Rating: 
Summary: Candor, Credibility, Legacy
Review:
With This Just In Bob Schieffer exposes his person with such candor that his credibility as a journalist is underpinned to an incredible degree.
I found this inside account of contemporary history one of the most riveting of our day.
One day we will not have Bob Schieffer. Based on this work, I hope Bob writes plenty more than he already has. He's leaving a wonderful legacy, and this reader really appreciates it!
Marvin Shilmer
Rating: 
Summary: This Just in is a Just a Good Account of a Reporter's Life
Review: Bob Schieffer is a native of Fort Worth Texas, the host of Face the Nation and a season veteran reporter. In over 40 years the Texan has covered racial conflict in the South, the Vietnam War, several presidential campaigns and the horror of 9-11.
Schieffer begins his fine book with the story of how he picked up Lee Harvey Oswald's mother on the way to the police station on that horrific November day in Dallas. Schieffer recounts his slow rise from a local Ft. Worth Station to a newspaper and local TV to the major leagues at CBS.
Bob's book is filled with humorous anecdotes of his many jaunts in the presidential plane, intimate glimpses behind the scenes at CBS and his views of the men who have occupied the Oval Office.
I have always been a fan of CBS News the "Tiffany Network"
and Bob Schieffer in his warm writing style is like listening to an old pro give us the inside scoops on the biggest stories of our lifetimes.
The life of a national reporter like Schieffer is no bed of roses. Constant commuting from Washington DC to New York; always on call with family needs placed on the sidelines and the in fighting of who gets the anchor and other good assignments in the studio all make for a good read.
I found this book along with Tim Russert's excellent new book two delightful tomes to while away a summer day.
This is a good book by a well respected, beloved and great
newsman. We appreciate Bob Schieffer and thank him for his book!
Rating: 
Summary: Like spending an evening listening and learning
Review: From start to finish, Bob Schieffer, in his gentle way, sits us down and tells us what it was like over the last 40 plus years. From his early days as a Texas newspaperman finding himself in the company of Mrs. Oswald the day Kennedy was shot, to being sent to cover the war in Vietnam, then finally joining CBS TV and covering all aspects of Washington from Watergate through the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. Yes, he was there and his reportage then and his insight now gives us a greater understanding of what has been going on in the world over these four decades. His plum assignments at CBS kept him at the center of action: covering the presidential campaigns, the White House, the Pentagon, Capitol Hill, even the war in the Falkland Islands, and now continuing his moderating chores on Face The Nation which he began in 1991. The subtitle of this book is "What I Couldn't Tell You On TV," and he keeps that promise with many anecdotes that haven't been widely reported before this book. He also describes the movers and shakers of the U.S. during this period. He got to meet and know them all and he shares his thoughts on such as Lyndon Johnson, Nixon, Carter, Ford, Laird, Cronkite, Rather, the list goes on and on, even includes Agnew. His take on the changes that have infuenced political races, the Congress, and network TV, and what happened when CBS TV and everybody else blew it on election night 2000 makes for fascinating reading and gourmet food for thought. Throughout the book he gives us stories of his personal life and glimpses of his day-to-day working routines to give us a feel of what it is like to be a reporter at the center of activity. This is a fine book. On a few occasions he breaks from his chronological telling of the story, and I found that momentarily confusing. And a few more dates sprinkled in would have been helpful. But, I'm ready to sit down again and hear more of the adventures in journalism from this gentleman and scholar.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: Great insight into history through his eyes... I especially enjoyed the stories of his early days in Fort Worth...
Rating:
Summary: A Delightful Personal Historical Memoir
Review: I would not have thought to pick up this book, except that, by serendipity, I heard parts of it on Radio Reader as I was driving to work for several mornings, and by further serendipity, I heard the author talking about my late aunt, whom I never knew very well, and who, as it turns out, was a noted eccentric among the White House press corps. So, I bought the book. And I'm very glad I did. The story begins with Bob Schieffer's baby steps in journalism, his experiences during the the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the civil rights struggles of the 60s, his changing perceptions of the war in Viet Nam, his personal experience of growth and change in the news business and in American governance, then Watergate, and finally, the events of September 11. Although I learned nothing dramatically new (except the story of my eccentric aunt), I did enjoy seeing familiar events through the eyes of one very astute and well-informed observer. Author Bob Schieffer writes in an easy, flowing style, as though he is talking to the reader personally. He conveys a great sense of warmth and compassion as he talks about figures who are, to most of us, the great and near great. He does not hesitate to poke fun at himself or to share his foibles and failures. He comes across as a really nice person who just happens to have first-hand experience of the great events of the last forty years. The book moves along quickly, reads easily, and leaves you wanting more. I feel very fortunate that I was able to read this book, and I highly recommend it to others. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.
Rating:
Summary: Aspiring Political Journalists--
Review: read "This Just In." Bob Schieffer's book is an excellent account of the struggles encountered in a reporter's rise to broadcast journalism. It is also a good re-cap of the years spanning from JFK's assassination to the nightmare of September Eleven. Schieffer will briefly introduce you to Lee Harvey Oswald's mother, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George Bush Sr., Clinton and Bush II. The stories he tells go the gambit from titalating to tragic. Case in point: When Schieffer asks President Nixon if he will be using outside help or in-house advisors, Nixon responds, "On this one, I want plenty of outhouse advisors." On a sad yet heroic note, Schieffer reveals why Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon. Bob Schieffer's fourty year journey from small-town columnist to host of Face the Nation is an entertaining and insightful look at a reporter's life. Don't miss it, especially if you are an aspiring journalist. This book will either further inspire you or make you change majors.
Rating:
Summary: It Has Its Moments...
Review: Schieffer, Bob, This Just In. New York: Putnam, 2003.
