Edward R. Murrow: An American Original

Persico did an oustanding job of capturing the life of Ed Murrow. As a cousin of Ed Murrow and researcher of the family history, one correction in future printings would be appreciatiated. Chapter 2, page 16 (in my version) states that Ed's father, Roscoe's, grandfather, "had married a woman who was half Cherokee". That is not correct. Roscoe's grandfather was Andrew Murrow who married a true daughter of the British Isles. Our beloved Cherokee connection comes from a generation earlier - Roscoe Murrow's great grandfather, father of Andrew, John Murrow, married a woman who was one QUARTER Cherokee. So the statement was wrong on both counts - wrong generation and wrong amount of Native American heritage. In Persico's defense, this information came from an interview during which Ed Murrow himself apparently misquoted the family history.

Having read most of the Murrow histories, I've always been a bit puzzled that this one seems to reside in the shadow of the ubiquitous biography by Sperber. To my mind, this is the single best Murrow biography, lending extra and dimension to the man and insight into his bittersweet life. If you are interested in E.R.Murrow, by all means read Sperber, but you are not finished until you read Persico.

Edward R. Murrow lived at a time when television journalism was being created. Prior to that he was a radio journalist during the peak period of that medium, being best known for his live coverage of World War II. He was among the pioneers who established the ground rules, expectations, and mores of electronic media journalism. Murrow was also known for his documentary work on television.Persico gives us a detailed account of the family from which Edward R. sprang. His roots in North America go back well before the Revolutionary War. His Scotch-Irish heritage was deeply Christian.He traces the family's move from the South to the West. Ed was a member of the freshman class of Washington State in 1930. There were about 2,800 enrolled in that class. Ed was from a working class background and college was a new adventure for him. He first gained media experience while there.Just as thoroughly as the college years are covered so are the other eras of Murrow's life. This book is well-researched and enjoyable to read. It helps one to see the philosophical assumptions and background of one of the pioneers of broadcast journalism.