This Just In

What I Couldn't Tell You on TV

By: Bob Schieffer

Narrated by: Bob Schieffer

Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

It has been a remarkable career for Bob Schieffer, the chief Washington correspondent for CBS News. He is trusted by countless Americans to cover the stories that matter. During his extraordinary career, he has won six Emmys. In 2002 the National Press Foundation hailed him as the Broadcaster of the Year.

Now the highly respected veteran newsman shares the stories he's long kept under wraps in a book The Washington Post says "is everything a memoir should be: candid, funny, and loaded with great stories about famous people." Schieffer goes beyond the news everyone is familiar with to share the compelling anecdotes only his colleagues were previously privy to. Says the author, "I want to tell you about the parts that didn't get on television or in the paper." The result is an eye-opening glimpse behind the scenes of the news business.

Whether the topic is the Nixon White House or Vietnam, the JFK assassination or the 1968 election, Schieffer has a story to tell that you simply have not heard before, but are almost certain to find fascinating. Schieffer reads his own work here, delivering a pitch-perfect narration that captures every nuance of his witty and wise insights.

©2004 Bob Schieffer (P)2004 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"Highly engaging....Indeed, the work succeeds not only as a primer on broadcast journalism but also as an informal history of America over the past 40 years." (Publishers Weekly)
"A riveting behind-the-scenes look....This engaging memoir offers readers a closer perspective on both newsmakers and news reporters over the past four decades." (Booklist)
"Witty, entertaining, and enlightening." (USA Today)

Enjoyable history

This is really good for any history buff (like myself), and people who grew up or existed before CNN when the news was limited to the major networks.

Fascinating behind the scenes

Always liked Bob. He has a lot of great stories to tell and does it with ease.

OUTSTANDING

This audio is even better than the book. Hearing the story in his own voice really brought it to life.

This is partly a history of CBS news and the world since 1950; partly an auto-biography; and partly an overview of how network news in has fit into and sometimes participated in the shaping of world and national events.

The anecdotes are priceless such as how Lyndon Johnson could afford to throw an expensive Stetson hat into the crowd at the end of every campaign appearance during his 1948 Senate campaign as he boarded his helicopter.

When we learn more about him as a person it makes you realize that those in the public eye are not just 2 dimensional characters but real people with real emotions and real lives.

In 1981 Bob realized that he would never achieve his "ultimate" job when Dan Rather took the reigns from Walter Cronkite as anchor of the CBS Evening News. He knew he would be a clear heir apparent to Dan except that he was simply too close in age to ever succeed him. In the 20 years since then he has grown to equal stature with Rather and become as much of a force in CBS news as if he HAD gotten the anchor job. He doesn't brag about this at all but there are so many other people who would have simply coasted from that point forward instead of continuing on to become everything that he is today.

His observations about the state of the world are so on target. He observed that while many felt that the U.S.A became a stronger nation after the 9/11 tragedy he ammended that to say that in his opinion we weren't a new nation but merely a nation that had again become what it once was.

He is straighforward and gives his opinions of newsmakers objectively even if they were his friends.

He is equally objective in his treatment of CBS and also of the entire fraternity of network news people. He tells the good with the bad - and the embarrassing.

If you like history, TV or America - don't miss this one.

Outstanding

I’m a retired broadcaster with several years experience in a large city. It’s especially interesting to hear how the authors early experiences shaped his career. Me, too. His efforts reporting as a corespondent were great on-the-air, and the back stories of those exploits were very interesting. Good work!

LOVED THIS BOOK!

If you follow news and in particular CBS News, Bob has been a big part of it for along time. I really enjoyed how he gave the back story to the stories he tells. I like the way the book is organized, and I appreciate his stark opinion on some of the issues he's reported on, but never gave an opinion on. Highly recommend.

Living Legend

Excellent story telling, a unique and raw look at life as a reporter. Loved how he provided historical anecdotes to carry the reader along on his journey. He also spoke at my journalism school graduation.

Great listen

Packed with insight, and read by the author, this ia an outstanding listen. His no-nonsense news style comes through loud and clear.

Interesting

I enjoyed this book and suggest that anyone who has an interest in tv news will enjoy it as well. Good
narration with lots of historic bits.

Absolutely wonderful, I am a Texas girl myself!

The variety of stories were very interesting to me.
It was nice to hear about places that I recognize.