lone star by alan weisman
The Extraordinary Life and Times of Dan Rather

Dan Rather has been watched on television by millions for half a century; his remarkable career has covered and, in many ways, mirrored the turbulence of the last four decades.  His reporting helped shape the world's perceptions of major events such as the assassination of President Kennedy, the civil rights struggle, the Vietnam War, Watergate, 9/11, and the war in Iraq.  To his fans and supporters, he is praised for his dedication to quality journalism and he is seen as the worthy heir to Edward R. Murrow.  To his critics, he has pushed a liberal political agenda and his real life has belied his carefully crafted wholesome image.  The question has puzzled millions for decades: who is the real Dan Rather?

Lone Star is the first biography to bring Dan Rather to life while examining the full scope and breadth of his impact on the world.  In this book, longtime CBS News writer and producer Alan Weisman presents a fresh, balanced look at the controversial newsman who defeated overwhelming odds when he succeeded Walter Cronkite as CBS News anchorman and whose newscast was #1 for almost a decade but whose fall from grace was the swiftest and steepest in the history of television.

From Rather's childhood struggles and his formative years as a radio reporter in Texas through his rise up the ladder of the world's most prestigious broadcast news organization and his twenty-four years as the most powerful anchorman in television, Lone Star relates in compelling detail the successes, the failures, and the behind-the-scenes infighting.  The author draws upon scores of revealing interviews with Rather's colleagues, including former CBS News presidents and current 60 Minutes correspondents as well as producers, writers, and television critics.  He sheds new light on Rather's exchanges with President Nixon that forever branded him as anti-Establishment and anti-Republican; Rather's reports from Soviet-occupied Afghanistan and war-torn Somalia; his heated live interview with Vice President Bush on the Iran-Contra affair; the strange episodes in his personal life that seem to happen only to Rather; his disastrous on-air pairing with co-anchor Connie Chung; and the full story of the scandal that became known as Memogate and its impact on CBS News and broadcast journalism at large.

Lone Star is a remarkable biography; the riveting, unflinching, surprising, and true story of an amazing life.

alan weisman recently retired from CBS News after working as a writer and producer at the network for more than twenty-five years on news shows including 60 Minutes, CBS Sunday Morning with Charlie Osgood, the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, and the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather.  He has also worked for Charlie Rose and for Time Life.  Weisman has been interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered and other national media.

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