THE TYPEWRITER GUERRILLAS: Closeups of 20 Top Investigative Reporters

by John C. Behrens ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 26, 1977

Though investigative journalists generally scorn the post-Watergate ""glamour stock"" of their profession, Behrens showers them with his best fan magazine treatment. Want to know what time Jack Anderson starts his day? How many cups of coffee it takes to fuel Tom Miller of the Huntington (W. Va.) Herald-Dispatch? Carl Bernstein's sun sign? Twenty reporters--or as Behrens likes to call them ""typewriter guerrillas""--are given the once-over and almost all of them believe that the satisfactions of their job outweigh the journalism prizes or the money. Behrens' point seems to be that they're a varied bunch--some are loners who scorn the editorial ranks, some are highly gregarious; some, like Woodstein, are young, others are 25-year veterans. Courage, self-confidence, curiosity, perseverance, ability to take the heat they generate. . . it's all part of the job. Miller's pithy description is: ""get it right, get it fast, get it good."" We got it better from Leonard Downie's The New Muckrakers (1976) which covered almost the same territory--Bernstein, Nicholas Gage, Jack Nelson, Sy Hersh--with more depth and class.

Pub Date: Aug. 26, 1977

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Nelson-Hall

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1977

Categories: NONFICTION