Rating: 
Summary: An Exceptional Memoir!
Review: What an interesting read! While most bios take you from birth through an unremarkable (and lengthy) adolescence, Stahl starts the book (and her life, by her own declaration) at age 30. Then - boom! - we're immediately thrust into Watergate (she was dating Bob Woodward at the time), where Stahl was the only TV newsperson covering the initial - and seemingly un-newsworthy - burglary. From there, we're taken into each subsequent presidency - from Nixon to Bush Sr. - and shown how personnel, presidents, their staffs, and technology shaped TV news coverage of historical events. The product of CBS news' affirmative action plan (along with Bernie Shaw and Connie Chung that year), Stahl was promoted in the early '70s to the Washington bureau. We are treated to an indepth account of her professional and personal triumphs. Of course, she occasionally goofed, which she comically relays, as well. With each chapter titled for a president and first lady - Reagan gets two! - Stahl gives us the stories-behind-the-stories: correspondents outwitting each other for the scoop; Barbara Bush's surprisingly icy remarks and actions; Stahl's assessment of unsuccessful presidents; one White House staff that was hell-bent on getting rid of Dan Rather; the point when CNN emerged as the true news leader. That we get all this juicy, inside stuff is a testimony to the author. Only someone as busy as Stahl could supply it - she and her teased and hairsprayed "helmet" of a hairdo wore many hats: Chief White House Correspondent, Face the Nation host and America Tonight co-host during the Gulf War - at one point, all three at the same time! If you wonder why George Bush's presidency is the last chapter of the book - how could she resist Clinton's escapades? - it is because her memoir is meant only to tell the story of her most well-known beat: the White House. Believe me, you get a lot! And after years of hard work at CBS in Washington, Stahl at long last - after years of waiting and, I think, unfairly having to audition - earned the 60 Minutes gig and relocated to New York. If you enjoy books of a political nature, but told in an easy-to-understand manner, you'll find Stahl's respect and humility toward world news - and life - a pleasure to read. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: LESLIE STAHL EXPOSED, BY HERSELF
Review: When the name Leslie Stahl is mentioned, thr first thing that comes to mind is that serious, tough interrogator from CBS News, who has hosted various news formatted shows over the years. I always thought she was harder edged than say, Diane Sawyer. In "Reporting Live" we discover, quite to our surprise, that Ms. Stahl carried around the same insecurities and problems as many of her viewers, that she did not have it "So together" as one might be tempted to assume. That in effect, she is as human as the rest of us, only she has a more visible job. No one would have believed that a woman of this news caliber would allow herself to be so dominated by a controlling mother who obviously believed it was more about how one looked than what you knew. For the remainer of tidbits like this, I suggest you read the book. It is a really good read.
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