Reporter

A Memoir

De: Seymour M. Hersh

Narrado por: Arthur Morey

"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.

Investigative journalism behind-the-scenes history

It took me months to finish this audio book. I both loved the book and hated the corruption it revealed. The shining America in my mind fragmented and fell into pieces. I was a child or a busy young adult during many of the historic events Seymour Hersh reported on so this was a good way to catch up and learn what happened.

The writing is wonderful and the narration perfect. My interest was held throughout. But, I had to take a break from the book and listen to humor or other distracting fictional books because I was so disappointed in what I was learning. The corruption, the power-hungry, the pathological greed that threaded through the stories was a sad reality. The abuse of civilians in other countries by American soldiers in various wars was disappointing. Raping of women, robbing of families, threatening harm to shake down people for money . . . I was so disheartened by these stories - including murder for entertainment or relief of stress by helicopter pilots in Vietnam . . . so awful.

The early stories of police abuse and killing of black citizens, terrible. But those individual tragedies and injustices were outpaced by the huge and wholesale abuse of American citizens' freedoms and economic rights by those in power.

The book is a wonderful insight into the value of investigative journalism, and I despair that we will have journalists that can afford to be investigative journalists with mainstream media focusing on "talking heads" - or dressed-up people paid big bucks (millions) - to talk on the allowed topics decided on by a few rich and powerful billionaires.

I am glad I listened to this audiobook, although it made me sad to see how the wonderful United States of America has been corrupted wherever power or money is to be had. I admire the author's life work to uncover the truth - and understand his reasons for not revealing everything.

Didn’t want it to end.

The book and production was superlative. Interesting, well laid out and very detailed without being either boring or confusing. My next listen will be another of Mr. Hersh’s books while I wait for the new Trump comic to drop. His one comment about so many awful things that are really just waiting to be discovered that are already sort of in plain sight strikes me as true and tragic. I loved the last bit about what the Cardinal said to him. Thank whomever for people like Mr. Hersh who believe in the value of the truth.

What a reporter!

Great story of the most important stories of our time. What a man! And what a good readingBy Arthur Murray hard not to believe that was Seymour HershThat I was listening to.

Perfect timing

In these times we need more books like this incredible memoir. Thank you Mr Hersh!

Seymour Hersh is an American Treasure

This astounding autobiography chronicles the reporting of one of America’s greatest journalists who discovered and brought to light many of the worst aspects of the United States duplicity and misfeasance in the second half of the Twentieth Century and the start of the 21st. In that time he exposed the lies of our government during the Vietnam War, My Lai, Watergate, the CIA’s spying on Americans, the murder and attempted murder of South Americans and Fidel Castro, the duplicity of the neo-Cons in Iraq and Afghanistan, the failure to utilize Bashar al-Ashad and the Syrian Government in the Middle East and many other issues. He meticulously exposes the anti-American attitudes of the Pentagon and McNamara during Viet Nam, Henry Kissinger during a host of wars and crises, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Helms among others. Hersh achieves his success through hard work, dogged research, cultivation of sources and interviews. He is one of a kind and, in my opinion, deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work. Of course, that’s not going to happen anytime soon.
A note on the NY Times review of Dwight Garner whom I admire. Mr. Garner misses the point and it’s a shame. He criticizes Mr. Hersh for not writing a fine memoir as he leaves out his family, his relationship with friends such as Bill Bradlee, Daniel Ellsberg, Bob Woodward and I.F. Stone. That’s not the point of the book. This is about reporting and no one really cares how well Bill Bradlee plays tennis or what Daniel Ellsberg likes to drink. Hersh’s interviews with Assad, William Calley and others, Kissinger’s lying and Dick Cheney’s failure to shake his hand speak volumes about Hersh’s conclusions. It is a remarkable story of how many times Hersh has been called a liar by politicians and others only to be vindicated many years later by declassified materials or admissions of witnesses. Richard Nixon’s fairly recently declassified tapes are a perfect example, but only one of many. Hersh’s discussion of his methods and work is fascinating and this book is a historical wonder.