This Just in: What I Couldn't Tell You on TV

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.

Bob Schieffer was not a name that I knew, so I would not have chosen this biography had a friend of mine not recommended it to me. I always learn something from biographies, and THIS JUST IN did not disappoint.I don?t watch much television inside these prison fences. My schedule is too busy with writing, reading, correspondence, and exercise. I am familiar with Peter Jennings, Ted Koppel, Tom Brokaw, and Dan Rather as newscasters, but I had not heard of Bob Schieffer before reading this book that chronicles his life. He does a fine job describing it.I admire individuals who set clearly defined goals in their lives, then set in place a strategy to help them achieve those goals. Through Schieffer?s biography, readers learn that he was a diligent student and a determined worker as a young man. As a teenager Schieffer worked as a newspaper reporter, and after college became an officer in the Air Force. Immediately upon completing his military duty, Schieffer returned to his job as a local newspaperman. Not long after his return, he courageously persuaded his supervisor at the Fort Worth Star Telegram to send him to Vietnam in order to report on the Texan troops, thereby launching himself on his way to journalistic stardom.Soon after Schieffer?s return from Vietnam he graduated to the world of electronic media as a local television reporter. From his post as an anchor for WBAP-TV (now KXAS) Schieffer doggedly pursued the major networks with hopes of leaving behind the daily coverage of murder, arson, and other bloody crime that local news organizations are committed to broadcasting. Schieffer wanted to cover national news.His determination paid off, as Schieffer succeeded in landing a coveted job at CBS, and over a career that spans several decades, Schieffer has been responsible for reporting on four of the most prestigious posts in Washington: the State Department, The Pentagon, The White House, and The Congress. Schieffer also has anchored several of his own news shows and frequently substitutes for Dan Rather anchoring the CBS Evening News.Although I was not familiar with Schieffer prior to reading his biography, it has become clear to me that he is an important journalist. Through his biography I learned more about many events in our nation?s history, including the controversy over Vietnam, Nixon, diplomacy, and several presidential administrations. The most compelling part of the book, for me, was his description of his and his colleagues? experiences during the tragedy of September 11.Besides being a journalist for one of the major networks, Schieffer also comes across as a genuinely nice person; a man committed to his wife, two daughters, and colleagues. I enjoyed reading about his life and the choices he made to reach his goals.

Bob Schieffer is an excellent reporter and as it turns out a superb writer. This behind the scenes view of 40 years of American history is a must read by anyone over 35. And this is the type of history book we all love to read covering the stuff that doesn't get in the paper or on the television. Schieffer has a wonderful style of writing. He makes you feel you're part of the story he's telling or better yet, he makes you feel he's telling you personally, while you're there. Great read for a long weekend.

From the first page to the last, I could hear the warm, Texas cadence of Bob Schieffer's voice. While I have lived through most of the history, much of what he said was new to me. I found the history of White House politics and the press very enlightening. And his stint as a reporter in Viet Nam, gave me a clearer picture of just what the young men of my generation had to deal with.Bob Schieffer demonstrates in the book that reporters are just as vulnerable to the foibles of life as we are. While his career was most prominent in his life, the needs of his family, in the end won out.He takes us into the broadcast booth with him where we find people who worked for four days in 9/11, producers who sat under his desk feeding him page after page of the Starr report and where on election night 2000, the networks themselves set the stage for the most bizarre night ever on TV.We are with him in Dallas, Viet Nam and on the courthouse steps of a sleepy 1960 Fort Worth. Throughout the entire book Schieffer, in his modest, warm and humorous way takes us on a forty year journey through an America that has reinvented itself over and over, only to come full circle on a viewing platform at Ground Zero.

If you're expecting one of those polarizing, didactic tell-alls from Mr. Schieffer, you will be disappointed. This is a wonderfully centrist look at 40 years of American history through the eyes of one of the elder statesmen of the news media. THIS JUST IN allows you to check your dogma at the door, along with whatever SLANDER or STUPID WHITE MEN drivel you've been reading, and to enjoy a nonfiction book without judging its contents or its author. WAY TO GO, BOB!!