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Personal History

A Memoir

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About this listen

 #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • PULTIZER PRIZE WINNER • The captivating inside story of the woman who helmed the Washington Post during one of the most turbulent periods in the history of American media: the scandals of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate

In this widely acclaimed memoir ("Riveting, moving...a wonderful book" The New York Times Book Review), Katharine Graham tells her story—one that is extraordinary both for the events it encompasses and for the courage, candor, and dignity of its telling.

Here is the awkward child who grew up amid material wealth and emotional isolation; the young bride who watched her brilliant, charismatic husband—a confidant to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson—plunge into the mental illness that would culminate in his suicide. And here is the widow who shook off her grief and insecurity to take on a president and a pressman’s union as she entered the profane boys’ club of the newspaper business.

As timely now as ever, Personal History is an exemplary record of our history and of the woman who played such a shaping role within them, discovering her own strength and sense of self as she confronted—and mastered—the personal and professional crises of her fascinating life. Art & Literature Business Journalists, Editors & Publishers Media Studies Professionals & Academics Social Sciences Words, Language & Grammar Writing & Publishing Memoir Vietnam War Socialism Franklin D Roosevelt

Critic reviews

"Riveting, moving . . . a wonderful book." --Nora Ephron, The New York Times Book Review

"Disarmingly candid and immensely readable." --Time

"Captivating . . . distinguished by a level of
introspection that ought to be, but rarely is, the touchstone of autobiography." --Newsday
All stars
Most relevant
Very well read and an excellent story! It’s very easy to get enveloped in and hard to stop listening

A very interesting insight into 60 years of US history

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Enjoyable read, puts you in the thick of everything that went on to make the post the famous institution it is today.

Only critism is that the book focused a bit too much on irrelevant details at times, which were obviously important to the author but not to the storyline.

Great read but a bit too thorough

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What a woman! What a story! The relentless adventures of surely the most connected woman in the 20th century world.

Insanely enjoyable and informative

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Written in vivid and rich detail, and most ably narrated. This book was my companion during my afternoon walk over several weeks. A life well lived indeed!

A riveting journey through time

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