This book was a disappointment. Schieffer is basically a newspaper reporter, and his anecdotes about his long career with CBS-TV lie flat on the page. Aside from a few good quips, such as Dan Rather and Schieffer laughing over being described as "elitist" when they both attended small colleges in remote Texas towns, or Helen Thomas's retort to LBJ when he said that his answer to a question would be a very long one: "Then start at the end," there isn't much that I didn't already know. Schieffer likes everyone: Nixon, Ford, Bush I, Bush II, and the defeated Democrats. But he hates Clinton because of his dishonesty and deception. This attitude tells me that (1) he's not very smart, (2) he is biased in favor of conservatives, and (3) he lacks judgment. This is precisely why I can't trust any of the talking heads on my TV screen. They're "analysis" of the news is superficial and gullible. The writing of the book is entertaining at times, more at the early (Vietnam) stages than the later, when his bitterness over the dismantling of CBS news shows through, but I missed the insights the author should have gotten over 40 years of journalistic work. His concerns were mainly for his career, and, if the book is to be believed, name-dropping and making contacts. His description of 9/11 and what has come afterward are naive and nothing new.
Rating:
Summary: Newsies Rejoice!
Review: The casual reader may not follow or care about the "behind the scenes" world of a successful broadcast journalist, but for those who do...this book is a fast and enjoyable read. The author communicates with wit, humor and humility..a real gentleman with an opinion, but without ever being boring or partisan. Truly a role model for up and comers. The chapters get better and better, perhaps because of the recent nature of current events. His take on Bill Clinton, the man and the politician, is the most honest and best presented I have seen.
Rating:
Summary: His story, not history, is what he couldn't tell you....
Review: The title alludes to all kinds of 'secrets' to be told, and at a time when the debate over journalism itself is as much the topic of controversy, you would expect views and opinions relating to this as well as events throughout history. He covers historical events, but only as they effect him and his career. I would say there is a fair balance of insights on the news, and insights on himself. I kept waiting for something new on events of the past, but for the most part it was the same old stuff rehashed. This is due mainly because a lot of the story is about how he had been somewhere else as big news was taking place. You can't be everywhere at once, but he was rarely 'in the thick of things', and most of the 'inside' stuff was about the history makers he knew on a 'personal' level, though you get the impression it wasn't as personal as he makes it out to be. I stopped looking for deep secrets when he referred to Al Gore's irrelevant statement about the Internet as 'a tall tale'. Anyone that doesn't take the media for granted and actually investigates this statement in context can see he doesn't think he 'invented' the Internet. The fact that Bob would make such a statement illustrates why his career took the course it did, and puts all the excuses throughout the book in their true light. Still, if you want to know about the man, the book is very informative.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining
Review: This book deserves a very high rating, but it will be most appreciated by readers who have been interested in politics
for quite a few years. The author, Bob Schieffer, has been
reporting for what seems like a long time, and some of his funniest, revealing stories happened early in his career. One of
his oddest happened the day JFK was shot; he was then a reporter
on the big Ft.Worth daily paper, and he got a call from Oswald's
mother, asking for a ride to Dallas. Yes, he was surprised, and
he still has no explanation why such a call was made to the newspaper. But, being a young, gung-ho reporter, he immediately
got a car and took her to the Dallas jail where Lee Harvey was being held, all in the hope of course of getting a nice interview.
But he concluded the Oswald mother wasn't quite mentally
100%, so he worked his reporter magic and got into a room with
Oswald's wife, hoping for an interview with her. Then it turned out
Maria could only speak Russian! His big break wasn't going anywhere, then an FBI agent finally asked him who he was with,
and he was finally thrown out. All without any real story.
And his early days were filled with stories like that, and he relates
them with humor and warmth.
He is almost a throwback, when the men and woman on TV were
real reporters and journalists, so what we usually see on TV now
is a shallow image of what we used to get.
Schieffer also shows considerable honesty by admitting that
most political reporters do, in fact, have personal views and prejudices that sometimes creep into their reporting and commentaries. Most TV people refuse to admit such an obvious
fact, and Schieffer deserves credit for telling the truth.
He is from a Democrat family in Texas, and he married a woman
from a prominent Ft.Worth Democrat family, and those facts have
to color his thoughts at times. And, somewhat oddly in view of
his concern for honesty, he admits that the Presidents he personally liked most were LBJ and Clinton, the 2 most sleazy,
self-centered, dishonest men to ever hold that office. But he also
says he always liked Ford, and he has to admit that his admiration
for Clinton became more diminished as time went on.
But Schieffer has been among the most thoughtful, and most
traveled, reporters with CBS, and he relates stories from most hot
spots in the world, and some of his most interesting stories are
from his days of being the Congressional correspondent, as well
as his days as Pentagon correspondent. He worked with nearly
everyone in both places, and his observations are all but amazing
against today's backdrop of high concern for security. You need
to read about the time when he could just walk into the Pentagon
without question, and he relates he didn't even bother to get press
credentials for a long time, because they weren't needed in those
days.
You can gain some nice insights from reading of all the hours he
spent waiting in the White House press room, and his relationships with various staff members connected with several Administrations.
He also relates several stories about his family relationships and
how difficult they were to handle along with his very demanding
job. Read about his work schedule when he was constantly flying back and forth between Washington, DC and N.Y., and most of
us will wonder how in the world he managed to keep up. He has
put in tremendous hours and effort trying to get the best story
and supporting the others at CBS, and it shows here.
For "political junkies," this is an absolute must. And if you are interested in charting some of the changes in the concept of
journalism, here is a good source.
Schieffer's writing style reflects his training in old-fashioned reporting, where every word counted, and his stories just flow
on from one funny story to another, fascinating, story. His personal interest in getting the facts, and the best stories, show
here, and this is a fun and easy book to read.
|
