Face the Nation: My Favorite Stories from the First 50 Years of the Award-Winning News Broadcast

Heard the taped version of FACE THE NATION, written and read by Bob Schieffer . . . it is a compilation of the author's favorite memories of the award-winning news broadcast of the same title. Though not a regular viewer of the show, I was nevertheless fascinated by this program . . . it truly made history come alive for me as it highlighted shows that featured interviews with Senator Joe McCarthy and Nikita Khruschev, as well as such events as the civil rights movement up to the war in Iraq. I liked how he brought others into the story, such as when he used this famous quote from Charles F. Kettering: We should all be concerned about the future because we have to spend the rest of our lives there. I also enjoyed hearing about the author's take on the early history of TV and, in particular, news reporting. Perhaps the best part of FACE THE NATION was the fact that Schieffer not only narrated it, but he concluded the book with a collection of several fascinating essays . . . in fact, replaying them in my mind might has motivated me to TIVO the TV program this coming Sunday as I watch MEET THE PRESS--my favorite news shows--that airs unfortunately at the same time.

This respected journalist provides a very engaging historical reporting of some major events that shaped political and foreign policy issues from the U.S. perspective. Events leading upto the talk show, Face the Nation, the major players in the CBS corporation is discussed first. Then, in short and crisp separate chapters, Schieffer reports and adds insights on different events such as McCarthy-ism, Cuban revolution, Vietnam war, Nixon scandals, rise of women in journalism, Starr versus Clinton episode, and the Iraq war. Each chapter provides behind-the-scene accounts of some famous interviews. Interesting reading. Dont look for any analysis of events..that is not the intent of the book. Even then, the chapter on Vietnam war is way too compact compared to the length devoted to lesser events such as Lewinsky scandal.

I am not a regular viewer of the Sunday political interview program Face the Nation but, while surfing channels, I saw Face the Nation moderator Bob Schieffer discuss his book celebrating the 50th anniversary of the program. Clips from the DVD included with the book were shown. There was the CBS crew in Moscow interviewing Nikita Krushchev in an odd-looking set in 1957. Then they showed a clip from 1959 with Fidel Castro in Havana. Schieffer explained that armed guards (one with a gun pointed at FTN producer Ted Ayers) surrounded the camera crew with Castro giving the probably not too reassuring claim that they were "men of love." What really intrigued me was a clip of the first FTN telecast. Senator Joe McCarthy was interviewed shortly before Congress voted to censure him for his excessive, paranoid, unsubstantiated accusations that many in the government were card-carrying Communists. McCarthy branded the Senate session a "lynching bee" right on the television show. When I was a teacher, I researched several lectures on McCarthy and never heard of this interview. Since I am interested in Cold War history, I bought this book. The 50th anniversary book covers the following topics: McCarthy and the Red Scare, Krushchev the "big scoop," "Castro day on CBS," Civil Rights, Vietnam, the Pentagon Papers, women on FTN, presidential campaigns, Clinton's impeachment, 9/11, and the war in Iraq. The second part includes select "final thoughts" by Schieffer my favorite being on Prince Charles: "So why is this cause to celebrate? Because he's their prince, not ours" (p. 197). The third section is a brief look at the moderators and producers of FTN through the decades. In the back are statistics listing guests with the most appearances and the longest span of appearances. Part 1, the meat of the book, is only 179 pages of the short 227-page book, so the topics are discussed only briefly. Still, there are some interesting stories. I am more interested in the Cold War-era topics so the following highlights are mostly from the older broadcasts. On McCarthy, Schieffer explains how blacklists publications like Aware and Red Channels influenced CBS's hiring process (p. 19). One story I have never heard before was that Ed Sullivan wanted to be a respected news journalist and hoped that interviewing Castro (the same day as FTN's interview with the Cuban dictator) would help him be taken seriously in that department by Edward R. Murrow. Sullivan was so impressed by Castro that he donated a 10,000 check to the dictator (Sullivan was soon persuaded to put a stop on the check) (p. 43). Another highlight was the Vietnam chapter and how a long parade of government officials interviewed misled the public (either out of ignorance or intentional deception) as to America's progress in southeast Asia. In more recent news, Schieffer humorously describes Al Gore's attempt to seem more down-to-earth on FTN by being interviewed in a vegetable market in casual, f

This is a very enjoyable overview of the first fifty years of Face the Nation. It offers a number of "behind the scenes" looks at the show as well as the author's thoughts on the history and philosophy of the show. The earlier anecdotes were fascinating--particularly the chapters describing the Castro, Kruschev and McCarthy interviews. Without a doubt, the most interesting for me was the Castro chapter which included a look at the professional tension between Ed Sullivan and Edward R. Murrow. The book drifts a bit near the end, but, overall, it is delightful, informative and an easy read.

Bob Schieffer, moderator of the last Presidential debate and moderator of Face the Nation, has written a second book of memories. In it, he recounts the successful CBS show "Face the Nation." It is a good read. Unfortunately, there's not quite enough meat in it. The book is over almost before it began. It comes with a 2-hour DVD that I am planning on watching soon. I hope it includes some of the remarkable stories included in the book; the McCarthy interview, the Ali interview, and most importantly, the great Martin Luther King, Jr. Schieffer has a natural gift to tell a story, and it's a worthwhile read.