Brinkley's Beat : People, Places, and Events That Shaped My Time

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Reading for the Most Part
Review: David Brinkley's book is divided into three parts: People, Places, and Events. In the "People" section I especially enjoyed the stories of J. Edgar Hoover, Everett Dirksen, Jimmy Hoffa, Lyndon Johnson, and Bobby Kennedy. "Normandy, 1944 and 1994" and "The Mediterranean" I felt were the best in the "Places" section, and "The Kennedy Assassination" was the best artcile in the "Events" section. The book is a modest 204 pages long. I'm glad I read the book, but I bought it thinking it would be more interesting than it was.

Rating:
Summary: Musings and memories from one of the great broadcasters
Review: He arrived in Washington at the height of World War II in 1943. And there he would remain for more than half a century. David Brinkley would become part of the fabric of that town. He would cover the administrations of eleven different American Presidents. He was involved in the medium of television from its infancy and by the end of the 1950's he was one of the most recognizable faces in the nation.
"Brinkley's Beat", completed shortly before his death in June 2003, discusses some of the people, places and events that shaped his time. Among the people he remembers are Martin Dies, J. Edgar Hoover, Joe McCarthy, Jimmy Hoffa and Presidents Johnson, Reagan and Clinton. But two of my favorites had to be May Craig and Sen. Everett Dirksen. May Craig was the very first female White House reporter. The fact is that when Brinkley came to town in 1943 she was the only female White House reporter. You are sure to get a kick out of some of the tales Brinkley has to tell about her. And then there was Senator Everett Dirksen of Illinois, a true American original. The country could sure use a few like him nowadays.
Among the places Brinkley recalls none is more important than Normandy. Brinkley served with the 120th infantry for about a year before being discharged for medical reasons. Many of the men he trained and served with would lose their lives at Normandy. In 1994, Brinkley went to Normandy with a film crew from ABC News to report on the fiftieth anniversary of the invasion. His poignant recollections of that moving visit are included here. On a much lighter note another of the places Brinkley remembers well is Vienna, Austria. He visited there during the height of the Cold War in 1962. Austria had declared its neutralilty and while the rest of the world was living in fear of a nuclear confrontation Brinkley found that the primary concern of Austrians in those days was food. In fact one of the big issues in Austria at that time was who was the rightful owner of a tort recipe. Hilarious!
The final section of the book is by far the shortest. Here David Brinkley reflects on political conventions, the exciting and newsworthy events they used to be to the boring and overblown productions they have become. He also recalls a State Visit by Ehiopian President Haile Selassie. We forget that State Visits by foreign leaders used to be a big deal in Washington replete with banners and marching bands. Again, how times have changed.
Finally, Brinkley discusses the heartbreaking events of November 22, 1963 and its aftermath. Just about everyone in the country is familiar with Walter Cronkites recollection of those events so it is really fascinating to finally hear David Brinkley's version of the story. All in all this one is a very enjoyable read. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Way to Exit
Review: This was Brinkley's last book before departing to the Great Studio in the Sky, and he saved some of his best for last.

His takes on the late, not so great Theodore G. Bilbo and the endearing Everett McKinley Dirksen represent the best "Brinkley-esque" strains, but the author also does an exceptional job of capturing the essence of the Casbah and the early-Sixties zeitgeist of Vienna. Brinkley always displayed incredible powers of observation, and they shine brightly in the "Places" section.

Another dividend of "Brinkley's Beat": you get a good sense of what David thought of our presidents during the last 40 years - good, bad, or fairly indifferent - and a bit of a window into his personal politics.

To sum up, this is highly enjoyable reading with a delightful aftertaste.