For a second time the lrb has aired seymour hershs highly shaky claim that the opposition was responsible for the chemical weapons attack on the ghouta on 21 august 20 lrb, 17 april. Hershs memoir, reporter, describes his fruitful, if acrimonious. Seymour hershs fearless reporting has earned him fame, frontpage bylines in virtually every major newspaper in the free world, honors galore, and no small amount of controversy. Seymour sy myron hersh is an american pulitzer prizewinning investigative journalist and author based in washington, d. Thats the closest the book generally comes to touching on any motivation behind hershs work related to ending war or torture or any other evil. Hersh discloses little about his wife and children, but otherwise, candor is the driving force in this outstanding book. Seymour myron sy hersh born april 8, 1937 is an american investigative journalist and political writer. He is a regular contributor to the new yorker magazine on military and security matters. Jun 27, 2018 seymour hersh recently released a book on his life as a reporter, called appropriately, reporter. Young hersh learned journalism the hard way, and he turned into an aggressive and enterprising reporter. Over the past halfcentury, hersh has been one of americas.
As the bloggers eliot higgins and scott lucas have shown, he entirely ignores the overwhelming balance of. Jun 20, 2018 young hersh learned journalism the hard way, and he turned into an aggressive and enterprising reporter. Now in this memoir he describes what drove him and how he worked as an independent outsider, even at the nations most prestigious publications. Jamie allinson makes some false technical claims in his critique of seymour hersh letters, 8 may. Jun 02, 2018 at the beginning of seymour hershs new memoir, reporter, he tells a story from his first job in journalism, at the city news bureau of chicago city news stationed a reporter at chicago. He developed meaningful relationships and was known as a straight shooter. May 31, 2018 late in his new memoir, reporter, muckraking legend seymour hersh recounts an episode from a story he wrote for the new yorker in 1999, about the israeli spy jonathan pollard.
Hersh holds up to the available light in strict chronological order just about every report, claim, rumor or telltale clue of precisely and exclusively those things that president john f. Reading reporter is to be reminded of the true power of journalism. The qualities that make seymour hersh a firstrate reporter his hustle, his wonkiness, his nighthawk drive to unearth a radioactive fact and then top that fact make him a secondrate. Seymour hersh on the golden age of journalism for decades now, no reporter has been better at asking tough questions and getting candid answers than the legendary seymour hersh. Hersh is an investigative reporter with 25 videos in the cspan video library. Skip them and miss the story of the cia bigwig who blamed investigative reporter seymour hersh for blowing his cover and causing his divorce. A memoir knopf, pulitzer prizewinning investigative journalist seymour hersh describes the instincts and tenacity needed in helping uncover the.
Seymour hershs memoir is full of useful reporting secrets. He was especially noted for his investigations into the my lai massacre and the abu ghraib prison scandal hersh was the son of polish and lithuanian immigrants whose deep belief in. A memoir by seymour m hersh is published by allen lane. In his new memoir, he describes his pursuit of that story, as well as many others, including the downing of korean air flight 007, the. Hersh is a terrific storyteller and i would recommend this. Hersh provides only one source for the key claims in his piece. This book is essential reading for every journalist and aspiring journalist the world. He was especially noted for his investigations into the my lai massacre and the abu ghraib prison scandal.
Jun 04, 2018 that, more or less, is the premise behind a new memoir by seymour hersh, the investigative journalist who has been revealing secrets and atrocities and often secret atrocitiesto great acclaim since he exposed the my lai massacre in 1969. The killing of osama bin laden by seymour hersh details. Its gotten praise from many quarters, including from novelist and former intelligence officer john. Thats the closest the book generally comes to touching on any motivation behind hersh s work related to ending war or torture or any other evil. Investigative reporter seymour hersh raised eyebrows back in march when he told an audience at the university of minnesota that dick cheney ran a. The benefits and perils of access are a central theme of seymour hershs new memoir, reporter. Hersh his journalism and publishing awards include a pulitzer prize, five george polk awards, two national magazine awards, and more than a dozen other prizes for investigative reporting. Reminiscing about the past presidential administrations and the people who advised those presidents. Jun 17, 2018 seymour hersh on the golden age of journalism for decades now, no reporter has been better at asking tough questions and getting candid answers than the legendary seymour hersh. Essential reading for every journalist and aspiring journalist the world over john le carre in the early 1950s, teenage seymour hersh was finishing high school and university while running the familys. Seymour hersh, in full seymour myron hersh, born april 8, 1937, chicago, illinois, u. By the 1960s he had become a practitioner of advocacy journalism and was an early activist.
