WHERE MAIN STREET MEETS THE RIVER

Novelist, the category he would list last, -newspaperman, his chosen role,- winner of a Pulitzer (1946) and a Guggenheim, Hodding Carter represents the best in American journalism, the high standards our regional small town newspaper men can set. This is more than an autobiography, for it is a kaleidescopic view of the factors and the issues and the challenges and -- most important of all- the personalities that go to make up a newspaper. Throughout, the personality of the man himself comes through,- his creed is reflected not in words but deeds, as he records his battles against the vicious, powerful Long machine in Louisiana; his stand against the Bilbos and the Rankins and the lesser politicians after he came to Mississippi; his work for community betterment in issue after issue; his part in the drama of the awakening South for which he is a staunch advocate. He has fearlessly taken issue with some of the sacred traditions of the South- and just as fearlessly defends the South's right to handle its thorniest problems. His friendships, his enmities, his loyalties all form part of the record. Maine, which put its stamp on him during his Bowdoin years; New York where he did graduate work at Columbia- and later served a brief term on the ill- fated PM; Cambridge where a Nieman Fellowship gave him a broader view of his profession; various spots where his wartime assignments sent him;- the stage should widen the market. The intimate closeups of tough days in bringing a newspaper to life provide initial appeal to the large audience for any good book about the press. And this-on many counts- is a very good book.