Cronkite

By: Douglas Brinkley

Narrated by: George Guidall

Douglas Brinkley presents the definitive, revealing biography of an American legend: renowned news anchor Walter Cronkite. An acclaimed author and historian, Brinkley has drawn upon recently disclosed letters, diaries, and other artifacts at the recently opened Cronkite Archive to bring detail and depth to this deeply personal portrait. He also interviewed nearly two hundred of Cronkite’s closest friends and colleagues, including Andy Rooney, Leslie Stahl, Barbara Walters, Dan Rather, Brian Williams, Les Moonves, Christiane Amanpour, Katie Couric, Bob Schieffer, Ted Turner, Jimmy Buffett, and Morley Safer, using their voices to instill dignity and humanity in this study of one of America’s most beloved and trusted public figures.

One of the Giants

This was my first Audible book, and it was a terrific way to start. Like any good biographer, Brinkley provides a sense of history, culture, and setting as he tells Cronkite's story. To me, the most interesting aspects of the book involved Cronkite's role in creating what would become the standard format for the evening news, political convention coverage, and special bulletins (including the iconic moment when Cronkite confirms the news of the JFK assassination). The jostling for ratings between the networks, the forging of news standards (e.g. what kind of delivery, scripted or unscripted, is most appropriate for television news?), inside battles between Cronkite and other famous egos at CBS News, all provide rich material in this biography. They made it up as they went along with this new, unfolding technology....figuring out what worked and what didn't as television journalism evolved...and Cronkite was in the midst of virtually all of those decisions and developments.

Cronkite

Interesting book about Walter and the history of New in the USA. Lots of crazy moments.

Compelling Reminder of What News Coverage Used To Be

This history of Cronkite's life and career was a wonderful journey through major world events and the evolution of TV news coverage. Every sentence was interesting and left me wanting to hear more. And as always, reader George Guidall delivered.

Cronkite the man

Douglas Brinkley did a good job of presenting the facts of the father of T.V. news broadcasting. Brinkley pointed out both the good and bad facts about the man. He gives us a glimpse into the life of Walter and Betsy's family. The book covers Cronkite from birth to death. I had recently read "Cronkite's War" about his work for UP in World War II and some of that is covered in this book. Most of the book is about the pioneering work to start up T. V. news broad casting. It is amazing how much of modern history Cronkite reported on and all the famous people he worked with, reported on or knew. I was unaware that Nixon went after Cronkite the same as he did the Washington Post and its people, turning the IRS loose on them as well as creating problems and paperwork regarding all federal license etc. I was interested in the comments he made about Christiane Amanpour and her ability as a reporter. She is one of my favorite reporters so glad I chose well. The book was read by the master narrator George Guidall. If you wish to learn the history of news reporting this is an excellent way to do so and learn about 20th century history. I enjoyed the book.

The hero we need

This is a great book about a great journalist. More young reporters should be exposed to this story for the benefit of the profession and the people it serves