just reading about the events of her life is like getting the CliffNotes version of American history. The cast of characters is like a Who's Who of influential people, but not once does the reader feel that she's bragging. In many instances she talks frankly about her mistakes, big and small, without giving the impression that her account of the story of self-serving. She talks about her own self absorption and neglect of her two younger children after her husband's mental illness and subsequent suicide. Of particular note is a particularly unflattering description of her written by Robert Redford (who starred in All the President's Men). Redford's letter (quoted in the book) seems to confirm to us -- the readers -- our deepest suspicions about Kay Graham, that she is snobby and blue-blooded to the core, but she explains herself remarkably well without offering excuses. I find it hard not to admire her frankness and willingness to tell us the less flattering bits.
Personal History essentially covers her four or five different lives, and she goes into the major events with enormous detail. Every successive life she has is more incredible than the last -- never does the reader feel that she has glossed over parts of the story. In fact, she often goes into elaborate detail and includes dialogue from old letters, etc. One thing I've read in some negative reviews is that she's 'just a spoiled rich girl.' In fact she spends a lot of time making it perfectly clear that she is privileged and that a lot of things she has had in life had little to do with her own abilities -- the acquisition of The Post by her father, for example. But what's remarkable is that she never ran away from what she was supposed to do. And for this -- as well as for her honesty -- she is an inspiration to us all. This is by far my favorite book!
- Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2019War and Peace was a breeze compared to Ms. Graham's memoirs. She was obviously a brilliant writer and a superior intellect, but there is just so much I can read about her enjoyment of the benefits of her wealth, the minutiae of the Washington Post's history, and well, just about everything else. I am certain she did not even forget to include the slightest incident in this book. I only made it through halfway. I don't regret reading her account, but I must say I just had to say "enough" and put it down. Four stars is the least I can give it, considering the quality of her writing, but where was her editor?
- Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2024Great woman, great leader, great story, informative
- Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2023Born into privilege, Katharine Graham’s life was defined by and devoted to her family’s company, The Washington Post. While she could have taken it easy and led a life of leisure (she didn’t know how to fold her own clothes in college because “that was always done for me”) she instead took on the stress and challenges of operating a Fortune 500 company. She did this despite her obvious lack of experience and being the only women in the room, pretty much all the time. “Since I regarded myself as inferior,” she wrote, “I failed to distinguish between, on the one hand, male condescension because I was a woman and, on the other hand, a valid view that the only reason I had my job was the good luck of my birth and the bad luck of my husband’s death.” There was plenty of both, but Graham managed to find success through sheer determination and a deep desire to bring good journalism to the people. While her start at The Washington Post was rocky, her confidence grew over the years as she grew into the job and began to accumulate some successes. She covered many presidents (and knew a few personally) from JFK and LBJ to Nixon and eventually Reagan, Bush, and Clinton.
Graham’s autobiography is also a biography of The Washington Post newspaper and company—the family owned Newsweek magazine for many years in addition to a few local television and radio stations in select cities around the country. The paper, originally founded in 1877, was sold to Graham’s father at auction in 1933. Keeping it in the family, he eventually passed ownership on to Katharine’s husband Philip in 1946. The burdens of the job (and an undiagnosed mental illness) would eventually lead Phil to take his own life in 1963, catapulting Katharine into the position of president and CEO, one which she held for nearly thirty years before eventually passing the family torch once again to her own son Donald.
While ownership of the company passed from one generation to the next, Graham always did her best to maintain her integrity with her readership and insisted on impartial journalism. Today, much of journalism feels as though it is written with a specific ideology behind it, but that was not always the case in the United States. “People who may disagree on politics must still be able to communicate, and it’s crucial for all of us in the press to listen to all sides,” she writes of her time at the newspaper. “I consider it the role of the head of a newspaper to be bipartisan and to bring journalists together with people from government. I think that an easy relationship is constructive and useful for both sides: it helps the publication by opening doors, and provides those who are covered in the news with the knowledge of whom they can suggest ideas to, complain to, and generally deal with.” As a means of honoring their bipartisanship, The Post maintained a precedent of not endorsing political candidates for many years, until eventually breaking this pattern in the 1976 election when they officially endorsed Jimmy Carter.
