Chasing Hope

A Reporter's Life

By: Nicholas D. Kristof

Narrated by: Nicholas D. Kristof

Length: 17 hrs

Publisher's summary

From New York Times columnist, Pulitzer Prize winner, and best-selling author Nicholas D. Kristof, an intimate and gripping memoir about a life in journalism

Since 1984, Nicholas Kristof has worked almost continuously for The New York Times as a reporter, foreign correspondent, bureau chief, and now columnist, becoming one of the foremost reporters of his generation. Here, he recounts his event-filled path from a small-town farm in Oregon to every corner of the world.

Reporting from Hong Kong, Beijing, and Tokyo, while traveling far afield to India, Africa, and Europe, Kristof witnessed and wrote about century-defining events: the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, the Yemeni civil war, the Darfur genocide in Sudan, and the wave of addiction and despair that swept through his hometown and a broad swath of working-class America. Fully aware that coverage of atrocities generates considerably fewer page views than the coverage of politics, he nevertheless continued to weaponize his pen against regimes and groups violating basic human rights, raising the cost of oppression and torture. Some of the risks he took while doing so make for hair-raising accounts.

Kristof writes about some of the great members of his profession and introduces us to extraordinary people he has met, such as the dissident whom he helped escape from China and a Catholic nun who browbeat a warlord into releasing schoolgirls he had kidnapped. These are the people, the heroes, who have allowed Kristof to remain optimistic. Side by side with the worst of humanity, you always see the best.

This is a candid memoir of vulnerability and courage, humility and purpose, mistakes and learning—a singular tale of the trials, tribulations, and hope to be found in a life dedicated to the pursuit of truth.

©2024 Nicholas D. Kristof (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Malaria, warlords, death threats, bombs, riots, plane crashes, scorpions, flak jackets, mobs, machetes, and deadlines—that's the price of truth-seeking and Kristof takes it on with conviction, courage, and humility. This is the kind of memoir that changes the world. Read it."—Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry

"Delightful and inspiring, Chasing Hope is an illuminating and, at times, hilarious read, about an American farm boy who grew into a brave international correspondent and discovered truths that made a vast difference in the world. May this book be read by every budding journalist, and even experienced ones, and indeed by anyone who hopes for the future of humanity."—Ann Curry, journalist

"In these dark, swirly times, Nick’s reporting and this page-turner offer us a sharp light of a hope that will not be shuttered. Doors are not exactly kicked open, but bullets are dodged, bad luck too. It's a thriller, a chronicle and a set of keys to our most undervalued resource—hope. Nick’s not just chasing hope, he is it… a most reasoned, polite, persistent, insistent finger in the eye of injustice."—Bono, author of Surrender