If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel that the. Truly a great life, and what shines out of the book, amid the low cunning and tireless legwork, is hershs warmth and humanity. Jun, 2018 one of the countrys top investigative reporters, hersh set the bar high with his 1970 pulitzer prizewinning expose of the my lai massacre. Jun 05, 2018 seymour hersh reports on a life in journalism in his new book reporter. Hershs book, economically titled reporter, is focused on the work. Seymour hersh, american journalist whose reporting generally focused on the u. Over his career of more than 50 years, he has covered many of the most important. Ultimately, in unfurling seymour hershs life and career, reporter tells a story of twentiethcentury america, in all its excitement and darkness. Seymour hersh s fearless reporting has earned him fame, frontpage bylines in virtually every major newspaper in the free world, honors galore, and no small amount of controversy. Rarely has a journalists memoir come together so well, with admirable measures of selfdeprecation, transparent pride, readable prose style, and honesty. A memoir, journalist seymour hersh covers his life story, with analysis of his profession thrown in.
At the beginning of seymour hershs new memoir, reporter, he tells a story from his first job in journalism, at the city news bureau of chicago city news stationed a reporter at chicago. A memoir, occasionally notes the failure of the exposure of wrongdoing to result in accountability or policy reforms. Seymour hershs new memoir is a flabbergasting masterpiece. In reporter, seymour hersh recounts leaping tall deadlines. It is a story of slog, ingenuity and defiance, following hersh from his first job as a crime reporter for the chicago city news. Seymour hersh is an honored investigative reporter that ive long admired. Jun 15, 2018 the evericonoclastic, nevertobeignored, muckraking seymour hersh in his revealing new memoir, hersh modestly calls himself a survivor from the golden age of journalism. This book is essential reading for every journalist. This book is essential reading for every journalist and aspiring journalist the world over. Lorraine berry, signature reporter is just wonderful. Essential reading for every journalist and aspiring journalist the world over john le carre.
Apr 04, 2020 hershs syndicated account helped end u. Seymour hersh is the kind of journalist that hardly exists any more a maverick independent with a talent for investigative journalism. Hershs article about the killing of bin laden have received official denials and journalistic gasps similar to those that greeted his 1974 reporting on the cias mhchaos domestic spying programme and the revelations in his 1983 book the price of power about henry kissingers masterminding of the carpetbombing of cambodia and hiding it from the us congress. Hersh, 9780141989099, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. What hersh reports is entirely plausible, and consistent with facts that emerged from our more limited but irrefutable technical studies of the circumstances surrounding the nerve agent attack in damascus on 21 august 20. Seymour hersh reports on a life in journalism in his new book reporter. Jun 15, 2018 in this excerpt from his latest book, reporter. Seymour hershs fearless reporting has earned him fame, frontpage byline. Jun 05, 2018 the qualities that make seymour hersh a firstrate reporterhis hustle, his wonkiness, his nighthawk drive to unearth a radioactive fact and then top that factmake him a secondrate memoirist.
He has also won two national magazine awards and is a fivetime polk winner and recipient of the 2004 george orwell award. In the book, hersh, an indefatigable investigative reporter he broke the story of the my lai massacre in 1969. John le carre a master class in the craft of reporting. Seymour hersh recently released a book on his life as a reporter, called appropriately, reporter. Hersh, including the dark side of camelot, and reporter. In reporter, seymour hersh recounts leaping tall deadlines in single bounds the qualities that make seymour hersh a firstrate reporter his hustle, his wonkiness, his nighthawk drive to unearth. One caveat, the narrator mispronounced several names. English due to its large file size, this book may take longer to download. A memoir knopf, pulitzer prizewinning investigative journalist seymour hersh describes the instincts and. Late in his new memoir, reporter, muckraking legend seymour hersh recounts an episode from a story he wrote for the new yorker in 1999, about the israeli spy jonathan pollard. Kennedy, his brother robert, his friends, assistants, confidants, lawyers. Its gotten praise from many quarters, including from.
A memoir, is that he never set out to write it at all, but was actually deeply engaged in writing a massive expose of dick cheney a project he decided couldnt ultimately. To the extent that its possible, i think investigative reporter seymour hersh achieves something along those lines in his honest, wellwritten memoir, reporter. Joining the staff of the new york times in 1972, hersh did groundbreaking reporting on the watergate scandal, though most of the credit for that story went to carl bernstein and. In his new memoir, he describes his pursuit of that story, as well as many others, including the downing of korean air flight 007, the interrogation techniques at abu ghraib, and the killing of osama. That, more or less, is the premise behind a new memoir by seymour hersh, the investigative journalist who has been revealing secrets and atrocities and often secret atrocitiesto great acclaim since he exposed the my lai massacre in 1969.