No comments about Goldwyn: A Biography Part 2 Of 2.

5 comments about A Good Life: Newspapering and other Adventures.

1. Ben Bradlee's book, "A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures", is a warm, candid and entertaining look back over a remarkable career and personal life. His writing is honest, revealing and to the point. He indeed has had an interesting life. The Watergate and the Pentagon Papers experiences are covered in detail. I became interested in reading this book after reading the book "All the President's Men" and watching the movie of the same title. I would highly recommend this book! Ben comes across as an smart, honest and decent man who worked very hard to earn his achievements.



2. Here's the magic mathematical formula for writing your very own version of "A Good Life." Even better, you don't have to set foot in a newsroom:
   
   ("I banged famous chick")x 51 + ("I met famous person") x 2,453, divided by the number of times you tell your boss how things should be done ("0"), and - viola (an allusion to your time in France) - you've got your own self-serving autobiography! And it doesn't come larded with any of Bradlee's prose, something which should be apparent from the formula.
   
   Good luck with your work!



3. Ben Bradlee and wife Tony lived on the same side of the same Washington, D.C. block as Senator John Kennedy, which is how they became friends with him and Jackie. After JFK's election to the Presidency, their friendship continued. He invited the Bradlees to Camp David, the family compound at Hyannis and for private dinners. At one glamorous White House function, Kennedy sat between Tony Bradlee and her sister Mary, who was also his friend. How close the two were was revealed much later.
   
   Some time after Kennedy's death, Mary was walking along a D.C. canal when she was grabbed from behind. Her assailant stuck a gun under her chin and pulled the trigger; she died instantly. Shortly after the funeral, Mary's best friend phoned Tony Bradlee, inquiring after Mary's personal diary, which she said had been promised to her. When the Bradlees went to Mary's home to locate the book, they encountered inside it the friend's husband, a CIA operative known as "The Locksmith." He said his wife had sent him to retrieve the diary.
   
   When they eventually found it, Ben and Tony were appalled to discover details in the diary of sister Mary's affair with JFK, one that lasted from early 1962 until his Nov. '63 death. They innocently handed the book over to their CIA friend, who promised to destroy it, and never at the time considered the implications of the two violent deaths and an interested CIA.
   
   This is just one of many remarkable stories in Ben Bradlee's A GOOD LIFE. From his teenaged recovery from polio, Harvard graduation, service on a WWII destroyer in the hazardous South Seas off Guadalcanal, City Editorship of a New Hampshire paper, a brief stint at the Washington Post then as a Paris-based foreign correspondent who traveled all over Europe and the Middle East, to a job as assistant to the American ambassador in Paris, to Newsweek and again the Washington Post, Ben Bradlee's "good life" was a full and eventful one, as well. A most fascinating and well-written autobiography. Highest recommendation!
   
   
   ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, details their investigation as Washington Post reporters under Ben Bradlee of the biggest Presidential scandal in American history, that of Watergate, which led to the resignation in disgrace of Richard Nixon.



4. Mr. Bradlee's book is a crisply written and most entertaining look at his family life and his life in journalism, from the period leading up to World War Two on through the Watergate Era. This is autobiographical writing at its best; honest, informative, funny, sad, hopeful, and never boring. I learned a lot from reading this book. I hope high schools and colleges are using this fine work as part of any course on post-WW2 U.S. history.
   
   A great book by a great writer.



5. A superior autobiography by the managing editor of the WASHINGTON POST. Bradlee spent a good part of the latter half of the 20th century at the center of some of the most historical first amendment controveries, from the Pentagon Papers to Watergate (for which he served as mentor/father figure to ace reporters Woodward and Bernstein and later was portrayed by no less than Jason Robards in the now classic film ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN). His book is written in a very conversational style, easy to digest and chock full of insights into Bradlee's life and career, his friendships with JFK and POST owner Kay Graham as well as an honest depiction of his often less than peaceful home life (he's been married three times). There's the heartfelt as Bradlee recollects the mysterious death of his sister-in-law Mary Pinchot Meyer (she was shot to death in a Washington DC park and her belongings were sought by the CIA) as well as the comical (Bradlee and ROLLING STONE editor Jann Wenner stalking Richard Nixon & Bebe Rebozo on a beach in St. Maarten). A good life and a great read.