The relationship between government and press is a vital one to a free and open society, and as one of the most prominent news sources in the capital city of Washington D.C. Graham and her associates at The Post had an important job: keeping those in power in check. While her career spanned many important years, there are two distinct events that had massive impact on her tenure. The first was the publication of the Pentagon Papers—which revealed the US’s involvement in Vietnam to be much more vast and devastating than the public originally knew about—and the second was the Watergate Scandal. Watergate, which progressively unfolded from 1972-1974 and eventually culminated in President Nixon’s resignation from office, was a political scandal unlike any other. “Its sheer magnitude and reach put it on a scale altogether different from past political scandals,” Graham remembers, “in part because of the unparalleled involvement of so many men so close to the president and because of the large amounts of money raised, stashed, and spent in covert and illegal ways.” The story revealed the depths of corruption throughout the different branches of government and the lengths to which Nixon was willing to go to cover it all up. Graham herself spent much of her time during the scandal as one of the top names on Nixon’s list of public enemies. Despite the immense pressure to drop the investigation, Graham pushed her reporters to continue pulling at the strings until the entire sweater unravelled. “As astounding as Watergate was to the country and the government, it underscored the crucial role of a free, able, and energetic press.”
In conclusion, I found two important take-aways from reading this entertaining and informative book: The importance of a free press in keeping those in power in check, and the importance of leading a life of purpose. Graham could have easily taken her family’s money and done whatever she wanted with her life, including nothing at all. Instead, her parents pushed her (and her four siblings) to live lives of fulfillment and productivity. She then passed these same sentiments on to her own children. Playing a central role in the production of news and the diagnosing of politics led Graham to live an extraordinary life, one of equal parts joy and hardship. Her mark on history was made in the face of gender-discrimination and is a shining example to us all of the importance of leading a life of purpose.
5.0 out of 5 stars Graham led a productive, meaningful, and impactful lifeBorn into privilege, Katharine Graham’s life was defined by and devoted to her family’s company, The Washington Post. While she could have taken it easy and led a life of leisure (she didn’t know how to fold her own clothes in college because “that was always done for me”) she instead took on the stress and challenges of operating a Fortune 500 company. She did this despite her obvious lack of experience and being the only women in the room, pretty much all the time. “Since I regarded myself as inferior,” she wrote, “I failed to distinguish between, on the one hand, male condescension because I was a woman and, on the other hand, a valid view that the only reason I had my job was the good luck of my birth and the bad luck of my husband’s death.” There was plenty of both, but Graham managed to find success through sheer determination and a deep desire to bring good journalism to the people. While her start at The Washington Post was rocky, her confidence grew over the years as she grew into the job and began to accumulate some successes. She covered many presidents (and knew a few personally) from JFK and LBJ to Nixon and eventually Reagan, Bush, and Clinton.
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2023
Graham’s autobiography is also a biography of The Washington Post newspaper and company—the family owned Newsweek magazine for many years in addition to a few local television and radio stations in select cities around the country. The paper, originally founded in 1877, was sold to Graham’s father at auction in 1933. Keeping it in the family, he eventually passed ownership on to Katharine’s husband Philip in 1946. The burdens of the job (and an undiagnosed mental illness) would eventually lead Phil to take his own life in 1963, catapulting Katharine into the position of president and CEO, one which she held for nearly thirty years before eventually passing the family torch once again to her own son Donald.
While ownership of the company passed from one generation to the next, Graham always did her best to maintain her integrity with her readership and insisted on impartial journalism. Today, much of journalism feels as though it is written with a specific ideology behind it, but that was not always the case in the United States. “People who may disagree on politics must still be able to communicate, and it’s crucial for all of us in the press to listen to all sides,” she writes of her time at the newspaper. “I consider it the role of the head of a newspaper to be bipartisan and to bring journalists together with people from government. I think that an easy relationship is constructive and useful for both sides: it helps the publication by opening doors, and provides those who are covered in the news with the knowledge of whom they can suggest ideas to, complain to, and generally deal with.” As a means of honoring their bipartisanship, The Post maintained a precedent of not endorsing political candidates for many years, until eventually breaking this pattern in the 1976 election when they officially endorsed Jimmy Carter.
The relationship between government and press is a vital one to a free and open society, and as one of the most prominent news sources in the capital city of Washington D.C. Graham and her associates at The Post had an important job: keeping those in power in check. While her career spanned many important years, there are two distinct events that had massive impact on her tenure. The first was the publication of the Pentagon Papers—which revealed the US’s involvement in Vietnam to be much more vast and devastating than the public originally knew about—and the second was the Watergate Scandal. Watergate, which progressively unfolded from 1972-1974 and eventually culminated in President Nixon’s resignation from office, was a political scandal unlike any other. “Its sheer magnitude and reach put it on a scale altogether different from past political scandals,” Graham remembers, “in part because of the unparalleled involvement of so many men so close to the president and because of the large amounts of money raised, stashed, and spent in covert and illegal ways.” The story revealed the depths of corruption throughout the different branches of government and the lengths to which Nixon was willing to go to cover it all up. Graham herself spent much of her time during the scandal as one of the top names on Nixon’s list of public enemies. Despite the immense pressure to drop the investigation, Graham pushed her reporters to continue pulling at the strings until the entire sweater unravelled. “As astounding as Watergate was to the country and the government, it underscored the crucial role of a free, able, and energetic press.”
