The Making of an Ink-Stained Wretch: Half a Century Pounding the Political Beat - Hardcover

Witcover, Jules

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0801882478 ISBN 13: 9780801882470

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005

Synopsis

Jules Witcover has covered American politics for more than half a century. His career extends from the "I Like Ike"days of manual typewriters and whistle-stop trains to the high-tech era of laptop computers and jet travel, covering every presidential matchup from Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush and John Kerry.

In The Making of an Ink-Stained Wretch, this venerated reporter reveals anecdotes from 56 years in journalism, 52 of them in Washington, D.C., and on the campaign trail, tracing his journey from small-town reporter to nationally syndicated columnist and author. In the process, he moved from the confines of straight reporting to analysis, emerging today as a sharp critic of presidents in both parties.

Witcover, as one of the original "boys on the bus,"provides a personal perspective on the life of a political writer on the road. He testifies to the often-fickle relationship between the press and the candidates, gives readers more than a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes, and writes of critical public events from close range. He was only steps away from Robert Kennedy the night of the candidate's assassination and was at Gerald Ford's side in California when another assassination attempt was foiled. He watched from the South Lawn of the White House as Richard Nixon departed Washington after resigning the presidency. He traveled with the campaign of gubernatorial and then presidential candidate Ronald Reagan and a few years ago rode the "Straight Talk Express"with John McCain.

With wit and candor, Witcover captures the grit, glamour, joy, and excitement of newspaper reporting. He presents an insider's view on the changing role and style of reporters, commentators, and other shapers of opinion in today's contentious political climate.

About this title

About the Author:

Jules Witcover, syndicated by (Chicago) Tribune Media Services, has written on politics for the Newhouse Newspapers, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Star, and the Baltimore Sun. He has written more than a dozen books, including 85 Days: The Last Campaign of Robert Kennedy; The Resurrection of Richard Nixon; Marathon: The Pursuit of the Presidency 1972–1976; Crapshoot: Rolling the Dice on the Vice Presidency; The Year the Dream Died: Revisiting 1968 in America; No Way to Pick a President: How Money and Hired Guns Have debased American Elections; and, most recently, Party of the People: A History of the Democrats.

From Publishers Weekly:

Almost every human foible has been displayed at some point during the past half century of presidential campaigning. Candidates have lied, cheated and stolen, they've fallen (both literally and figuratively), been shot at, gone batty and been caught in various compromising positions. As a political reporter and columnist, Witcover is one of a select few who has seen it all. An inquisitive mind with an innate interest for the competitiveness of national politics, he followed every presidential campaign from the contest between Kennedy and Nixon in 1960 to the battle between Bush and Kerry in 2004. Along the way, he engaged some of the century's most notable politicians, accumulating a treasure trove of political anecdotes chronologically presented in this impressive career memoir, portraying with equal objectivity both the winners and those who lost their presidential bid, though it's the latter that prove to be most interesting. With the notable exception of George W. Bush ("the worst and most dangerous president of my lifetime"), Witcover shies away from overt indictments, instead treating even those candidates whose politics or personalities he despised with a measure of respect. Their foibles, after all, were the breadcrumbs of his career.
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About this edition

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0801882478
• ISBN 13: 9780801882470
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368