In this triumphant memoir, Carl Bernstein, the Pulitzer Prize-winning coauthor of All the President’s Men and pioneer of investigative journalism, recalls his beginnings as an audacious teenage newspaper reporter in the nation’s capital―a winning tale of scrapes, gumshoeing, and American bedlam.
In 1960, Bernstein was just a sixteen-year-old at considerable risk of failing to graduate high school. Inquisitive, self-taught―and, yes, truant―Bernstein landed a job as a copyboy at the Evening Star, the afternoon paper in Washington. By nineteen, he was a reporter there.
In Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom, Bernstein recalls the origins of his storied journalistic career as he chronicles the Kennedy era, the swelling civil rights movement, and a slew of grisly crimes. He spins a buoyant, frenetic account of educating himself in what Bob Woodward describes as “the genius of perpetual engagement.”
Funny and exhilarating, poignant and frank, Chasing History is an extraordinary memoir of life on the cusp of adulthood for a determined young man with a dogged commitment to the truth.
“Chasing History is the brilliantly crafted personal story of Carl Bernstein's self-education as one of the great reporters of all time. He taught himself the genius of perpetual engagement that led us to Watergate―watching, looking, questioning, and overwhelming the moment. His rules―go anywhere, listen hard, push and push some more―are, to this day, the touchstone in investigative reporting."
―Bob Woodward, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and author of 14 #1 New York Times best-selling books
“I loved getting to know the teenage Carl Bernstein, a smart and spirited kid who happened upon the best seat in the country at an extraordinary moment in our national life. The reader marvels as Bernstein, equipped with infinite curiosity and grit, goes from copyboy to newsman, from chasing history to making it.”
―Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize–winning, New York Times #1 bestselling author
“Engaging and vivid, this memoir of the beginning of Carl Bernstein’s journalistic journey is a welcome reminder of how important the press is, and how much fun it used to be. Reading it I was put in the mind of Russell Baker―always a good thing. A terrific read!”
―Jon Meacham, #1 New York Times bestselling author of His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope
“Carl Bernstein’s Chasing History is an irresistible, beautifully written memoir, not just of Carl’s own coming of age but also of the nation’s capital at a time of momentous social and cultural change. The book spans the period exactly 100 years after the Civil War years, and the epic struggle for racial justice is a major theme. Along the way we meet a host of indelible characters, including some of the greatest journalists of their generation. In a sense, Chasing History is misnamed: Bernstein captures his quarry, magnificently.”
―Eugene Robinson, Washington Post columnist and MSNBC political commentator
“The author’s reminiscences of old-school journalism―with its chaotic newsrooms, hot type, and guarded friendships among sources and writers―will please newspaper buffs, those who read the memoirs of H.L Mencken and Joseph Mitchell. . . . An appealingly nostalgic view of a political past unriven by political tribalism, chronicled by a reporter with an eye on history.”
―Kirkus
“Admirers of this remarkable journalist will find much to love in this charming account.”
―Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Bernstein catches history in this thoroughly absorbing read.”
―Booklist, starred review
