Pick a major news event of the post-WWII era and chances are NPR commentator Schorr covered it. He was present at the inceptions of NATO, the Republic of Indonesia and the Berlin Wall. He conducted the first-ever TV interview with Khrushchev, arranged for himself and violinist Isaac Stern to take one of the first tours of Anne Frank's garret, and was Ted Turner's first hire for his fledgling Cable News Network in 1980, a position Schorr accepted after his principles got him into trouble at CBS. The son of Eastern European immigrants, Schorr never intended to become a broadcaster; he wanted to write for the New York Times. But a hiring freeze on Jewish correspondents put the kibosh on that dream, and once he joined the fabled team of CBS-TV reporters headed up by Edward R. Murrow, he never extracted himself from broadcast media. In this engaging, fascinating and often funny memoir, he alternates between offering an up-close-and-personal look at the more memorable events of the 20th century and sharing intimate stories about everyone from Shirley MacLaine to Richard Nixon (who included Schorr on his famous "enemies" list). Uncompromising and occasionally antagonistic, Schorr, like any good old-school journalist, is objective, even about himself. Indeed, the best description of him comes from former CBS boss Richard Salant: "He was not universally loved. But he was very good." Whether his book will be universally loved remains to be seen. But it's definitely very good. 16-pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. (May 8)
Forecast: Well-known to TV viewers and NPR audiences, Schorr should get major media attention when he tours N.Y. and D.C., and, engaging as this book is, with a first printing of 35,000, it may even flirt with the bestseller lists.