In conclusion, I found two important take-aways from reading this entertaining and informative book: The importance of a free press in keeping those in power in check, and the importance of leading a life of purpose. Graham could have easily taken her family’s money and done whatever she wanted with her life, including nothing at all. Instead, her parents pushed her (and her four siblings) to live lives of fulfillment and productivity. She then passed these same sentiments on to her own children. Playing a central role in the production of news and the diagnosing of politics led Graham to live an extraordinary life, one of equal parts joy and hardship. Her mark on history was made in the face of gender-discrimination and is a shining example to us all of the importance of leading a life of purpose.
Images in this review - Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2018This well-told story mirrors the evolution of women's role in society during the 20th century through the first person experiences of one remarkable woman. Sometimes there was too much detail, other times not enough. Along the way, some important moments in American history are intertwined with her own history. An excellent autobiography.
Top reviews from other countries
- CmiriReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 22, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Eloquent and witty memoir with surprising twists if you're not familiar with her background
My husband got me this book as a surprise, since he had heard Warren Buffet mention it. I knew next to nothing about Katherine Graham (this may be different to those who were her contemporary fellows) - her background, her marriage, her Post career - and did not even read the synopsis: All of this made for an excellent read as turns and twists were truly surprising.
Therefore, don't continue reading this review if you were like me - just go ahead and read the first couple of pages and you'll get hooked:
I would say this book breaks down into three parts, her upbringing, her marriage and her years as a professional working woman. I loved all three parts.
The first one (her upbringing) was the most entertaining part written with wit, humor and a good amount of self-depreciation. In a refreshing way, she tells of complex family relationships - something I think anyone can relate to. And she does so with respect to each family member, yet openly and candidly and also with a good amount of self-criticism looking back from her 79 years' old vantage point.
The second one tells the story of her own family life and no doubt the very painful downward spiral of her marriage and ensuring tragedy. She does not hold back, but again with full respect of all individuals involved. It was a very very powerful read and no doubt sharing her very intimate story will be helpful to those in similar situations. No money, no privilege can bar you from mental health issues.
The last point was the most interesting read from my professional end-thirties point of view. She tells of her experience as the only woman in a corporate man's world and looks back again with a good amount of introspection. She admits of beliefs she held that no doubt are uncomfortable to admit, and hence it makes for a candid and powerful read. Of her self-doubts, feelings of inadequacy, insecurities - and yet she made it in a marvelous way. It will remind every woman that there is no perfection, and that - yes, you too can climb up the corporate latter, because every leader has their doubts. Nobody is perfect but women often think they should be, especially at the top of a company.
On the downside, the writing of the last third part felt more like a summary of events, less than a story. She tells about watergate, the Pentagon papers and the pressmen's strike, but more descriptive, less psychologically insightful. I also missed parts of the family stories that made the first part of the book so special, but I understand she did so out of respect of people's privacy.
All in all, this was one of the best 'surprise reads'. I did not know what to expect, got hooked within the first three pages, and was well-rewarded.
- Magda ElKafrawyReviewed in Canada on March 19, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars For people who love history and politics
For people who love history and politics, this book is fascinating (not to mention the very compelling personal aspect of the author's life). Especially powerful has been reading about how she took the reins as leader of the WP because in her mind there was simply no other option, stepping into gigantic shoes very reticently, but nonetheless with the obvious underlying confidence that it could (and had) to be done. It's a story that is equal parts fascination and inspiration.
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ClaudiaReviewed in Brazil on March 3, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars Simplesmente Maravilhoso
Simplesmente maravilhoso. Narrativa sincera, envolvente, muito bem escrita. Sempre admirei muito a Katharine Graham, mas ultrapassou as expectativas. Excelente, Adorei.
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FerylegasReviewed in Mexico on September 13, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente libro
Una historia maravillosa, creo que vale toda la pena saber la historia de este personaje tan controversial. Les resultará fascinante
Altamente recomendado
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Angela Mata DiazReviewed in Spain on June 19, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Muy interesante
Es muy interesante lo que cuenta.