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5 comments about The Ditchdigger's Daughters.

1. This was a great read. I heard about this book on a book panel hosted in the Harlem book fair this past summer. The story of a man who wanted all of his daughters to become doctors was definitely off the chart, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be tried. This author presented her story in a matter that any family can relate to especially when it comes to hardships. I enjoyed the spiritual meaning in this story, especially knowing that God is always there no matter how hard the task. The author was also impartial, she able to show members of her family without having any negative or positive extremes. She just showed them as they are with a little humor. Overall, this was a great read that showed that Black Americans paved the way for many people especially immigrants of different ethnic backgrounds coming into this country.



2. My wife and I saw Brian Lamb's interview with Dr. Thornton on CSpan and were inspired. I thoroughly enjoyed every word of the book and recommend it to all our friends. I felt like I was walking 4 feet off the floor after finishing this wonderful book. Good parenting does not depend on education, money, or anything else but determination to set good and easily understood rules and sticking to them.
   
   The New Jersey ditch digger was a great man and a master parent. All parents of children need to read this book and follow its precepts. It is fun to read so don't worry about being bored.



3. In my introduction of Dr. Yvonne Thornton, for our interview about her memoir, The Ditchdigger's Daughters, I gave this synopsis of the book:
   
   "It's the story of five girls born into a black family as World War II came to a close and America looked to its next challenge: the Civil Rights movement. Donald and Tass Thornton loved each other and they loved their children. That's it. He was a laborer and she was a housekeeper. But, as often is the case, what we do isn't always the true measure of what we are. They saw a country on the verge of change. Through astounding dedication and love, they wrung more hours than there are to be had out of a mere mortal's day and boosted their daughters to regional musical fame and to accomplishment and security via the highest achievements in education. They ended up with two doctors, a dentist, a court stenographer, a teacher, and a nurse. Yeah, I know that's six, but the plan only got bigger as this family pulled together and sent strong, successful woman out into the world, one-by-one, until the nest emptied."
   
   And, indeed, that is what happens in The Ditchdigger's Daughters. But as we talked, I was no longer sure that was what the book is about.
   
   This week in my own little corner of the world, I titled my work-in-progress, a novel that I hope to present to an agent soon. To do so without a title feels like the hallmark of a rank amateur, so I've been tearing my hair out in avoidance of such a fate. I kept milling over what happened in my story, but I realized that the `what' may not be as important as the `why'. This is how I came to my title and also how I came to the conclusion, by something she said during the interview, that Dr. Thorton's memoir is a parenting book. And it's about parenting with a goal in mind, about parenting in hard times, and about parenting with the conviction that education trumps all. The book's not been out of print in thirteen years and it's never been more relevant.
   
   They had a hard time, and a long road to run, in getting this book published. It was said that it didn't have enough conflict. Rubbish. It's fascinating and enthralling and inspirational. And the Pulitzer Board thought so too, enough to consider it for the top prize in literary achievement in 1995.
   
   Our interview can be heard at PsychJourney dot com.



4. Hreat book, Covers fatherhood, parenting, racism, etc. Powerfully and humorously written. Must read



5. Dr. Thorton knocked it out the park with this one. It was so inspiring to me and there was such wonderful character development, that I sought out and bought the TV movie. This is a true story about what you can accomplish if you work hard and get an education. I made my kids watch the movie based on this book and the movie based on the book "The Pact". Read this book.

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No comments about Miss America, 1845: Bess Myerson and the Year That Changed Our Lives.

No comments about Charlie's Victory: An Autobiography.

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No comments about The Life of Samuel Johnson (Part 1).